Today we look at how Shang-Chi gained ANOTHER strange superpower while one of the Avengers and it has just disappeared after that one story.

In every installment of “If I Pass This Way Again,” we look at comic book plot points that were rarely (sometimes NEVER!) mentioned again after they were first introduced.

WHAT WAS SHANG-CHI'S OTHER AVENGERS POWER?

As I explained in a previous If I Pass This Way Again, the Avengers dramatically expanded their roster during Jonathan Hickman's brilliant run on the series from 2013-2015 and Shang-Chi was one of the members that they added to the expanded team. One of the initial antagonists was a being known as Ex Nhihilo who used "origin bombs" to evolve people (sometimes millions of years in an instant). He became less of a threat when the book moved to dealing with Incursions full-time. Incursions, you see, were caused by the weakening of the Marvel Multiverse, so occasionally, alternate Earths would suddenly make a move to share the same place in reality as the main Marvel Earth, so what do you do with that other world? The Illuminati convinced Captain America that it was worth it to use an Infinity Gauntlet to essentially destroy that other world. Captain America, though, could not abide making a decision like that again, so the Illuminati wiped his mind of the memory and in stepped a Cabal, led by Namor and Thanos, that took over and began destroying those other worlds.

However, this process could not last forever and Hickman teased as much with a storyline called "Time Runs Out."

Well, along the way to the end of Time Runs Out, Shang-Chi decided to visit the location of one of the origin bombs in Avengers #38 (by Hickman, Stefano Caselli and Frank Martin), and as he communicated with the energy being there, he was evolved himself...

and he gained the ability to duplicate himself...

RELATED: Shang-Chi: How Marvel Forgot about the Avenger’s Dragon Tattoo

WHAT HAPPENED TO SHANG-CHI's DUPLICATION POWER?

The weird thing was that Hickman had SO many balls in the air during the "Time Runs Out" storyline that Shang-Chi only got a SINGLE chance to use his new powers during the series (in a big fight between warring factions of the Avengers, with Captain America trying to use S.H.I.E.L.D. to bring down the main Avengers once Cap regained his memory from the Illuminati mindwipe). The series then ended with one of the Incursions getting through, seemingly destroying the "main" Earth before everything was returned to normal in the Secret Wars crossover. However, when reality when back to normal, Shang-Chi's duplication powers were gone. It is possible that a future writer might reveal that he still has the ability, but it is most likely gone.

However, amusingly enough, that was not even the FIRST short-lived superpower that Shang-Chi received during his stint as an Avenger during Hickman's run!

RELATED: Avengers Gave Shang-Chi Marvel's Strangest Forgotten Power

WHAT WAS AVENGERS WORLD?

One of the main concepts of Hickman's run was the expansion of the Avengers into basically a world-protection team. Iron Man and Captain America decided to expand the scope of the team so that it is more of a universal player. This was demonstrated during the Infinity storyline where the Avengers actually go out into outer space and take down a terrible threat BEFORE it reaches Earth. Thus, as part of the reflection that the Avengers have pretty much taken over the defense of Earth, a tie-in series was launched called Avengers World, which showed the result of the Avengers expanding their scope, dealing with threats all over the world.

In Avengers World #1 (by Hickman, Nick Spencer, Stefano Caselli and Frank Martin), a team of Avengers (consisting of Wolverine, Black Widow, Falcon and Shang-Chi) head to the island nation of Madripoor. Shang_Chi splits from the others and discovers that the mysterious Gorgon had taken control of the Hand again and is doing some sort of spell...

We then discover at the end of the issue that the nation of Madripoor apparently rested on the head of a dormant dragon and, well, now that dragon is awake!

Shang-Chi confronts the Gorgon (again, this is all while they are now flying on the head of a dragon) and despite Shang-Chi's great skills, Gorgon defeats him and seemingly throws him to his death off of the dragon...

In Avengers World #7 (by Hickman, Spencer, Caselli and Andres Mossa), we discover that Shang-Chi has been rescued by S.P.E.A.R., China's answer to S.H.I.E.L.D. and they plan to stop Gorgon as he plans to use his dragon (and the small dragon army that the giant Madripoor dragon has now summoned) to invade China.

S.P.E.A.R. has its own superhero team, as well, called the Ascendant, but the dragon hordes of Gorgon prove too much for them and so in Avengers World #13 (by Sencer, Raffaele Ienco and Mossa), Director Zheng contacts Maria Hill at S.H.I.E.L.D. for help in gaining access to some proprietary technology....

WHAT WAS SHANG-CHI'S NEW POWER?

That technology, of course, was Hank Pym's famous Pym Particles and Zheng gives them to Shang-Chi, who then becomes a giant so that he can fight the Madripoor dragon at the proper scale...

In the following issue (by Spencer, Marco Checchetto and Mossa), Shang-Chi and the dragon have a kung fu battle in the sky...

But ultimately, in the reverse of Shang-Chi's earlier battle against the Gorgon (who is controlling the dragon), it is now Shang-Chi who is flinging the temple (and Gorgon in it) away....

Without Gorgon controlling him, the dragon becomes dormant once more and Shang-Chi slowly lowers it back into place and Madripoor goes back to, well, as normal as it ever gets.

While many other heroes, when given Pym Particles to grow, continue to use them (Clint Barton and Bill Foster to name two), that was it for Shang-Chi, just that one mission and he was done.

If anyone else has a suggestion for a future If I Pass This Way Again, drop me a line at brianc@cbr.com

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