In the latest trailer for Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, fans were stunned to see the likes of the Abomination and Dr. Strange’s assistant, Wong, making cameos. However, there’s also another brief but jaw-dropping moment that showcases Simu Liu’s character meeting a giant dragon underwater in what appears to be a pivotal scene. However, while many are speculating that it’s Fin Fang Foom, the dragon might not be who we think it is, after all.
In Marvel lore, Fin Fang Foom was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby for 1961’s Strange Tales #89. It’s an alien dragon-like creature, called a Makluan, that has appeared in numerous Shang-Chi, Avengers and Fantastic Four stories over the years. However, it’s a bit problematic and runs into stereotyping Asians, which even Liu himself deemed questionable. But while the actor stated that Fin Fang Foom won’t be appearing, the Marvel Cinematic Universe can make a tweak by incorporating his dad, Wenwu (Tony Leung), with the creature.
Wenwu is a retooled version of the Mandarin, while the movie has also course-corrected Shang-Chi’s dad, who was Fu Manchu in the comics — another problematic character. With Wenwu now being Shang-Chi’s father, hoping his son takes on his villainous legacy with the Ten Rings, it’s easy to see his final form actually being the dragon, akin to Liu Kang in Mortal Kombat, with this reveal being when he and his son fight over their dynasty.
In the books, Mandarin did feud with Fin Fang Foom as he sought magical relics, so there’s a chance the movie could play on this, making Wenwu a host body for the dragon’s spirit. It could be that Wenwu’s ancestors found the rings and this became part of some spiritual augmentation.
There’s also the route Guardians of the Galaxy took with Kurt Russell’s Ego being a Celestial that took human form. In that sense, Wenwu might be an alien or from another mystical realm whose species can transcend and change into the forms of dragon, which even lead to Wong and Shang-Chi discussing his destiny.
Seeing as the MCU toes the line between science and supernatural, bridging them in shows even more like Loki and WandaVision, these are all easy adjustments to make. And more so, by overhauling and reconciling Fu Manchu and Fin Fang Foom into Wenwu, it also fixes the Trevor Slattery character by giving us a scary monster that is the Mandarin.
It creates a more intimidating, powerful villain, explains why his rings are so powerful, and most importantly, it scrubs the racist connotations from the comics. This direction also gives Shang-Chi a lot more power than first assumed and explains why, from his heritage, there’s more added conflict within between the light and darkness.
Directed by Destin Daniel Cretton and written by Daniel Callaham, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings stars Simu Liu as Shang-Chi, Tony Leung as Wenwu/The Mandarin, Awkwafina as Katy, Michelle Yeoh as Jiang Nan, Meng’er Zhang as Xialing, Ronny Chieng as Jon Jon, Fala Chen as Jiang Li and Florian Munteanu as Razor Fist. The film arrives in theaters Sept. 3.
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