Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is a very special movie coming from the MCU. It has been a long time since a solo venture from MCU has not been hinted at past. Even later heroes like Doctor Strange got referenced in earlier movies before appearing in their own solo venture. This makes the movie even more special considering fans have no idea what to expect. But this must not be taken as a consideration that the movie will not build upon the existing MCU. Here’s a look at all past MCU TV shows and movies that Shang-Chi connects with.
This post contains Spoilers for Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. You’ve been warned.
Iron Man
The first entry into the Marvel Cinematic Universe was also our first look at the Ten Rings. Tony Stark is kidnapped in Afghanistan by the Ten Rings, who are a Terrorist group. Despite obvious nods, the movie tried to distance this group from any similarity with Al-Qaeda. Stark builds his first suit under their captivity. This could in a way mean that indirectly the Ten Rings are responsible for the very initialization of the MCU.
Iron Man 3
Iron Man 3 has a major involvement in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. Wenwu first mentions how a group terrorized America under the name of Ten Rings. He feels disgusted with the way his group’s name was dragged into all that without his knowledge. The character of Mandarin or Trevor Slattery played by Ben Kingsley makes a major appearance in the movie. He is majorly responsible for the Shang-Chi and his sister and Katy were able to reach Ta Lo before Wenwu.
Black Widow
This might be one of the most interesting cameos in MCU. Jade Xu, a multiple World Wushu Champion makes a very brief appearance in Macau in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. Due to Marvel head Kevin Feige’s July Tweet, we know that she was also in Black Widow. She appeared as Helen, one of the Black Widow assassins. She was trained in Dreykov’s Red Room with Yelena Belova and Natasha Romanoff. Another interesting nodi in this movie is the presence of surgical equipment from A.I.M. A.I.M. was last seen in Iron Man 3 as its own Aldrich Killian played the Mandarin. This name was mocked by Wenwu in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings as a mockery of the legacy of Ten Rings.
Spider-Man Homecoming
As a fun cameo, one of the side characters from Spider-Man’s first MCU film had an appearance in the action-packed Bus scene from Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. This actor is Zach Cherry who had previously appeared as a “Street Vendor” in Spider-Man: Homecoming. He appears in the other film as a guy live-streaming the fight in the bus on his phone with commentary. He appears to be one of the geeks and is properly a nod to mad fans who might react in the same way as him if a superhero pops up in their bus.
The Incredible Hulk
The trailer for Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings had everyone excited with probably the weirdest cameo ever. As a complete surprise, we get to see Abomination having a fight with Wong. Abomination was last seen in The Incredible Hulk as he was defeated by Hulk. Everyone is wondering what this tease could probably mean as this came out of nowhere. The question that remains does he have a bond with Wong that was never mentioned openly and of which Banner isn’t aware.
Marvel One-Shot: All Hail the King
Marvel had released multiple of these One-Shot videos that gave us a different look at the MCU when in the absence of the bigger characters. Some dealt with the small characters and how they navigate their lives. While others showed us about the events after some movies. One of these, namely, All Hail the King dealt with Ben Kingsley’s character being interrogated by someone who represents the Ten Rings. He lets Ben Kingsley know that there will be consequences.
Doctor Strange
In a very fun connection, Wong appears multiple times in the movie. Wong who lives in the Sanctum Sanctorum with Doctor Strange was last seen in Avenger’s Endgame. So far we had seen only one side of his character. This time we get to see a very fun side of him. He appears to be singing karaoke with Shang-Chi and Katy. He is also seen at Macau where we get to see him battle out with Abomination only to find that they have an understanding. Here’s to hoping we get to see more of this bond in the upcoming MCU projects.
Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame
Avengers: Endgame was one of the most essential events in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It should come as no surprise that the movies coming after that will make a certain nod to the events that unfolded there. One of Katy’s friends references the events of the blip to convey that there is a lesser chance something like that might happen again.
The Falcon And The Winter Soldier
The post-credits scene of Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings perfectly set up the future of the Ten Rings. But the question is where they might make their next appearance. Iron Patriot had a close encounter with the fake Ten Rings. The original Ten Rings might appear in Armor Wars as a friend or foe to Rhodey. Or as seen in the Disney Plus show The Falcon and The Winter Soldier, Valentina Allegra de Fontaine as played by Julia Louis-Dreyfus was forming her own team. She might hold the way for Xialing to redeem herself.
So these were all TV shows and movies that Shang-Chi connects with. Did you catch any more of these connections? Let us know.
Follow us on Facebook, Instagram & Twitter for more content.
