Sword Master #4 is published by Marvel Comics. It’s split into two stories. Part one, The Ancient War, is written by Shuizhu with art by Gunji and adapted by Greg Pak. Part two, Sword Master & Shang-Chi: Master Class, is written by Greg Pak and Fonda Lee with art by Ario Anindito and colors by Rachelle Rosenberg.
I want to put on record that I called Ji Shuangshuang being the descendant of Nü-Wa as soon as I saw Nü-Wa. Especially with how similar Lin Lie looks to Fu Xi. The real question now is, where is the descendant of Shen Nong? Although the Sword Master is (probably) the most powerful, clearly all three mystical weapons/warriors are going to be needed to defeat Chiyou, because let’s be real, they aren’t going to be able to stop him from emerging. That would make for such a boring plot. “And then the heroes prevented the evil being from even doing anything in the first place, the end”. He’s totally going to come back and it’s going to make for an epic comic fight.
Ji is stoic and clearly a badass, but she also provides some comic relief. It’s very Vegeta trying to explain Saiyan heritage to Goku. A lot of face palms. I also like that this comic makes fun of certain troupes. Like one character says something and the other repeats it for dramatic effect, but instead of it being dramatic, Ji is just frustrated at Lin’s incompetence. I know Lin is the Chosen One and all, but I’d totally read a series about Ji and her history as well – just saying, Marvel. Following the brief historical explanation of events though, nothing much happens on Ji and Lin’s side of the story, though it definitely sets up for an adventure in the next issue.
On the other side, we have Shang-Chi, Lin and now Ares? Yes, that Ares. The one that’s a God of war and chaos. Who, as it turns out, maybe not such a bad guy. I mean, he is a God of War, it’s not really his fault that he’s so destructive. I also like that, as he points out, he isn’t inherently evil or anything either. Plus, he *supposedly* has good reasons for stealing Lin’s sword. So when Shang-Chi proposes a deal, he agrees to it without much resistance. It’s really amusing to watch Lin through all of this too because he’s still learning, so he’s hot-headed and clumsy but instead of the stereotypical anime troupe of this kind of character still coming out on top, he fumbles around a lot. You can just hear Shang-Chi’s heavy sighs every time.
The art for both stories continues to be beautiful, especially the ancient Greek style art that Ario Anindito and Rachelle Rosenberg present during the second half of the comic, and Gunji’s art is just so bright and colorful – it’s really captivating just to look at. I can’t say enough how much I love the blending of these different ancient mythologies. Greg Pak, Fonda Lee, and Shuizhu have all clearly done their research on the stories they are telling and do an amazing job of fitting in to this new superhero narrative.
OVERALL SCORE: 8 / 10
Make sure to pick up a copy of Sword Master #4 from your local comic shop, and Marvel’s online store.
Happy reading!
