Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is the introduction of Simu Liu’s Shang-Chi to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The movie itself is a beautiful origin to the character and gives us some of the best action sequences in any Marvel movie yet, but it also sets up a future for Shang-Chi as a character, as well as the Ten Rings. So, let’s talk about those end credits scenes and what they mean for the future of the MCU and Shang-Chi!
**Spoilers for Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings lie within.**
First, we have Shang-Chi and Katy being taken by Wong to talk about sort of joining the team. Basically, the Avengers are a hot mess, and no one knows what is going on, so everyone is trying to sort through what needs to be done to protect the world, and that includes finding new heroes—like Shang-Chi, who just obtained the Ten Rings and clearly showed how powerful he is while protecting Ta-Lo.
So, including him in their new “team” just makes sense. And the person to do it should be Wong, as he’s clearly the only person with a head on his shoulders (as we saw in the trailer for Spider-Man: No Way Home). Vulture broke down what the scene told us about the future of Shang-Chi, including Carol Danvers showing up to quickly tell Wong that the Rings are not of alien creation before having to pop out (but not before Mark Ruffalo’s Bruce Banner stayed to talk with Wong in his human form again).
The first scene is all about the Ten Rings (as rings, not the organization) and how they’ll play into the MCU. Having Bruce Banner (again, in human form, not Professor Hulk, thank god) and Carol Danvers there clearly showed me, at least, that the idea is to bring Shang-Chi, the Rings, and seemingly Katy to the team.
Now, the second end credit scene is also about the Ten Rings, but this time, it’s the organization. There are the physical rings, which Wenwu (Tony Leung) had used prior, but he also used the Ten Rings for his organization of the same name, and with Wenwu gone, someone had to take over. That went to Xialing (Meng’ er Zhang).
Throughout the movie, Xialing talked about having to train herself because her father refused to train her because she was a woman. She drew from her own strength and made a name for herself outside of what Wenwu created, and so the last we see of Xialing, she’s training both men and women for the Ten Rings with the title card that “the Ten Rings will return.” As long as it means I get more of Xialing being an absolute badass, I’m here for it.
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings set up a lot for the future of Shang-Chi in the MCU, and I can’t wait to see everyone back again! Especially Xialing, who deserves her own show, movie, absolutely anything!!!!
(image: Marvel Entertainment)
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