WARNING! Major SPOILERS ahead for Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.
The Ten Rings have been part of the MCU since its beginning, but Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings finally reveals its full origin, along with that of its founder and leader, The Mandarin. The Ten Rings were among the first antagonists in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, with one of their cells kidnapping and injuring Tony Stark before providing him with the catalyst to turn his life around and become the superhero, Iron Man. Since then, The Ten Rings have had a series of small, yet notable appearances in MCU material, but Shang-Chi is the first properly to properly depict the mysterious and deadly organization.
The Ten Rings were seemingly the villains of 2013’s Iron Man 3, but the real villains turned out to be Aldrich Killian and his corrupt think tank, AIM. Killian and AIM appropriated the iconography of The Ten Rings and had washed-up actor Trevor Slattery (Ben Kingsley) masquerade and pretend to be a warlord when he was, in fact, a fake interpretation of The Mandarin. This successfully covered up Killian’s Extremis experiments, but infuriated the actual Mandarin and caused the warlord to step out of the shadows and seek revenge. Thanks to the Marvel one-shot All Hail The King, the MCU established that the real Ten Rings were led by a man known as The Mandarin, and he was far more dangerous than the MCU had previously implied.
Shang-Chi effectively recontextualizes the terrorist group with a particular focus on their leader, The Mandarin, aka Xu Wenwu. A truly legendary figure who lives up to his seemingly exaggerated reputation, Wenwu’s humanity and complexity resulted in him being one of the MCU’s most compelling villains, especially when juxtaposed with his incredible powers and near-immortality. Although it took three phases of buildup, The Ten Rings and the true Mandarin were worth the wait, and with the Ten Rings continuing to exist by the end of Shang-Chi, the organization will continue to menace the world as they have for over a millennium.
The Ten Rings Origin: What We Know
The Ten Rings began with The Mandarin, aka Xu Wenwu. Wenwu’s exact age is unknown, but he may have discovered his signature ten bracelet-like rings before the Middle Ages. Legends say that Wenwu discovered the rings in either a tomb or a crater, but in any case, they extended his lifespan, allowing him to remain in his physical and mental prime well into the 21st century. The powerful Ten Rings also provided him with fantastic physical powers, allowing him to annihilate armies of his enemies single-handedly. Wenwu’s intelligence and wisdom, augmented by his longevity, soon inspired followers with undying loyalty to their leader.
The Ten Rings quickly grew in size and influence, gaining followers across the world for entire generations. From the shadows, The Ten Rings killed, stole, and manipulated as needed to influence world history. Jackson Norriss, the Ten Rings member who kidnapped Trevor Slattery, acknowledged the scope of the organization, referring to it as a faith. The description is fitting, considering the criminal empire’s sheer age and influence, not to mention its seemingly immortal leader, with even SHIELD and The Avengers unaware of its full breadth. . The Mandarin briefly took a break from leading his criminal empire upon meeting Ying Li and starting a family with her. Her tragic death, however, sends Wenwu back into the life of a warlord, and thus The Ten Rings’ sinister machinations resumed.
Ten Rings History In MCU Timeline
The Ten Rings’ first appearance in the MCU was in 2008’s Iron Man, in which an Afghanistan-based Ten Rings cell kidnapped Tony Stark. Upon building his Mark I Iron Man suit, Tony fought his way through their forces and escaped captivity. This cell’s forces were defeated once again by Iron Man, now in his advanced Mark III suit. Stark thwarted their attempts to use his stolen weaponry and rescued numerous civilians in the process. The cell was later betrayed by Obadiah Stane, who had their leader, Raza, and the rest of the cell’s operatives executed. After Iron Man, The Ten Rings had numerous minor appearances in MCU properties.
In Iron Man 2, Ivan Vanko is able to receive fake documents from a Ten Rings operative, thus allowing him to travel to Monaco and fulfil his ambition of killing Tony Stark. The fact that the Ten Rings was keen on killing Tony Stark is nothing new, however. The Ten Rings also appear in an Iron Man 2 prequel comic, along with similar promotional one-shot comics for The Avengers and Iron Man 3, where Ten Rings operatives are defeated by Black Widow and the recast War Machine, respectively. Vladimir Ranskahov, a Russian mobster featured in the well-received and critically acclaimed Marvel’s Daredevil season 1, is affiliated with The Ten Rings, as evidenced by their symbol tattooed on his arm. Similarly, a member of the Ten Rings shadowy organization is responsible for accompanying Mitchell Carson and his Hydra enforcers in 2015’s Ant-Man, before they are swiftly and soundly defeated by Scott Lang.
The Ten Rings and The Mandarin are the main antagonists of Shang-Chi, finally putting the organization at the forefront of an MCU property without any twists or turns such as those seen in Iron Man 3. In addition to revealing the leader and origins, Shang-Chi shows the Ten Rings’ most elite members, such as Razor Fist, Death Dealer, and Shang-Chi himself in his youth. The Mandarin perishes at the end of the film but is quickly replaced by his daughter, Xu Xialing. As the new leader of The Ten Rings, Xialing is now in charge of perhaps the MCU’s most dangerous and influential crime organization, and although Shang-Chi implies that his sister will dismantle their criminal operations, this remains to be seen in future MCU stories.
The Ten Rings Origin & History In Marvel Comics
In Marvel’s mainstream comic universe, The Mandarin and The Ten Rings have vastly different origins. The Mandarin, whose identity is unknown, discovered ten rings of alien origin, each one being worn on a different finger and granting him a different superpower. With his genius intellect and newfound superpowers, The Mandarin soon became the archnemesis of Iron Man. The Ten Rings, however, originated in the MCU but were introduced into the comics continuity in Ironheart’s comics, which starred Riri Williams, a new Marvel hero with similar armored suits to Tony Stark’s. The Ten Rings of Marvel’s comic universe are not affiliated with the classic version of The Mandarin. Given the popularity of the MCU’s Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, however, the two may be connected someday.
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