Shang-Chi: How The Ten Rings Might Set Up Fin Fang Foom

Warning: This article contains SPOILERS for Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.

Shang-Chi & the Legend of the Ten Rings may well have set up the introduction of Fin Fang Foom for the sequel. Marvel’s latest blockbuster introduced a brand new superhero into the MCU, Shang-Chi, the Master of Kung Fu. Although the titular hero crossed paths with a number of MCU characters during his adventures, it wasn’t until Shang-Chi‘s post-credits scene that he interacted with them directly. He was summoned by Wong, who revealed at the moment Shang-Chi took possession of the mysterious ancient artifacts known as the Ten Rings they sent some sort of beacon throughout the Multiverse. Impressively, even though the Ten Rings actually switched allegiance to Shang-Chi while they were in an entirely different universe, the beacon was still detected at Kamar-Taj.

Shang-Chi‘s beacon was left as something of a mystery, most likely to be picked up in a sequel. Speaking to ET, director Destin Daniel Cretton seemed more than a little surprised viewers hadn’t been able to connect the dots when he was asked where this was going. “Really?” he responded. “If you look into the comics, if you watch that end-credit sequence, it’s not… You don’t have to dig very deep to at least point yourself in a direction.” He was clearly alluding to the Ten Rings’ origin in the comics, where they were left behind on Earth by an ancient race of dragon-like shapeshifters known as the Makluans.

Related: Every MCU Easter Egg In Shang-Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings

The most famous Makluan in comics is the legendary Iron Man foe Fin Fang Foom. In the comics, Fin Fang Foom was one of a group of Makluans who arrived on Earth centuries ago, and six of their number survived by using shapeshifting powers to infiltrate human society. They left behind them their ten rings of power, which were ultimately discovered and claimed by the Mandarin. Fin Fang Foom, their navigator, was left to sleep through the centuries as a backup. He awoke once, in the eighth century, entering into Chinese legends and mythology, and then once again remained dormant until the present day. An Easter egg in Iron Man 2 suggests Fin Fang Foom may well be a legend in the MCU as well, because a design for the great dragon was seen on a billboard – created by artist Adi Granov at the request of director Jon Favreau.

Should Fin Fang Foom make his live-action debut in Shang-Chi 2, his story may be very different. Shang-Chi hinted that the story of the Ten Rings in the MCU differs from that of the comics. There has never been a similar beacon there, while the fact this signal could be detected across the Multiverse suggests the MCU’s Makluans don’t just come from another planet. Making matters even more curious, Shang-Chi‘s Ten Rings clearly possessed an innate pull towards beings of nobility and heroism, for they chose Shang-Chi over his father Wenwu. This, more than anything else, would suggest the Makluans have been redesigned for the films.

Shang-Chi‘s post-credits certainly set up an exciting arc for the Master of Kung Fu in the inevitable sequel. Already Shang-Chi has met one dragon – the Great Protector – but it is reasonable to assume the Makluans he is destined to encounter are unlikely to be so benevolent. Should Fin Fang Foom appear in the sequel to Shang-Chi & The Legend of the Ten Rings, it will probably still be as a foe, simply because that is the role the character is best suited for.

More: Why Marvel Said The Ten Rings Would Return, Not Shang-Chi

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