MCU Theory: Ten Rings' Phase 4 Return Is Because Of Iron Man's Death

The Ten Rings terrorist group is due to return in Shang-Chi & the Legend of the Ten Rings - could it be because of Tony Stark's death in Avengers: Endgame? The Ten Rings have been in the MCU since the beginning; the terrorist group was responsible for the initial attack on Tony Stark in Iron Man, and they attempted to force Stark to construct weapons on their behalf. Of course, things took a different turn, because instead Stark built the first Iron Man armor - and the rest is history.

The first two Iron Man films both appeared to be setting up the Mandarin as the major villain of Iron Man 3, but Marvel wasn't sure how to handle him. Iron Man 3 director Shane Black took an unexpected approach, with a conspiracy to co-opt the Ten Rings in an attempt to take over the United States. That proved singularly unpopular, and so Marvel course-corrected once again, with an All Hail the King one-shot filmed as something of an apology to fans who felt short-changed. That confirmed the real Mandarin does indeed still exist, and he was out there biding his time. The promise is finally being fulfilled in Shang-Chi, which will feature Tony Chiu-Wai Leung as the real deal. The Ten Rings appear to have been transformed into one of the many "Hidden Kingdoms" featured in the MCU's Phase 4 slate.

But naturally, this raises an important question: just what happened to the Ten Rings after the events of Iron Man 3? Where have they been all these years? An answer may well be offered by the climactic events of Avengers: Endgame, which could potentially explain why these terrorists would regroup after the snap was undone and Thanos was defeated.

Tie-In Comics Reveal Iron Man & War Machine Campaigned Against The Ten Rings

In order to truly understand the threat of the Ten Rings, you have to check out Marvel's many tie-in comics. These reveal the Ten Rings had been active well before they attacked Tony Stark in Afghanistan, and had a reputation for acquiring advanced technology in order to cause chaos. Indeed, SHIELD had apparently been in something of a shadow war with them for years. But in the aftermath of Iron Man, Tony Stark found himself going up against them time and again. This seems to have been what he meant when he claimed to have "successfully privatized world peace" in Iron Man 2; he had taken out numerous Ten Rings operations, to the extent they faded back into the shadows, evidently frustrated.

But the Iron Man 3 Prelude suggests the Ten Rings stepped out of the shadows again after James Rhodes became War Machine. Tony became less active on the international stage, trusting Rhodey to continue his mission; but War Machine was a whole lot more predictable. As a result, the Ten Rings began running ops just to test him, to get a measure of the War Machine suit's capabilities. They finally sprung a trap in Hong Kong, using a stolen piece of Hammer tech to try to neutralize him so they could acquire his armor. That was why Rhodey didn't appear in The Avengers, joining in the battle against the Chitauri; he was otherwise engaged at the time, dealing with a piece of tech that contained an unstable miniature nuclear reactor. Needless to say, the Ten Rings cell assigned that particular task failed.

The Ten Rings Could Have Decided To Wait Iron Man Out

With the benefit of hindsight, this defeat seems to have been a key moment in the history of the Ten Rings, because they stopped conducting terrorist operations. Presumably, War Machine's victory signaled that they were unable to match Stark technology right now, and so they decided to bide their time, waiting for technology to enter the market that they hoped would give them a chance against War Machine and Iron Man. No doubt the Battle of New York was a game-changer as well because suddenly the Ten Rings didn't just need to worry about two men in armor. They also had to deal with the potential threat of Captain America, Thor, and even the Hulk. Worse still, while James Rhodes could be predicted because he reported in to the US military, the members of the Avengers didn't have any clear chain of command at all. That became even more problematic after the collapse of SHIELD in Captain America: The Winter Soldier when the Avengers became free agents.

There is some evidence that the Ten Rings changed their approach around this time. A representative of the Ten Rings attended Darren Cross' Yellowjacket auction in Ant-Man, suggesting they were now looking for technology to create enhanced assets. The most likely reason is that they believed the Avengers were their most potent threat and intended to create operatives who could be used against them. They didn't manage to get their hands of Pym Particles, but they could well have recruited other assets.

Iron Man's Death In Avengers: Endgame Would Have Changed Everything

Avengers Endgame Iron Man Tony Stark Death Robert Downey Jr

There can be no doubt that the Ten Rings were plunged into chaos by the events of Avengers: Infinity War because a lot of their operatives would have been snapped out of existence. Still, they'd have regrouped and attempted to expand their power base and influence during that period. But they'd have been particularly encouraged by the events of Avengers: Endgame, when the snap was undone and - most importantly - Tony Stark died. It's important to understand this was as much a geopolitical event as a tragedy for the Avengers because the world's foremost inventor - a man who was familiar with the Ten Rings and who had proved such a thorn in their hide - was gone. What's more, the Avengers seem to have disbanded; it's notable that, in Spider-Man: Far From Home, Talos was forced to resort to recruiting Peter Parker's Spider-Man to help against the Elementals, a potential threat who would probably have been better opposed by the likes of Thor or the Hulk.

This could perfectly explain why the Ten Rings are about to re-emerge from the shadows. They knew they could not defeat Tony Stark or the Avengers, but Stark is gone now, and the Avengers are disbanded. The time is ripe for them to strike once again, a forgotten threat who have perhaps even been building up resources over the last decade. If so, Shang-Chi could find himself facing an enemy who had been marshaling their forces for the Avengers themselves.

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