Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings will center on the Mandarin and his titular rings — here's a breakdown of their respective powers, as revealed by the movie and comics. The iconic villain has been teased as long as the MCU has been around. His infamous group, The Ten Rings, was responsible for Tony Stark's abduction in 2008's Iron Man. The group has since recurred, often in the shadows. They facilitated attempts on Tony Stark's life in the direct sequel and an agent of the group was present in 2015's Ant-Man.
For Iron Man 3, it seemed as though the Mandarin himself would finally appear. Surprisingly, a twist revealed that an actor named Trevor Slattery (Ben Kingsley) was merely posing as the Mandarin. The move proved divisive, with the idea of Aldrich Killian (Guy Pearce) declaring himself "the real Mandarin" being controversial in itself. In the wake of these narrative choices, the MCU course-corrected by revealing in a one-shot that the Mandarin actually did exist. And, furthermore, was equally annoyed at his name being besmirched.
Fortunately, following the official announcement, it was confirmed that Shang-Chi would further fix the Iron Man 3 twist. As well as casting Simu Liu in the titular role, Awkwafina as Katy, and Meng'er Zhang as Xialing, Tony Leung was announced as playing Wenwu (a.k.a. the Mandarin) and, rightfully replacing the problematic Fu Manchu as Shang-Chi's father, he's expected to be the film's primary antagonist. Fans have now seen Leung in action courtesy of two official trailers for Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. Newly reimagined to be more like Kung-Fu Hustle-style arm bracelets than traditional rings, the titular adornments were also present. The immense power they afford their wearers was teased in the released footage. Here's a breakdown of each ability the Shang-Chi movie trailer depicted, what the comics reveal about the rings' potential history, and other powers yet to be unveiled.
Apart from an infamous terrorist organization, the Ten Rings referred to the objects worn by the Mandarin — and from which he has drawn considerable power. The titular garments first appeared alongside the Mandarin in 1964's Tale of Suspense #50. Created by Stan Lee and Don Heck, they are revealed to be technology from an alien race named Makluans. Often described as "Space Dragons," they hailed from the planet Kakaranthara. Growing tired of their planet's tranquility, several soon sought out other worlds to explore.
One such explorer, Axonn-Karr, ultimately made it to Earth. Landing in China's Valley of Spirits, he was mortally wounded by the understandably fearful natives. Soon after, Axonn-Karr, his rings, and his ship were discovered by the Mandarin. With each ring containing the soul of a legendary cosmic warrior, he was immediately seduced by the considerable power contained within. As a result, the Mandarin completed Axonn-Karr's journey to the grave and claimed them for his own. The Mandarin took to wearing one on each finger, and rapidly trained himself in their respective powers of each individual ring.
It has been impossible to determine whether this particular backstory will remain canon within the MCU. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, after all, has seemed committed to introducing new corners of the shared continuity. As such, the movie may eschew the alien elements that have previously been prevalent. Instead, the legacy of the infamous rings could skew more mystical — powered by the Mandarin's own chi or the kinds of energies that such characters as Doctor Strange tap into. Then again, the movie could further lean into such elements and potentially even tie into Eternals. With that team similarly arriving on Earth from space during ancient times, the Mandarin could have somehow acquired them from that titular race. That would allow the movie to adapt the material in both new and familiar ways. Whatever the case, the objects will still afford their owner a whole range of different abilities.
The plot of Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings has remained more or less under wraps. Regardless, several of the titular objects' abilities have been teased in the official trailers for the movie. Firstly, they were established as being able to function as projectiles and still do the Mandarin's bidding when away from him. That could lend itself to them, like the comics, having a quarantined A.I. that serves the official wielder. Then again, the connection could equally be retconned to be mystical, or even akin to Thor and his hammer, Mjölnir, emphasized by the rings returning almost sentiently to the Mandarin's arm.
They can also be seen imbuing the Mandarin with enhanced strength, demonstrated when he obliterated a table with a punch. They also allowed the iconic villain to fire off concussive energy blasts. In the second trailer for Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, the Mandarin was depicted firing off a number of these across multiple points in his long life. Glowing blue, they had the effect of knocking enemies back and down. In one scene, the Mandarin also fired off a blast with a more purple-ish hue. Given that the moment coincided with Shang-Chi calling his father a murderer, the rings' could also have more devastating effects. Though the results were left unseen, there's precedent for it being complete disintegration or something else equally horrific — explaining why young Shang-Chi flinched.
