MCU: 10 Big Questions Surrounding Phase Four

7. Where Has The Mandarin And The Ten Rings Been?

Black Widow Hawkeye Budapest
Marvel Studios

While, naturally, a lot of the focus of this movie will be on the main character, Shang-Chi, the other half of the title is the Legend of the Ten Rings. This terrorist group have actually been in the MCU from literally the very beginning.

The Ten Rings kidnapped Tony Stark all the way back in Iron Man in 2008, they appeared in Ant-Man in 2015 and the Marvel One Shot, All Hail the King, confronting the Mandarin imposter Trevor Slattery in prison. Though it may have gone under the radar, their presence has survived over the last ten plus years.

Shang-Chi Mandarin
Marvel Comics

While the real Mandarin himself has not yet been shown on screen, his existence was confirmed in All Hail The King in 2013, which begs the question, where has he been? The terrorist group, clearly for hire, have gone all this time without getting attracting the attention of any of the MCU heroes.

They have had bigger fish to fry over the years, but wouldn't Tony Stark have at least kept an eye out for them after what they did to him? After all these years of hiding, what brings the Mandarin out of the shadows in 2021?

Contributor
Contributor

This standard nerd combines the looks of Shaggy with the brains of Scooby, has an unhealthy obsession with the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and is a firm believer that Alter Bridge are the greatest band in the world.