[The Shadow 182] • The Golden Master

THE GOLDEN MASTER was published in the September 15, 1939 issue of The Shadow Magazine. The Shadow's ultimate foe, the powerful Shiwan Khan, makes his first appearance in this story. The Golden Master is a direct descendant of Genghis Khan, and like his formidable ancestor, Shiwan Khan is bent upon world domination. Only one power on earth has a chance of thwarting his evil plans - The Shadow! Yes, this is where it all started. But not where it would end. No, there would be three more pulp stories featuring Shiwan Khan before the mighty warlord met a most gristly fate. For those wanting to read all four novels in their proper order, they are: 09/15/39 The Golden Master 12/01/39 Shiwan Khan Returns 03/01/40 The Invincible Shiwan Khan 05/15/40 Masters Of Death We are introduced to Shiwan Khan by way of this story's proxy hero, young Paul Brent. Brent works for Globe Aircraft as a technical expert and has just returned to Manhattan from South America. Outside his hotel window is a strange electric sign. As he watches it, he is fascinated by the whirling lights that spin and dance. Gradually, he is lulled into a deep trance and hears the voice of Shiwan Khan. Paul Brent is under the hypnotic control of a master whose power is unshakable. Brent becomes a mental zombie who does whatever Shiwan Khan desires. He makes changes to aircraft order forms. These changes allow a large shipment of military planes to be sold and shipped overseas. All for the use of Shiwan Khan. Shiwan Khan is in the US to obtain military planes and ammunition for his campaign for world domination. Paul Brent is just one of many who have fallen under the spell of the evil Shiwan Khan. There are others, as well, each doing his unwilling part to further the sinister schemes of the Oriental master who plans to conquer the globe. Some are in charge of the ammunition sales. Others take care of the shipping concerns. And yet others are involved in raising money to fund the diabolical plans of Shiwan Khan. All of this is taking place without the knowledge of The Shadow. But luckily our black-clad crime fighter stumbles upon a murder that has been committed by one of Shiwan Khan's minions. The crime was intended to implicate Paul Brent, now that Shiwan Khan no longer needs him. But The Shadow's timely intervention thwarts that portion of Shiwan Khan's game. The story follows The Shadow as he assists Paul Brent and gradually follows the threads that lead toward the master plotter, Shiwan Khan. It's a formidable process that Shiwan Khan's mental powers made even more difficult. Only the power of The Shadow is a possible match for the unbelievable strength of Shiwan Khan. It's not until near the very end of the story that the two superfoes actually meet. In chapter nineteen, The Shadow finally comes face to face with Shiwan Khan. The final few chapters are an amazing race as The Shadow tracks down Shiwan Khan and finally defeats him in an explosion that rocks the harbor. Shiwan Khan goes to a watery death... or does he? That's what readers were asking, at the time. But thanks to our historical perspective, we know that Shiwan Khan returned again, and again and again. But it makes this story no less thrilling. So, exactly who is Shiwan Khan, anyway? What's his background? Where did he come from? How did he acquire such mental powers that he could overcome The Shadow? This first pulp novel in the four-story series answers those questions very satisfactorily. Shiwan Khan is the direct descendant of Genghis Khan, the ancient conqueror who nearly ruled all the world. He is powerful, both in terms of wealth (he holds the fantastic treasures of Kubla Khan) and in terms of mystical mental abilities (he trained with the lamas of Tibet). He lives in a far corner of China, in the hidden underground city of Xanadu, originally built by Kubla Khan. A kingdom where the sacred River Alph runs through measureless caverns, into a sea where the sun never shines, beneath the barren reaches of Sinkiang, between Mongolia and Tibet. We are told that Shiwan Khan had not always dreamed of power. As a youth, he had been meditative, studious, while he dwelt in the wilds of Sinkiang. He had considered which way his future lay: whether in Tibet to the south where the mind rules supreme, or Mongolia to the north where brute force rules all. He had chosen Tibet. Reaching the forbidden city of Lhasa, he had studied under the lamas, learned their mystic ways. He had gained an amazing mental power, similar to that learned by a young Shadow, which his teachers had informed him he should use to accomplish good. Thus gifted, Shiwan Khan had set out for Mongolia. In that land where brawn and cruelty reigned, Shiwan Khan had experienced his ancestral urge for power. His mental mastery over the Mongolians had caused him to foresee the rise of another Kha Khan, or Great Ruler - himself. He had gone back to his birthplace, Sinkiang, the dividing land that suited his complex nature. There, he had used his powers to gain wealth and position. And what of these powers? He controls the power of near-invisibility. This is a power of which The Shadow is aware. But we don't see The Shadow demonstrate it. Perhaps he has not yet mastered it. Could it be that is the reason he prefers to achieve his near-invisibility by using the magician's trick of dressing in black, so as to blend into the darkness? Shiwan Khan has not only mastered this power, he uses it as well. As he explains it: "The human form that remains motionless is seldom seen. When the brain behind that form can suspend its action of thought, it gives off no impressions. That accomplished, the bodily form is never seen."Shiwan Khan also controls the telepathic ability to mentally influence others. The Shadow never possessed this power, in the pulp stories. The radio version of The Shadow could control others' actions with his mind, at least during the first 1937 