Warning: Spoilers for Ms. Marvel episode 3
A detail in Ms. Marvel made the MCU’s inconsistent depiction of The Ten Rings organization even more perplexing than its two portrayals in Iron Man and Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. The MCU's Ten Rings are one of the first villains to appear in the MCU franchise, debuting in 2008’s Iron Man as a terrorist organization responsible for Tony Stark’s critical heart injury under the instruction of Obadiah Stane. While AIM masquerades as the organization in Iron Man 3, it truly returns in Shang-Chi, where its origin and the full scope of its power are shown. The portrayals between Iron Man and Shang-Chi are quite different, and while Ms. Marvel seemingly exacerbates the issue, there is a possible explanation for the inconsistency in Shang-Chi.
The Ten Rings are shown to be a well-organized and lethal terrorist group in Iron Man, operating out of a secret base in Afghanistan and kidnapping Tony Stark to force him to make his deadly Jericho missiles for them. The Ten Rings are shown to be far larger and more dangerous in Shang-Chi, as they’re an international criminal empire whose influence is found throughout the world and whose leader, The Mandarin (a.k.a. Xu Wenwu), is virtually immortal thanks to the mysterious ten rings he wears. With this in mind, it’s difficult to see why The Ten Rings would need Stark’s weapons or an alliance with Obadiah Stane in the first place.
Ms. Marvel’s third episode, “Destined,” includes a Ten Rings easter egg, showing their distinctive symbol on the floor of a temple in India, where four inter-dimensional Djinn find one of two powerful bangles. This implies that the bangle that Kamala Khan wears is in some way connected to The Mandarin’s ten rings, but it also reinforces the more mystical depiction of the organization seen in Shang-Chi and contrasts with their more mundane portrayal in Iron Man. Shang-Chi does explain, however, why The Ten Rings organization is different in its narrative (and Ms. Marvel’s) when compared to Iron Man’s, as the organization had ended its criminal activities for a time and was likely in the process of regaining its strength during the events of Iron Man, reconciling the three properties.
Shang-Chi reveals that Wenwu met and fell in love with Ying Li in the year 1996, and subsequently ended his criminal career so the two could raise a family. When Ying Li was murdered by the Iron Gang in either 2006 or 2007, Wenwu enacted revenge and restarted The Ten Rings’ criminal activities. Even with all his power and influence, Wenwu can’t rebuild his vast empire within a year, so it makes sense that one of his cells would seem conventional compared to the organization’s high-tech and mystical commanding cell.
Since the flashback scene in Ms. Marvel takes place in the year 1942, The Ten Rings organization would be decades away from putting its criminal activities on hold. Having The Ten Rings be associated with a mystical temple in India that houses one of the mysterious bangles makes sense, given their international presence and predilection for mystical artifacts. The Ten Rings may not be depicted consistently in Iron Man and Ms. Marvel, but Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings make sense of the discrepancy.
Ms. Marvel releases new episodes on Wednesdays on Disney+.
