One common factor among Marvel heroes is that they typically have father issues, and while Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings follows this trend, the movie takes the torn father-child dynamics a step further. Shang-Chi tells the origin story of a martial-arts master called back to confront the past he escaped to stop his father and the Ten Rings organization. With the help of his sister Xialing and best friend Katy, Shang-Chi has to protect his mother’s ancient home from his vengeful father.

Aside from the exciting action, compelling character arcs, and intriguing mythologies, one significant driving force in the Marvel Cinematic Universe is father issues. Iron Man resented his father for pushing him so hard before trying to avenge his death, Odin kicked Thor off Asgard and tried to use Jane as bait, Black Widow’s only father was the morally ambiguous Red Guardian, Peter Quill’s dad killed his mom and tried to use Peter as a battery, Gamora and Nebula’s adoptive father is Thanos (enough said), and Black Panther discovers his cherished father abandoned Killmonger and killed his uncle. Father issues are a persistent trend in the MCU, and it’s one that Shang-Chi doesn’t escape. At the same time, Shang-Chi gives the dynamic much more depth and expands it by equally including his mother in his past trauma.

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Although other Marvel heroes’ fathers have been the primary villain of their respective stories, the circumstances are much more fraught with intimate betrayal for Shang-Chi by Wenwu. Shang-Chi’s relationship with his father as a villain is different than that of Quill never having known his father or Gamora’s being an already abusive adoptive father. Shang-Chi was raised alone by his father for 7 years after his mother was killed, where his father trained him to become an assassin, primarily so Wenwu could send him to kill those responsible for his mother’s death. Additionally, Shang-Chi's father had some inherent good in him and was an attentive, kind parent while his mother was alive; he was wrought with grief and anger when he turned back to the Ten Rings, wanting revenge for his wife’s death and, as collateral, lost his children’s love and respect.

Wenwu and Jiang Li fight in Shang Chi

Weneu’s villainy is also different because he didn’t originally intend to turn his children into killing machines - he wanted them to be able to fight back and avenge their mother. He’s also naively adamant that Shang-Chi and Xialing will come back and reunite as the family they once were, hoping they’ll help “save” their mother from Ta Lo’s gate. He’s not actively trying to cause destruction or gain power anymore as the other father villains like Thanos or Ego had, Wenwu is just in such denial of his wife’s death that he’s truly convinced her people in Ta Lo are holding her captive. It’s part of why it’s so difficult for Shang-Chi to engage in the final battle with Wenwu and think he’ll have to kill him, as he remembers the good father he was when his mother was alive, but also knows there’s no way he can convince Wenwu the voice calling is not her.

While several other Marvel heroes like Iron Man and Peter Quill also harbor deep pain from the deaths of their mothers, they’re much further removed from the integral plot progression and growth of the character as a hero than in Shang-Chi — if they’re included, the mothers are barely even characters. Shang-Chi’s growth as a martial arts fighter primarily comes from the balletic choreography his mother, Ying Li, taught him as a child, showing that his mother is equally influential in his journey as a hero to his father. She was also shown to be a highly skilled fighter, even beating Wenwu in a one-on-one battle where they ended up falling in love. Ying Li’s death also became a separating force between Shang-Chi and Wenwu, where his father blamed him for watching her die and doing nothing, even though he was only 7 years old. For Shang-Chi, Ying Li’s past and home in Ta Lo are much more important to his identity and motivations as a hero than Wenwu’s, which shows how Shang-Chi is progressing the oft-used daddy issues motif.

Next: Shang-Chi: Who (Or What) The Beacon Is Calling

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