The MCU Shang-Chi Is Unrecognizable From The Comics

Warning: SPOILERS ahead for Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.

The Shang-Chi of the MCU, while great, is vastly different from the one in the comics. The film, which opens this weekend, has generated incredibly positive reviews from critics and the first wave of fans who have seen it; currently, it holds a 93% critics score and an even higher 98% from audiences. Much of that is thanks to the incredible fight choreography and action sequences, as well as the touching story of a broken family at its core.

However, that story wouldn't be possible without the stellar cast of Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. It's comprised of a mix of martial arts and movie veterans like Tony Leung (Wenwu/the Mandarin), Michelle Yeoh (Ying Nan), and Benedict Wong (Wong), scene-stealers like Meng'er Zhang (Xialing) and Fala Chen (Jian Li), and rising stars like Awkwafina (Katy) and Florian Munteanu (Razor Fist). Of course, it's Simu Liu's movie to lead as the titular Shang-Chi and he's more than up to the task, with his carefree, jovial Shang-Chi just figuring out who he is and his place in the world.

Marvel comic book readers, however, will notice his portrayal in the MCU is a far cry from how he is in the comics. Over the years, the MCU has modified a number of characters in looks and personality from the comics to the big screen, or it's gone the other way and the depiction of the character on the screen has influenced changes in the comics. Rarely, though, has Marvel made such a change from the comics to a main character, though it's understandable why it was done that way. Here's how Simu Liu's Shang-Chi departs from the comics.

Click here to watch Shang-Chi: Everything They Changed From The Comics on YouTube.

Shang-Chi's Comics Origin & Powers Explained

Shang-Chi fighting Shadow Slasher in the comics.

Initially, in the comics, Shang-Chi never had superpowers. Yet, he was the "Master of Kung Fu," with the skilled fighter being able to channel the energy of chi (or qi) to the point that it seemed as though he was superhuman, thanks to having been trained by his father, Fu Manchu, and his tutors from infancy in martial arts. Even without superpowers, Shang-Chi is so skilled that he's been able to go toe-to-toe with and beat numerous superhuman opponents, with Ares even once acknowledging that Shang-Chi is one of the few mortals who can hold their own against actual gods without resorting to magic. Widely respected and recognized as being one of the greatest fighters in the Marvel universe, training such other impressive fighters as Captain America and Wolverine. He even trained Spider-Man in a new style of fighting they invented, named Way of the Spider/Spider-fu, when the wallcrawler temporarily lost his spider-sense.

However, Shang-Chi has been granted powers at various times in the comics (though it could be argued that permanent honed ability to sense and manipulate chi functions as a superpower in and of itself). For example, he once briefly gained the same powers as Spider-Man during the Spider-Island event; another time he used Pym Particles to grow in size. Following exposure to radiation, Shang-Chi gained the ability in recent years to create duplicate copies of himself that had all his martial arts skills and still possessed the same knowledge he did. In a different continuity (read: reality), Shang-Chi was able to master all but one of the 10 techniques of the Ten Rings school, but thus far, he's had yet to keep any of the superpowers he gained, at least in the main canon.

What The MCU Changes About Shang-Chi's Backstory

The MCU took quite a few liberties with Simu Liu's version of Shang-Chi, though that's not necessarily a bad thing. While a number of things about his family and backstory were changed, two changes were the most significant. One, Shang-Chi's father was changed from Fu Manchu to the Mandarin for the movie. This change killed two birds with one stone: One, it addressed the problematic racial stereotype of Fu Manchu by cutting him from the movie. Two, it helped rehabilitate the character of the Mandarin, which has been a sore spot since Iron Man 3's Mandarin/Trevor Slattery fakeout in 2013.

The second significant change is that Shang-Chi grows up knowing exactly the villain his father is and the organization he runs. In the comics, Shang-Chi grew up believing his father to be a humanitarian and that any target his father put a hit on was evil and that killing them was a noble act. However, after he completes his first assassination for his father in New York City, Shang-Chi comes across an enemy of Fu Manchu who tells him the truth, which is confirmed by his mother, at that time also living in NYC. Obviously, this is a much different dynamic than Shang-Chi in the movie, who has no illusions about his father's motivations.

Interestingly, however, the Shang-Chi of the MCU is much more lighthearted and some might argue immature than the Shang-Chi of the comics. The Shang-Chi of the comics is extremely serious and not prone to joking around, but also calm and extremely level-headed. The few times he's allowed anger to get the better of him, even killed, have brought great shame to Shang-Chi and, despite being a master fighter, he deeply dislikes being immersed in violence, preferring tranquility. These moments have usually resulted in him retreating from the world to solitude in order to find inner peace again.

What The MCU Changes About Shang-Chi's Powers & Abilities

Shang chi fit avengers most power team with Ten Rings

In many ways, Shang-Chi's powers and abilities are the things that remain closest to the comic books. On his own, Shang-Chi doesn't have any superpowers; in fact, it's not even clear that he yet has the mastery of chi that his comic book counterpart does. Yet, Shang-Chi receiving the Ten Rings by the end of the movie hints that the MCU may be adapting and combining a few elements from the comics for Shang-Chi's future.

