“You used Fu Manchu to insult China back in the day, now you are using Fu’s son to earn Chinese people’s money"
China is not impressed by Marvel Studio’s upcoming Shang-Chi film.
According to Bleeding Cool, people in China are not happy with Marvel Studio’s announcement of the upcoming Shang-Chi film.
Last week, Marvel said it was searching for a director for its first Asian superhero film franchise Shang-Chi.
In the comics, Shang Chi is the son of Fu Manchu – a villain created by Sax Rohmer in the early 1900s. Fu Manchu is described by Bleeding Cool as “the ultimate Yellow Peril archetype.” The character had slit eyes, long fingernails and dressed in imperial Chinese clothing.
Peter Sellers notoriously played the character in the 1980 spoof film The Fiendish Plot of Dr. Fu Manchu.
In response to Marvel’s announcement about the upcoming film, one Chinese social media user wrote, “you used Fu Manchu to insult China back in the day, now you are using Fu’s son to earn Chinese people’s money, how smart.”
“It’s common in American comics that a superhero is the son or daughter of an evil villain, but the problem is Fu Manchu has already become a symbol of discrimination against the Chinese,” wrote another.
“There are many other Asian characters they could choose from but they had to choose this, it’s no wonder they are being criticised,” one comment read.
SCMP ran with the headline “Marvel ‘insults China’ by making its first Asian superhero film about Shang-Chi, a son of Fu Manchu.”