It looks like Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is making major changes to its titular hero — and the titular Ten Rings. The Shang-Chi trailer that debuted on April 19, 2021, offers the first significant look at the upcoming MCU movie. Starring Simu Liu as a kung fu master, Shang-Chi adapts the character from the Marvel comics but updates it to fix some of the more troubling aspects of the source material.
Shang-Chi was first introduced in the 1970s as a strategy to capitalize on the martial arts craze at the time. Initially, Marvel attempted to adapt the popular TV show Kung Fu, but when they were unable to acquire the rights, they instead obtained the license to the pulp villain Dr. Fu Manchu. In these earlier comics, Shang-Chi is Fu Manchu's son from China, but turns away from his evil father's ways.
The MCU made the wise decision to replace Fu Manchu with the Mandarin in Shang-Chi; Fu Manchu is rooted in the 1910s novels by Saxon Rohmer, and as a result, the character is inextricably tied to deeply racist ideas about East-Asian cultures. The movie's title nods to the Mandarin's key weapon in the comics, the Makluan Rings; however, the Shang-Chi trailer hints that these ancient artifacts are being changed from rings to arm bands — and may even be used for Hung Gar kung fu.
In the Shang-Chi trailer, the Mandarin is shown to be a criminal boss named Wenwu. In a key shot, the Ten Rings criminal organization logo (introduced in Iron Man) is shown behind him. While this suggests that the movie's title is a reference to the criminal organization, fans of the comics will likely be looking for the actual Makluan Rings. Although the Mandarin is not shown wielding them in the trailer, there is another shot — in what appears to be a flashback scene — of a mysterious figure wearing at least four glowing arm bands. These larger rings, worn in the style of the iron rings used for martial arts styles like Hung Gar and Yau Kung Mon, could very well be the MCU's version of the Ten Rings.
Shang-Chi changing the Mandarin to have arm rings like those used in martial arts is a smart way to update the character for live-action. In the comics, the Mandarin is a genius scientist and martial artist who uses his alien technology (ten cylinders that he wears on his fingers) for a number of different applications. For example, one ring has the ability to manipulate the air, another can essentially shoot fire, etc. Having the rings instead be similar to an existing training tool would be a fun way to incorporate real-world martial arts techniques into the movie's fight choreography. The arm rings have even been used as weapons in kung fu movies — most notably, Hung Gar master Chiu Chi Ling wore iron rings for his fight sequence in Kung Fu Hustle. The fact that the Shang-Chi trailer even has a Kung Fu Hustle Easter egg only further suggests that the blue arm bands are the MCU's Hung-Gar-inspired take on the Ten Rings.
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