Secret Avengers #6
Secret Avengers #6 opens the five-part 'Eyes of the Dragon' arc, which marks the in-universe debut of the Celestial Order of the Hai-Dai and delivers a landmark piece of Marvel continuity housekeeping: writer Ed Brubaker formally repositions Shang-Chi's father away from the licensed Fu Manchu name—whose rights had lapsed in 1983—by revealing his true identity as Zheng Zu, giving Marvel permanent, license-free ownership of the character going forward. The issue also integrates the Immortal Weapons mythology of the Brubaker/Fraction/Aja Immortal Iron Fist run into the broader Avengers line, cementing the Prince of Orphans (John Aman) as a recurring player in the Heroic Age's black-ops corner of Marvel. Together, those moves made this arc one of the more consequential pieces of quiet world-building in the 2010 Avengers relaunch.
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Secret Avengers launched in May 2010 as part of Marvel's 'Heroic Age' initiative, with writer Ed Brubaker and artist Mike Deodato Jr. announced as the core creative team. Issue #6, cover-dated December 2010 and released October 27, 2010, was edited by Tom Brevoort and Lauren Sankovitch, with colors by Rain Beredo and lettering by Dave Lanphear; the cover was also by Deodato. Brubaker had publicly framed the series around espionage, citing Jim Steranko and Jack Kirby as tonal touchstones, and the 'Eyes of the Dragon' arc represents that vision applied to Marvel's martial-arts corner—territory the writer had already plumbed in Immortal Iron Fist, from which he borrowed John Aman.
Trivia · 8 facts
- Issue #6 opens 'Eyes of the Dragon, Part 1 of 5,' the second major story arc of Brubaker and Deodato's run on Secret Avengers (vol. 1).
- First appearance of the Celestial Order of the Hai-Dai, the ninja organization that serves Shang-Chi's father and functions as this arc's primary threat.
- The arc beginning in this issue formally introduces the name Zheng Zu as the true identity of Shang-Chi's father, sidestepping the lapsed Fu Manchu license (the name 'Zheng Zu' is fully revealed in Secret Avengers #8); prior to this arc, the character had appeared only under aliases or as 'Shang-Chi's father.'
- The Eyes of the Dragon—two mystical artifacts described as capable of bringing the dead back to life—make their first appearance in this issue, created by Ed Brubaker and Mike Deodato Jr.
- John Aman, the Prince of Orphans (an Immortal Weapon originally introduced in Immortal Iron Fist #8, 2007, by Brubaker, Matt Fraction, and David Aja), appears as a supporting character and field operative for Steve Rogers' team, bridging the Iron Fist mythology to the Avengers line.
- Max Fury—a self-aware Life Model Decoy of Nick Fury reprogrammed by Scorpio and later rescued by the Shadow Council—appears as an antagonist; his origin as 'Max Fury' had been established one issue earlier in Secret Avengers #5.
- The issue's creative team: writer Ed Brubaker, penciler/inker Mike Deodato Jr., colorist Rain Beredo, letterer Dave Lanphear, editors Tom Brevoort and Lauren Sankovitch.
- The entire Brubaker run on Secret Avengers, including this issue, has been collected in Secret Avengers by Ed Brubaker: The Complete Collection (ISBN 9781302912192), which collects issues #1–12.
Cast · 11 characters
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Reprints
Reprinted in Secret Avengers #2 (2011), Secret Avengers #2 (2011), Secret Avengers by Ed Brubaker: The Complete Collection #[nn] (2018)
Key issues in Secret Avengers
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