While he might not have the deepest rogues' gallery in the Marvel Universe, Shang-Chi has taken on his fair share of deadly villains over the years. And with Marvel's Master of Kung-Fu set to jump into the Marvel Cinematic Universe later this year, he'll be joined by one of his most enduring villains, Razor Fist.
Three different characters have used the mantle of Razor-Fist, and they've all been supremely skilled fighters with steel blades in place of their hands. Since the first Razor-Fist debuted in 1975's Master of Kung Fu #29 by Doug Moench and Paul Gulacy, the villains with that title have been a minor thorn in the sides of Marvel fighters like Colleen Wing, Deadpool and even Wolverine. But before Razo-Fist makes his way onto the big screen, we're taking a look back at the history of this Shang-Chi and the Legends of the Ten Rings villain.
In addition to their unusual weapons, all three villains to be called Razor-Fist share a connection to Carlton Velcro, a mobster who became one of Shang-Chi’s primary targets in the early days. The first Razor-Fist, William Young acted as Velcro’s bodyguard and his interaction with Shang-Chi was short-lived. During an altercation between the two, Velcro’s guards opened fire on Shang-Chi and inadvertently killed Razor-Fist in the hail of bullets.
Years later after Velcro was thought to be dead, he re-emerged with a brand new Razor Fist named Douglas Scott in Doug Moench and Gene Day's Master of Kung Fu #105. Instead of two blades, this iteration only had one sword replacing his hand as a result of an ‘accident’ he was in with his brother, William. The latter also took on the Razor-Fist identity, giving the impression that the assassin had the ability to be in two places at once. Their blades were also provided by the cyberneticly-enhanced Velcro who would later be revealed as the cause of their accident.
When the Scott brothers are introduced, they were on assignment to assassinate Shang-Chi and his associates. However, Shang-Chi and his allies quickly took care of an attacking William Scott before realizing there were multiple Razor Fists. During the final confrontation, Shang-Chi is able to convince Razor Fist that Velcro was manipulating him, only to be shot and killed by Velcro as he attempted to kill Shang-Chi.
Since then, the surviving Razor-Fist, William Scott, has popped in and out of various Marvel events including Siege and the Skull’s Secret Invasion. He became the true embodiment of the Razor-Fist title after a battle with Colleen Wing, who took his other hand. The last time he appeared was in 2018’s Deadpool: Assassin #2 by Cullen Bunn, Mark Bagley, and Joe Sabino. Working with the Assassins Guild, Razor-Fist was trying to kill a man named Charles Helder. Unfortunately for him, Deadpool was hired to protect Helder which led to the two facing off on a trolley. While Razor-Fist initially stabbed Deadpool through the roof, the Merc with a Mouth was able to return the favor by cutting off one of Razor Fist’s arms before shoving his face into the street while the trolley was moving, killing him.
In a moment that recalls that death, the only released footage of the MCU's Razor-Fist shows him fighting Shang-Chi in a moving bus. While it's not clear which version of the villain this is, he's almost certainly going to live up to his comic book counterpart's reputation of testing Shang-Chi and his allies.