Fu Manchu

Few villains cast as long a shadow in Bronze Age Marvel as Fu Manchu, whose sinister presence was unleashed in 1973's Special Marvel Edition #15 by the electric creative pairing of Steve Englehart and Jim Starlin. Over nearly five decades of Marvel publishing, this mastermind became the dark engine driving some of the era's most stylish and atmospheric titles — Master of Kung Fu, The Deadly Hands of Kung Fu, and Giant-Size Master of Kung Fu — a rogues' gallery of intrigue in print form. His pages crackle with the company of memorable characters like Denis Nayland Smith, Leiko Wu, Clive Reston, and Black Jack Tarr, making his corner of the Marvel universe feel like a globe-spanning thriller all its own. With 76 catalog appearances, three of them collector-recognized key issues, Fu Manchu is an essential figure for anyone serious about the Bronze Age's bold, pulp-inflected ambitions.