“Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” will hit nationwide theaters on September 3, 2021. And this movie is part of Marvel Cinematic Universe’s (MCU) Phase 4 and is the 25th movie that is based on superhero characters from Marvel Comics.
But come to think of it, what do we really know about Shang-Chi? Is he as popular as other Marvel characters like Iron Man and Captain America? And what makes him unique from other superheroes in the Marvel lineup?
Get to know more information about the first Asian superhero as tackle this topic about superhero trivia: the things you need to know about Shang-Chi and his new movie in today’s post.
1. He Is Fu Manchu’s Son
Although Shang-Chi’s father in the movie is the Mandarin, who was previously hinted in “Iron Man 3” and is a well-known villain of Iron Man in the comics, his father is actually Fu Manchu who is one of the earliest villains in Marvel Comics.
Fu Machu is a sorcerer who trained Shang-Chi from childhood to be a killer. Later on, when Shang-Chi was sent to England to assassinate someone, he discovered his father’s evil ways and vowed to do good from then on.
2. His Character Inspiration Is A Martial Arts Legend
While most people nowadays picture Simu Liu as the cinematic image of this Asian-American superhero, the visual appearance of the original comic book character drawn by Paul Gulacy was based on a martial arts icon himself, Bruce Lee.
One explanation for this is that Shang-Chi was conceived in the 1970s, about the same time as Bruce Lee’s popularity was at its peak. So it would make sense to pattern this superhero from an actor who would later become a historical figure in the world of cinema and martial arts.
3. The Comic Book Version Of The 10 Rings
As shown in the trailers, the 10 rings are being depicted as armbands, but in the comics it was actually finger rings. In fact, this was also hinted in the third Iron Man movie when Ben Kingsley’s character, Trevor Slattery (a.k.a. the fake Mandarin) was seen wearing rings on each of his fingers. Though, there may be a basis for this change after all since Shang-Chi was known to wear special braces that can deflect bullets like what Wonder Woman is wearing.
4. His Allies Are Members Of MI-6
Will Shang-Chi and James Bond likely meet at some point? Not really But the reason why we’re asking this question is that Shang-Chi actually has allies who are members of MI-6. And they all joined forces against his father, when it was revealed that he was still alive after being presumed dead.
5. His Movie Version Is Bound To Cross Paths With Other Big Names In The MCU In The Future
Lastly, Marvel’s choice of integrating Shang-Chi into the MCU did not happen by accident. Of course, everyone might think that Marvel could have gone another way and chose other more popular characters instead of him. But it’s actually the right choice considering Shang-Chi has helped Spider Man, the X-Men, Avengers, Ant-Man, and even Daredevil in the comics. So this gives the MCU a lot of interesting plot points to venture into when it comes to combining different superheroes in their future movies.
Check out this post from the Big Quiz Thing if you want more superhero trivia.