Image via Marvel Studios
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings brought with it a brand new corner of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, a powerful new hero, a compelling new villain, and some of the best action we’ve ever seen in a Marvel movie. While Black Widow is technically the start of the MCU’s Phase 4, many will view Shang-Chi as the official start of Marvel’s newest phase because of the way it pushes events forward, as opposed to filling in gaps prior knowledge like Black Widow did.
But the action doesn’t stop with the end of the movie, as Shang-Chi dropped not one but two post-credit sequences on us—both of which have some pretty significant ramifications for Shang-Chi (Simu Liu) and the MCU writ large. As we did for Black Widow, we’re going to take a dive into each tag and suss out the details and what they may mean for the future of the MCU. Before we do, however, we’re going to issue a big SPOILER ALERT just in case.
You Can Check-Out Anytime You’d Like, But You Can Never Leave
Picking up right after Wong (Benedict Wong) comes to collect Shang-Chi and Katy (Awkwafina), the first tag focuses on the trio as they analyze the ten rings themselves in what appears to be Doctor Strange’s New York Sanctum. After some scrutiny from Wong, who says the rings don’t match anything in the Sanctum’s codex, he turns to a gathered (via the hologram tech from Endgame) Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo) and Carol Danvers (Brie Larson, reuniting once more with director Destin Daniel Cretton) for their hypothesis. Carol states they’re not alien in origin, while Banner can’t fully ascertain what they may be either. The best guess the assembled Avengers have is that the rings appear to be extremely old and powerful. Oh, and the rings themselves are emitting some sort of signal that’s likely a beacon for . . . something. Carol then apologies and states she has to rush off to handle a situation, and Banner departs not long after.
Between the appearance of Tim Roth’s Abomination and Banner, Shang-Chi stealthy lays some track for the upcoming She-Hulk Disney+ series. Abomination and Wong are on good terms, which makes me believe the former villain may function as more of an anti-hero moving forward than the outright villain he was in Incredible Hulk. It’s also worth mention Banner is, uh, decidedly human here. While his arm is still in a sling from the effects of the Infinity Stones—placing the events of Shang-Chi a few months after Endgame—he’s found some way to revert out of his Professor Hulk id. The whys and wherefores of Banner’s transformation and Abomination’s turn will sadly be left unanswered until She-Hulk’s debut.
The old age of the rings themselves is likely a tease towards Eternals, as the upcoming Chloé Zhao film will detail the history of an ancient group of superheroes who have protected Earth since its earliest days. In comics lore, the rings are alien relics left behind in an alien spaceship, so there’s some precedent for the movies to follow suit here. Regardless, the rings are clearly crucial to the past, present, and future of the MCU.
A Ten Rings Rebrand
While Shang-Chi is fundamentally an origin story for Shang-Chi himself, the movie also functions as a way for the MCU to continue to redefine the meaning, purpose, and function of the Ten Rings as an organization. The second post-credits scene sees Xialing (Meng’er Zhang) become the new (girl) boss of the Ten Rings as an organization, as the camera zooms through a graffiti-covered base where both male and female assassins are training side-by-side. It’s a fitting conclusion to Xialing’s arc; she’s fully stepped into the position long denied to her. While her motive for the group’s future is uncertain, it’s refreshing to see that the group isn’t going anywhere soon—especially now that Shang-Chi worked so hard to recontextualize the organization in a meaningful way. Sure, the Ten Rings technically first debuted all the way back in Iron Man, but Shang-Chi makes something old feel brand new. It’ll be exciting to see what the future holds.