Early Black Comic Book Heroes: Misty Knight (3/6) in Deadly Hands of Kung Fu 33 - "Daughters of the Dragon" (Part 2)

In the previous issue of this Chris Claremont/Marshall Rogers story of the Daughters of the Dragon, we saw Misty and Colleen captured by Chung and taken to Vachon's base of operations. The girls had just laid waste to Vachon's mercenaries and all of their munitions, so he's out for revenge big time. In this issue, DHoKF 33, we're going to get a little more information on Misty's origins, but the story begins with Vachon's plan to addict Misty and Colleen to heroin, to completely enslave them and sell them to the highest bidder.

What Vachon doesn't know is that Misty has a bionic right arm, which she uses to snap the neck of the vile doctor who's administering the heroin, when he tries to take advantage of Colleen's helplessness.

Misty hasn't been affected by the heroin, because it's been injected into her bionic arm, but Colleen's good and hooked, so she decides to fight off the addiction cold turkey while Misty sees what she can do to thwart the bad guys.

Misty runs into Chung and his electronic bolas, but has him beat, when Vachon himself enters the fray announced only by a kick in the back that takes the wind out of Misty's sails..

Misty puts up a good fight but with that bad start, she doesn't recover. Just as Vachon is about to finish Misty off, Colleen comes to the rescue:

Colleen is fighting Vachon and heroin withdrawal. She retrieves a sword from Vachon's collection, and the samurai in her takes over. The combination of the circumstances, and her internal battle against the drug, make memories surface that inspire her to reach deep into her reserves to fight the soulless monster, Vachon. It's here that we get a glimpse of Colleen and Misty's past, as cops with the NYPD, and an occasion when Misty saved Colleen's life.

Colleen gathers strength as the fight continues, as long as her concentration doesn't drop. She recalls the day Misty had her right arm amputated, and the support she tried to give her. Chung has, by now, regained some of his faculties, and seeing Vachon is going down unless he intervenes, grabs one of his boss's premium weapons, with the intention of dispatching Colleen. Cue Misty regaining consciousness. Misty sees Chung's intent, and makes her move, the only move possible given the brief time frame.

Time for Colleen to stick it to the vile Vachon.

And it's all over. A big present for the Hong Kong police. Colleen and Misty more bonded than ever.

I love the business card tossed onto Vachon's body at the end. Nightwing Restorations have indeed restored justice on this occasion. Great scripting by Chris Claremont, and gorgeous art by Marshall Rogers. Next we'll be returning to the pages of Iron Fist to see where Misty's inroad into the Marvel Universe takes her next.

Early Black Comic Book Heroes: Misty Knight (2/6) in Deadly Hands of Kung Fu 32 - "Daughters of the Dragon" (Part 1)

The last two issues of Marvel's Deadly Hands of Kung Fu featured private cops Misty Knight and Colleen Wing as 'Daughters of the Dragon', written by Chris Claremont and illustrated by Marshall Rogers. DHoKF 32 (Jan 1977) begins with Colleen and Misty in Hong Kong, hunting for a big crime boss, Vachon, the killer of Colleen's grandfather. Their investigations are not exactly covert, so it's no surprise when they start to draw some heat...

...eventually resulting in a good old Bruce Lee style full-blown kung fu melee...

...that only Bruce Lee could handle in terms of the overwhelming odds. The two ladies, having already displayed some almost superhuman skills, realize they need to get out of the situation before they're overcome by sheer force of numbers. Yet everywhere they go now they run into the head man's heavies. Each round of combat also seems to divest them of some of their clothing - much to the delight of the Hong Kong police!

Basically we're learning that Misty, as a character, is dedicated to her work of private policing, fiercely loyal to her business partner, Colleen, and that she can really kick ass, Harlem kung fu style. Unconstrained by the comics code in this magazine, Chris Claremont freely makes Misty attractive in a sensual way, her martial arts skills making her capable of defending herself against any guys who might step out of place in response to the visual stimulation of her walking around scantily clad. So as the story progresses, the half-Japanese Colleen continues her search for her grandfather's killer alone, as her features allow her to blend in with the local Chinese. To her horror she sees four American tourists murdered because they were thought to include herself and Misty. Fortunately from the point of view of the case, as she stands looking at the wrecked auto, she's next to the head man's chief goon, Chung, who, apparently without realizing Colleen is who she is, gives the game away and leads her to the harbor where she meets up with Misty. Misty and Colleen board the boat where Chung has gone for his rendezvous, only to find they've been set up.

As the fight progresses, Misty and Colleen are forced from boat to boat, away from the shore. Realizing this, they make a stand, and Colleen finds it necessary to unsheath her sword and start taking lives. We're reminded of Misty's origins in the NYPD, and that she has a bionic arm. We can also see that she's very much the liberated African American woman of the 70s.

By now we've also learned that Vachon, the man they're after, has been stockpiling weapons and mercenaries on junks out in the harbor. Knowing where at least some of the ammo is located, Misty uses her gun to set off an explosion that ends up consuming ten boats, and leaves herself and Colleen unconscious in the water, where they are finally picked up by Chung, for transport to his boss for the revenge he will now want to exact due to the fortune they've cost him.

So we're going to have to be there next ish, to find out what happens in DHoKF33, the final in the series.