His aforementioned long life will no doubt also be a product of the rings. The Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings trailer footage alone wasn't enough to determine how that function works. Still, based equally on established precedent, it could be that he's able to reorganize his atoms to restore his body to a youthful state as he wishes. Then again, he may just be constantly regenerating or simply able to slow down the aging process itself. Whatever the case, he's sure to give even the Eternals a run for their money. As if all of that wasn't enough, another scene showed him seemingly able to control the elements — with Shang-Chi, Katy, and Xialing watching on as he controlled a wave of water and made it float through the air. Finally, between calling back the rings and firing at Shang-Chi, the day appeared to shift from light to dark, which could be a sign of another Mandarin power from the comics.
With the benefit of decades' worth of material, the power of the rings has been more specifically defined in the comics. Given names and even nicknames, each comes with a unique power befitting the soul trapped within. Here's a full list of each ring, what they were called, and, more importantly, what they allowed the Mandarin to do:
- The first was known as the Matter-Rearranger Ring (a.k.a. Remaker). Worn on the Mandarin's right thumb, it enabled him to manipulate matter on an atomic level. This ring was used in a range of ways, from altering his own appearance and clothing to poisoning or even solidifying the air around his enemies.
- The second, worn on the right index finger, was named the Impact Beam Ring (a.k.a. Influence). As glimpsed in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, it was used to attack and propel enemies with a concussive blast. It could also be used to produce a beam that was more sonic in nature, incapacity enemies with high-intensity sound.
- Next was the Vortex Beam Ring (a.k.a. Spin). Worn on the right middle finger, it was able to manipulate the air, even whipping it up in a Tornado-like fashion. As well as forming an effective attack on enemies, this particular ring also meant the Mandarin could levitate items or even himself.
- The Disintegration Beam Ring (a.k.a. Spectral) was worn on the right ring finger. Producing a beam that destroys the bonds between atoms and molecules, this ring did exactly what it said on the label. In the comics, it was only inanimate objects that it could disintegrate. That could, however, be changed for the movie, making the Mandarin an even more considerable threat. Fortunately, the comics also gave heroes a fighting chance by giving the ring a need to recharge for 20 minutes between each use.
- The Black Light Ring (a.k.a. Nightbringer) was worn on the right ring finger. As well as conceivably being able to expose Star-Lord's ship as a Jackson Pollock-esque nightmare, it utilized Darkforce energy to conjure an area of darkness around his vicinity.
- Worn on the left thumb was its polar opposite, the White Light Ring (a.k.a. Daimonic). It allowed the Mandarin and conjure and manipulate electromagnetic energy. This resulted in several impressive functions including blinding enemies with intense light and reorganizing gravity fields in order to trap people. It also gifted him further ways of levitating items and himself, as well as the ability to manifest holographic projections and duplicates of himself.
- The Flame-Blast Ring (a.k.a. Incandescence) adorned the left index finger. Another that did exactly as described, it produced fire blasts and could otherwise ignite surrounding areas and objects via infrared.
- Glimpsed on the left ring finger, the Mento-Intensifier Ring (a.k.a. The Liar) enhanced the Mandarin's psionic energies. Not dissimilar from Sylvie (Sophia Di Martino) in Loki, this ring allowed the Mandarin to project illusions into the minds of others and otherwise affect their senses to manipulate them. This ring could also be used to render enemies in a temporarily catatonic state.
- The Electro-Blast Ring (a.k.a. Lightning) was worn on the left middle finger and produced the kind of electrical blasts to make even Thor think somebody was stealing his thunder.
- Gracing the left little finger, the Ice Blast Ring (a.k.a. Zero) rounded out the Mandarin's control of the elements. Conjuring intense cold, he could trap enemies in ice blocks or manifest ice-based weapons.
The nature of the Mandarin's abilities could emphasize why the character wouldn't have been a good fit before Phase 4. Though things have increasingly changed, the MCU started out very grounded and had to build to its more outlandish elements. That groundedness was especially true of the Iron Man trilogy, which was rooted in science and technology. Though the Mandarin's rings could fall into that category, they also blurred the lines between the cosmic and the mystical. As such, with both having become more widely prevalent, Phase 4 marked the best time for him to emerge. Whether or not all of these particular powers will be on display in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings shall remain to be seen. There's every chance some will be eschewed or otherwise swapped out for others. Whatever the case, all will be revealed conclusively in September.
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June 26, 2021 at 12:05AM