As noted above, at one point in the Battleworld continuity in the comics, Shang-Chi mastered nine of the Ten Rings school's 10 techniques. Those techniques were themselves modeled on the individual powers of the Mandarin's Ten Rings in the mainstream continuity. If Marvel does indeed go this route and give MCU Shang-Chi the powers of the Mandarin's Ten Rings from the comics, he could end up being one of the MCU's most powerful heroes. Those powers could include

Ice Blast/"Zero" (left pinky) - Can create waves of cold and ice or freeze an opponent to death
Black Light/"Nightbringer" (right pinky) - Can create an area of absolute darkness that absorbs all light
Mento-Intensifier/"The Liar" (left ring finger) - Can increase his psionic energy, enabling him to mind-control people & create illusions
Disintegration Beam/"Spectral" (right ring finger) - Creates a beam that can destroy any matter it touches, though it requires 20 minutes to recharge
Electro-Blast/"Lightning" (left middle finger) - Can emit electricity blast, though its upper limit is not known
Vortex Beam/"Spin" (right middle finger) - Can create a vortex capable of levitating and throwing objects or helping the wearer to fly
Flame Blast/"Incandescence" (left index finger) - Can generate an infrared heat beam or blast that can cause explosions or set things on fire
Impact Beam/"Influence" (right index finger) - Can project different types of energy to send out concussive waves, create sonic vibrations, or magnetically attract or repel objects
White Light/"Daimonic" (left thumb) - Can project different forms of energy along the electromagnetic spectrum, including increasing the gravity in an area enough to crush someone into the earth
Matter Rearranger/"Remaker" (right thumb) - Can rearrange atoms and molecules to completely transform objects or transmute their state

Granted, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings wasn't very clear about what exactly the rings can do. Some of the things Mandarin was shown doing in the movie while wearing the Ten Rings were akin to their powers in the comics, including sending out concussive waves, energy blasts, being fired as projectiles that return to him, increasing his strength, and so forth. However, it's unclear if each ring has a different power in the MCU or if they all function as one unit with many powers to unlock.

Why The MCU Changes Shang-Chi So Much

The reason for a number of the changes in the live-action version of Shang-Chi was simply cultural necessity. Shang-Chi may have been modeled on kung fu legend Bruce Lee and meant as a tribute to martial arts, but he was created in the '70s, when offensive cultural and racial stereotypes were still rife in comics. Key to this was his father being Fu Manchu, an infamously problematic character, the epitome of the "yellow peril" racial stereotype that has long plagued Western culture by depicting most Asian characters, particularly from China or Japan, as evil villains out to destroy the West. To put it into context, when Sax Rohmer created Fu Manchu in the early 1900s, he claimed he asked his Ouija board what would make him money and the board spelled out "C-H-I-N-A-M-A-N." So it was necessary to change significant parts of Shang-Chi's backstory to modernize it for our current times.

But there's likely also a reason that Marvel changed Shang-Chi's personality and powers, as well. For starters, the live-action version is a Shang-Chi who is earlier in his journey than most of the stories from the comics. Likewise, he's grown up knowing exactly who his father is ever since his mother died, so he doesn't have to grapple with the brutal betrayal of his father or of realizing his entire life had been a lie like the Shang-Chi in the comics. The MCU version may not be as serious or as laser-focused on his quest to wipe out his father's evil, but that just gives him more flexibility to join different teams or embark on different missions.

As far as his powers go, there are a few important reasons to change those from the comics, as well. For better or for worse, superpowered heroes have always been seen as the upper tier of the MCU, while non-powered individuals have been lower tier. Though Black Widow and Hawkeye were both equally members of the Avengers as their teammates with superpowers, they've always been treated as second-class citizens, with their storylines largely being sidelined or fans overlooking them. Half the time, they're not even included in official Avengers merchandise, even when it's from Marvel itself. Having the MCU's first Asian superhero be a normal, nonpowered human would not have been a good look, considering the precedent Marvel has set to this point.

Shang-Chi's MCU Changes Are Good For The MCU

Not all of Shang-Chi's changes are necessarily good or bad as they're minor. But certain ones are quite good for the MCU. Of course, there's the issue of modernizing the MCU representation of Shang-Chi to get rid of racial stereotypes and the remnants of orientalism that have clung to him in the comics. With those changes to Shang-Chi, he's a character that offers true inclusion and representation for the Asian and Asian-American community.

Giving the Ten Rings to Shang-Chi is a great thing for the future of the MCU, as well. It's almost a narrative necessity for the MCU's Shang-Chi to have superpowers. MCU Phase 4 has shown a good number of its characters already leveling up enormously in powers, especially the magic-casters like Scarlet Witch, Loki, Doctor Strange, and the multiverse has been ripped wide open. At this point, throwing a non-powered rookie superhero into the mix and expecting them to make an impact or even be able to hold their own is somewhat absurd. The power disparity was already an issue back in Phases 2 and 3 but was somewhat mitigated by the fact the magic users were nerfed and Captain Marvel wasn't introduced until just a few years ago. But now, any heroes stepping into the proverbial ring for the first time have to enter at a level far greater than the original Avengers to make a difference. With the events Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings sets up, the next Avengers lineup will be vastly more powerful than the one that came before, which they will need if they're to face the growing multiverse threats coming their way.

Next: Shang-Chi Ending Explained: 6 Biggest Questions, Answered