>>41358527MOENCH: In other words, he was going to call off Steve Rogers, but not Captain America. And then a new guy, quote, like an investment banker, close quote, would be the new Captain America. He was going to kill off Peter Parker and someone else woud be Spider-Man. I said, “This is lunacy. Stan Lee would never let this happen. This is insane.” But he was doing it! He got on the phone with me and said, “Look, this is happening and it’s starting with you.” I said, “What do you mean?” He said, “Next issue of ‘Master of Kung Fu,’ I want Shang-Chi dead, and when I mean dead, I want to see his blood. I want no way that Shang-Chi would ever be able to come back.” I said, “Now why would you do that? If you don’t like ‘Master of Kung Fu,’ kill the book, don’t kill the character, because these things have a way of changing over time and in five years you might want to revive the character of the book, etc.” “No, I don’t want to kill the book, I want to kill the character. Kill Shang-Chi and make a new master of kung-fu, like a ninja.” I said, “Mr. Shooter, perhaps you’re not aware. Ninjas are Japanese, kung-fu is Chinese.”
HUSTON: (Laughs)
MOENCH: “If you want a Master of Ninja title, put out a new book called Master of Ninja! You don’t have to kill Shang-Chi.” “I want Shang-Chi killed, I want Fu Manchu killed.” I said here’s another newsflash for you: We didn’t create Fu Manchu! We’re paying a license to use Fu Manchu. Even if I wanted to kill Fu Manchu, I couldn’t do it. He’s not our character to kill. Sax Rohmer, a guy from the ’20s and ’30s …
HUSTON: I’ve got a few of his books on my shelf, man.