season. After that, the radio character's hypnotic ability was limited to clouding their minds, so as to render himself invisible. In the pulp stories, only Shiwan Khan possessed such powers. Among the various people who fall under the mental control of Shiwan Khan is beautiful young Beatrice Chadbury. Shiwan Khan convinces her that she is a Chinese maiden named Lana Luan, and it is as such that she meets Paul Brent. Even though she's in a trance, Paul is immediately smitten. And that brings in a minor romantic sub-plot. So we are not only rooting for The Shadow to bring destruction to Shiwan Khan, but we are also hoping the two lovebirds will get together by story's end. The Shadow lacks the power to control the actions of others. In fact, he can't even communicate with them mentally. Shiwan Khan, however, is constantly in touch with his minions by way of thought transference. This power is also beyond that of The Shadow. We are told: "The Shadow, however great his prowess, had not yet acquired the skill to project thoughts, with his agents as receivers." All this makes Shiwan Khan a most formidable adversary. As for familiar characters, just about everyone is present in this pulp adventure. The whole gang shows up. Dr. Rupert Sayre. Dr. Roy Tam. Commissioner Weston and Inspector Cardona. Burbank. Rutledge Mann. Cliff Marsland. Clyde Burke. Hawkeye. Moe Shrevnitz. Harry Vincent. It's a virtual cornucopia of characters familiar to all Shadow fans. About the only one missing is Myra Reldon. Myra Reldon doesn't show up, and she seems to be a natural in her Ming Dwan disguise. But she isn't necessary, since Beatrice Chadbury, alias Lana Luan, fills her role, this time out. Myra Reldon would, however, get a major role in the third novel in the series, "The Invincible Shiwan Khan." There are a few things in this tale that deserve special mention. Just as The Shadow has his own sanctum, so does Shiwan Khan have a special headquarters. Whereas The Shadow's hidden lair is all black, Shiwan Khan's is all gold. The walls of his sanctuary are hung with a dull gold cloth, the same color of the ornate robes that Shiwan Khan wears. And the room contains a chair of gold, a small throne for the master mentalist. Shiwan Khan's secret headquarters also contains some interesting scientific apparatus. The supervillain uses modern technology combined with the telepathy he learned in Tibet. He uses moving, colored lights to attract the attention of his subjects and put them into a receptive mood for his mental control. They could be the moving lights on an electrical sign, on a console radio, etc. But they are all controlled from Shiwan Khan's own sanctum. Also of interest, we get a more detailed look at that strange office where Rutledge Mann often delivers reports to The Shadow. It's on the second floor of an old office building on Twenty-third Street. Usually, all we are told of this office is that it is unoccupied and the name "B. Jonas" is stenciled on the glass. In this story, we actually get to go inside. It's always been a mystery as to how The Shadow receives his agents' reports, since the door is cobwebbed and no one is ever seen to enter or leave. This story, though, describes a closet in that abandoned office: "There was an opening at the rear of the closet, where a specially constructed panel formed The Shadow's usual route to and from the dingy office, instead of the cobwebbed door."And we are also told that The Shadow keeps an extra set of black cloak and slouch hat in the closet. In that way, if anyone should penetrate to the interior of the office, they would mistakenly think that they had found The Shadow's actual headquarters, instead of a mere way-station. It was just one more way to keep the true location of his sanctum hidden. One of the coolest scenes in the story is where long-time agent Harry Vincent accidentally stares at the flashing lights of the Green Pagoda sign just a bit too long, and falls under the hypnotic spell of Shiwan Khan. Poor Harry becomes a slave to the will of the golden master. He travels into the Green Pagoda restaurant, down beneath the Buddha statue to the passageways below, and finally to Shiwan Khan's actual presence. There he is given instructions to kill his master. While under Shiwan Khan's control, Harry Vincent travels to the "B. Jonas" office to meet his chief, and shoots him dead! I won't spoil the resolution to that cliffhanger, but needless to say, it's a pip! The 1994 theatrical motion picture "The Shadow" was based on the four Shiwan Khan novels. As you read this story, you'll recognize bits and pieces that made it into the movie. The background of Shiwan Khan is taken from this first story. And one scene in particular resonated with me. A many-colored sign advertising a brand of cigarettes, catches the attention of a gray-haired man who is pacing the veranda of a nearby penthouse. He falls under the mental control of Shiwan Khan as he watches that cigarette sign. In the movie, the gray-haired man was the father of Margo Lane. And Margo herself also fell under the influence of Shiwan Khan, due to the strange sign board. Margo Lane, it should be pointed out, never appeared in any of the four Shiwan Khan pulp stories. She didn't appear in any Shadow stories until a year or so after the final Shiwan Khan pulp novel was published. Most Shadow fans consider the four Shiwan Khan novels to be the very best of the entire eighteen-year run of The Shadow Magazine. And for good reason. It's a very well crafted story. Everything carries its own logic with no flaws or hanging threads. We get to see The Shadow at his most powerful battle a foe that is even more powerful. It's a wonderful story that gets my hearty recommendation. Using his mental zombies, Shiwan Khan's goal is to rule the world! Can Ying Ko, The Shadow, balk his plans of world-wide conquest? Yes, but not without a battle that will leave you breathless. This one is a must-read!