Key characters set to appear in Marvel’s ‘Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings’

After the debut of "Black Widow", we are now just over a month away from the premiere of the next movie from Marvel Studios, "Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings". Recently, Marvel unveiled a new teaser for the movie, focusing on a lot of the stunts and action. Here are some key characters that are set to appear in the much-anticipated film.

Shang-Chi

Naturally, the movie will focus on the titular character Shang-Chi, played by actor Simu Liu. The character made his comics debut in Special Marvel Edition #15 back in December 1973, and was initially spun off from novelist Sax Rohmer's licensed property as the unknown son of fictional villain Fu Manchu. Despite having no superpowers, his incredible martial arts skills have deemed him one of the best fighters in the Marvel Universe, giving him the title Master of Kung Fu. In the comics, Shang-Chi was raised to become a deadly assassin by his father. He turned down the opportunity, though, when he realised the true nefarious nature of his dad's operations.

Wenwu/The Mandarin

Wenwu is Shang-Chi's tactical father and the leader of the terrorist organisation The Ten Rings, which was first mentioned in 2008's "Iron Man". The character itself is entirely new to Marvel, having no comic book origin. However, Wenwu will remind fans of Fu Manchu, Shang-Chi's original father from the comics. Like his counterpart, Wenwu raises his son to take his place as heir to the Ten Rings, only to be rebuffed. On the page, he is also a skilled martial artist, drawing power from ten rings that he acquired using alien technology. He also takes the Mandarin title back from Ben Kingsley, who played an imposter claiming to be the villain in "Iron Man 3".

Katy

Awkwafina brings some levity to the movie as Katy, Shang-Chi's friend. She is another new character to Marvel. Shang-Chi and Katy work together at the same valet job and share the mic together during karaoke. Naturally, as Wenwu and the Ten Rings come for the martial artist, Katy gets involved in it too.

Xialing

Meng'er Zhang plays Xialing, Shang-Chi's sister and the Mandarin's daughter. The character was originally going to be named Fah Lo Suee, the same name as her comics equivalent. She was raised to be at the right hand of the Mandarin, but when on to leave the Ten Rings when she attempted to subvert her father's control. In the film, she is similarly estranged from her father and will partner up with her brother to take him down once and for all.

Razor Fist

Razor Fist is a villain, sporting fantastic fighting skills and steel blades for hands. He is a brilliant martial artist and mercenary, recruited as an assassin to take down Shang-Chi. In the comics, the character has a storied history with the Master of Kung Fu, having fought and been defeated by him multiple times. In the film, he'll be facing down with Shang-Chi.

Death Dealer

Death Dealer is another one of Shang-Chi's rivals from the comics. The character emerges as one of the Ten Rings' deadliest warriors. As of now, Death Dealer's identity in the movie is a secret, only showing them clad in a mask with red, black and white face paint. Given the character's comic book origins, though, it is expected that Wenwu will dispatch them to take down his son.

Abomination

The character who may pose the biggest threat to Shang-Chi is also the most surprising addition to the film: Abomination. Played by Tim Roth, Emil Blonsky, also known as Abomination, has been missing from the Marvel Cinematic Universe ever since he was beaten into unconsciousness in 2008's "The Incredible Hulk". For years, his whereabouts have been unknown. There was a lot of uncertainty surrounding the character, with many thinking that Marvel may have abandoned the Hulk's greatest enemy. It had only just recently been revealed that the villain was about to be brought back into the fold. The movie teases a fight between Abomination and Doctor Strange's closest ally, Wong.

The film will also feature Fala Chen as Jiang Li, Ronny Chieng as Jon Jon, and Michelle Yeoh as Jiang Nan. Directed by Destin Daniel Cretton and written by Daniel Callaham, "Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings" will be released on September 3, 2021.