Bullet Points: Crippled Avengers
My journey down the Shaw Brothers rabbit hole has been a case of good news and bad news every time.
The bad news is, I missed out on these Kung Fu classics growing up and it is something I certainly regret. The good news is, I have had the euphoria of experiencing these King Fu classics for the first time and that is honestly a feeling that can’t be beat.
2023 has been the year of the Venoms for me so it felt fitting to wrap up 2023 with a look back at 1978’s Crippled Avengers…
- You Will Be Visited by Three Tigers: The movie opens at the home of Master Du… but Master Du is not there to receive his three uninvited guests in the form of the Tian Nan Tigers. The Tigers decide to leave Master Du a message and it is obvious they have a serious bone to pick with Master Du, because that message is cutting off the legs of Du’s wife and the arms (from the elbow) down of Du’s young son, Dao Chang. Master Du (Chen Kuan-Tai, Heroes Two) and his bodyguard Wan (Johnny Wang, Mercenaries from Hong Kong) show up moments after the carnage to find Du’s wife dead and a son, who remained strong and shed no tears… it is then and there Master Du promises his son, once he has healed he will get him iron hands.
- Promises, Promises: After a time jump, we see a grown up Dao Chang (Lu Feng, The Magnificent Ruffians) with the iron hands that his father promised him… and these aren’t just any iron hands, the fingers can shoot darts and they even have extender action! I am not sure how well these iron hands serve Dao Chang in every day life, but in a fight they are damn sure effective. And we get to see how effective when Master Du rounds up the sons of the Tian Nan Tigers, all who have become martial arts masters in their own right. If any of the Tian Nan Tiger descendants can defeat Dao Chang they are free to go and they will not be bothered anymore (I should point out that Master Du already killed their fathers to avenge the death of his wife). To be fair, Master Du has ordered that Dao Chang only cripple the sons and not kill them. This was obvious the first sign that Master Du and Dao Chang were taking this grudge too far.
- Unwelcome Wagon: We soon see how the tragedy of his son losing his arms changed Master Du and Dao Chang for the worse… because not only are the father and son vindictive to those who directly caused the tragedy, they are now vindictive to everyone… When Chen Suen (Phillip Kwok, The Kid with the Golden Arm) passes through town and decides to stop for a meal, he witnesses first hand how everyone in the village that Du and Dao Chang call home, cower in their presence… well, everyone except Wei the Blacksmith (Lo Meng, Chinatown Kid). Wei shows up at the restaurant and immediately starts trash talking Du and Dao Chang. When Chen Suen interjects his thoughts, Dao Chang interjects his iron fingers into Chen Suen’s eyes blinding him! Later… Master Du invites Wei to drink with him, and it is there Master Du’s bodyguard Wan forces Wei to drink wine that contains a potion that will make Wei a mute for life and if that’s not bad enough, Master Du then boxes in Wei’s ears making him deaf too!!
- But Wait There’s More: One could argue that Wei and Chen Suen brought their conditions unto themselves by blatantly disrespecting the power players in town. But what about poor Hu Ah-Kue, he just accidentally bumps into Dao Chang on the street and gets his legs chopped off!! …Last but not least is Wang Yi (Chiang Sheng, ), he comes into town needing some blacksmith work done and that’s where he finds Chen Suen, Wei and Hu and when he hears about what happened to them, he promises to avenge the trio and he marches right into stately Du manor and ends up with a vice on his head and comes out a simple minded idiot!
- Take Me Home: Wei, Chen and Hu feel obligated to help Wang Yi and find a letter on his person addressed to Wang’s master, so they take Wang there and this would become a real turning point in the movie and in their lives. Master Li Jing Ying is grateful for the trip bringing back Wang Yi, who despite his childlike mentality, still retained his Kung Fu fighting skills… Master Li Jing Ying offers to train Wei, Chen and Hu to become skilled fighters themselves, tailoring his training for each to develop skills that will compensate for the physical challenges brought on to them by Master Du and Dao Chang. Ying even has iron legs made for Hu, which prove to be a difference maker later in the film. This portion of the movie is like an elongated training montage and I am all for it. After three years, the men feel whole again and they are ready to become Crippled Avengers and I am not sure I ever wanted to see anyone get his comeuppance as much as I did Master Du.
There are plenty more Venom Mob movies for me to experience, but Crippled Avengers has taken the top spot among the handful of Venom Mob movies I have already seen. There’s no way you can’t feel for the heroes of the movie and be inspired by their amazing comeback story. There’s also no way you can’t wish the worst upon Master Du and son… tragedy made them pure evil and an evil that needed to be stopped. Crippled Avengers tells a great story, and is executed to perfection by the Shaw Brothers machine.
For all you Venom Mobsters out there, let me know what Venoms movie I should check out next in the comments. And for all you Bonus Bullet Pointers, keep on reading…
- Bastard Check: I counted two “bastards” uttered in Crippled Avengers.
- Employee of the Month: I have to give it to Wan (or Keeper Wan as he is also known). Wan is tremendously loyal to Master Du… part of that has to be out of fear of disappointing his boss and what his boss would do to him if he did. But when Chen and Wei make their way back to town, Wan busts his ass to try to nip it in the bud before he even has to bother Master Du with it.
- AKA: Crippled Avengers is also known as Avengers Handicapped.
