Crippled Avengers

Crippled Avengers (; alternately titled Avengers Handicapped) is a 1978 Shaw Brothers kung fu film directed by Chang Cheh and starring four members of the Venom Mob. It was released in North America as Mortal Combat and The Return of the 5 Deadly Venoms. The film follows four martial artists on their journey to seek justice against a tyrannical martial arts master Dao Tian-du (Chen Kuan-tai) and his son Dao Chang (Lu Feng). Plot Dao Tian-du (Chen Kuan-tai), styled the Black Tiger, is renowned for his skill in tiger-style kung fu but has also accrued a rather poor reputation for his tyranny and cruelty to the extent the local populace are terrified to speak out against him. When he is absent one day, his estate is attacked by members of an enemy clan, the Tian Nan Tiger sect, who take out their hatred on his wife and young son, Dao Chang. Tian-du returns to find his wife dead with her legs cut off and Chang with both arms dismembered. Although he murders the assailants, the incident only fuels his cruelty. He later has prosthetic arms fitted for Chang and for the next several years, trains and passes his techniques to him. Years later, he kidnaps the sons of the Tian Nan Tiger fighters, promising their freedom if they can best the now adult Chang (Lu Feng) in a fight. Chang easily overpowers them but deliberately breaks their limbs while his father holds a feast later in celebration. While at a local inn with their keeper Wan (Johnny Wang) Tian-du catches two men laughing at Chang's hands and has Wan viciously beat them. This is witnessed by the local blacksmith, Wei Jia-jie (Lo Mang), who is unafraid to speak out against Tian-du's behavior and is praised by a travelling salesman, Chen Shuen (Philip Kwok), watching nearby. In retaliation, Chang blinds Chen and Wei is forced to drink a liquid that renders him mute. When he remains defiant, Tian-du beats him until he is left deaf. When a young man named Hu Ah-kue (Sun Chien) accidentally bumps into Chang, Tian-du has his men cut off his legs as punishment. Both Chen and Hu seek shelter at Wei's smithy where Wei promises to help look after them. Wan however, learns of this and threatens the townspeople from buying anything at his forge, effectively severing his income. Later, Chen and Hu are saved by a swordsman named Wang Yi (Chiang Sheng) when they are harassed by vandals. Upon learning the truth behind the men's injuries, Wang goes to the Dao estate seeking justice.