After more than a decade of its inception, the Marvel Cinematic Universe is all set to introduce its first Asian superhero to the world. Actor Simu Liu suited up in the first trailer for Shang-Chi and the Legend of Ten Rings earlier this month, bringing the Chinese-born hero to life. But, the inclusion of the Ten Rings, a terrorist organization on a mission to destroy peace, has left some Marvel fans confused about the timeline of events.
It seems obvious that Shang-Chi, master of kung-fu, will be going up against the Ten Rings, and possibly the real leader known as the Mandarin, but the organization has already been wreaking havoc in the MCU for more than 10 years, after first abducting Tony Stark in 2008’s Iron Man. This could mean that Marvel’s latest film could be reaching all the way back in MCU history and connecting Shang-Chi and the Legend of Ten Rings to the inception of the universe.
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Despite releasing the official trailer for the film, Marvel has kept most of the details surrounding the film under wraps, including when the film will be set in the MCU timeline. Fans got to see Shang-Chi returning to reunite with Wenwu and the Ten Rings in the trailer, but it is unclear whether the events will take place before the organizations’ fateful meeting with Iron Man. It all begins when Stark’s convoy is ambushed by the Ten Rings’ members in Afghanistan in the film that launched the MCU. They offer to spare his life if he agrees to build a missile for them. However, after spending weeks in captivity, fans will remember that Stark escapes, only to create the Iron Man armor and attack several of the organizations’ camps, killing many of their members and destroying their weapons.
Since Iron Man, the Ten Rings organization has been mentioned in various MCU projects, including the Iron Man sequel films, Ant-Man, the Daredevil series that premiered on Netflix, and several other spin-off television series. Additionally, Iron Man 3 featured the leader of the organization, who ends up being the fake Mandarin - an actor hired to portray the villainous leader. The movie implied that the Ten Rings had returned and were out to assist the Mandarin take over the USA. While the movie might not have introduced the real Mandarin into the MCU, it seems like Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is ready to take on that responsibility.
Fans of the comic books will know that the reference to the ten rings isn’t just about the terrorist organization, but is also a comment on the ten powerful rings that the Mandarin wears and controls in the comics, which were mentioned in Iron Man 3, too. Making his comics debut in 1964, the Mandarin was shown to study science and combat in detail, only to later find ten rings from the crashed ship of a dead alien. Each ring apparently held the soul of a legendary cosmic warrior, granting its bearer unique abilities. Over the years, he goes up against Iron Man several times, using the rings to his advantage. Also, he has a giant pet dragon, named Fin Fang Foom, and from the looks of it, Shang-Chi’s father Wenwu in the film is being set up to be the real Mandarin.
The trailer of the film displays a different form of these ten rings. They appear to be larger than their comics counterpart, and Wenwu is seen wearing them on his arms. The rings seem to have a blue glow around them, which is a clear indication of them possessing power. He is also shown training his son, Shang-Chi, to be a strong fighter and after allowing him to live a simple life for a decade, he expects him to return to the Ten Rings. Seeing the father-son duo go up against each other should be the highlight of this film.
However, what is interesting to note are the several common factors between Shang-Chi and the Iron Man films, which could be the perfect recipe for a crossover. Imagine a scenario where actor Tony Leung’s Wenwu, aka the real Mandarin, goes up against Robert Downey Jr.’s Iron Man. Of course, that wouldn’t be possible in the current timeline of the MCU, with Stark dying at the end of Avengers: Endgame. But, the connection is still something that cannot be ignored.
The MCU has occasionally jumped the chronological order in its timeline. While most films follow a linear timeline, following a general rule where the time is set based on the year the film is released, the Blip set things off. When Thanos used the gauntlet and Infinity Stones to turn half of the universe to dust in 2018’s Avengers: Infinity War, it wasn’t until five years later that the Avengers succeeded at bringing everyone back in 2019’s Avengers: Endgame. Suddenly, the year in the MCU was 2023, and it has been confirmed that Spider-Man: Far From Home will be set in 2024.
However, some of the MCU films have also defied the timeline, such as Captain Marvel, which released in 2019 but was set in the 90s. So, there is no guarantee that Shang-Chi will be following the new calendar. It could possibly be set in a time before Iron Man, potentially breaking the timeline, or even find a way to be set in the current times but still connect to the original MCU film, offering fans a glimpse into the universe’s history. However, the upcoming Marvel movie plays out, the Mandarin is definitely one villain that fans are truly excited about. Whether the film will in any way connect to the MCU’s history remains to be seen, but it is likely to introduce a villain that deserves to shine.
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings releases in theaters on September 3, 2021.
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