Movie fans are about to meet the Marvel Cinematic Universe's next big hero, Shang-Chi. The movie, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings pits the martial arts master up against villains like Iron Man foe The Mandarin and comic book villain Razor-Fist, while also teasing appearances of The Abomination.
For non-comic book fans, there aren't a lot of big-name villains in the world of Shang-Chi. While he has been around since 1973, his rogues' gallery mostly consists of martial arts' styled villains, and very few have made it outside of the hero's own comics, making them niche at best. However, that doesn't mean his villains are not very powerful and impressive when it comes to their presence in his life.
Shadow Slasher
Shadow Slasher was another old-school Shang-Chi villain, and he had a history that made him a logical enemy for the Master of Kung Fu. Shadow Slasher wanted to challenge Shang-Chi to prove he was a better warrior than the famed son of Zheng Zu. It is this style of martial arts superhero action that could help Shang-Chi change the MCU.
He first appeared in Master of Kung Fu #98 in 1981, and the two fought for the role of the world's greatest fighter. Shang-Chi beat him every time. Shadow Slasher even returned many years later during the Civil War storyline, only to end up arrested by Shang-Chi and sent to the Negative Zone Prison-42.
Darkstrider
Darkstrider made his first appearance in Master of Kung Fu #37 in 1976, and that entire issue had people describing how evil the villain was. However, once Shang-Chi got his hands on him, he beat him in their first battle.
Darkstrider tried to pick things up after this when he appeared in the service of Soustriker and Jade Claw. However, as much as he seemed like a huge threat, and as great as his introduction story was, Marvel never followed up much on the villain, and he has mostly been forgotten.
Si-Fan Ninjas
The Si-Fan Ninjas were one of Shang-Chi's most persistent villains in his early appearances in the 1970s. This was a group of ninjas led by Shang-Chi's greatest enemy, Fu Manchu. Their only purpose was to fight in his honor and ensure his goal of world domination.
Si-Fan did several dastardly things in their time as a Shang-Chi enemy. They kidnapped and brainwashed the United State's UN officials after World War II. They even tried to push the moon out of Earth's orbit. At one point, Shang-Chi took control of the Si-Fan, but they turned evil again when Zheng Zu returned. They were mostly henchmen though, and not as great as other Shang-Chi enemies.
Lady Iron Fan
Lady Iron Fan is a brand-new villain and one that looks like she could end up as a major threat for Shang-Chi in the future. Making her first appearance in Shang-Chi Vol. 2 #2 in 2021, she possesses the two things that make her a legitimate threat: she is a martial arts master, and she is connected to Shang-Chi's brother, Brother Sabre.
In the new Shang-Chi series, she tried to buy a cosmic cube at an auction and battled Shang-Chi and Captain America before she escaped and lived to fight another day. Little is known about her, but she made a huge splash and was an entertaining and dangerous new villain for Shang-Chi and could become a greater villain as time passes.
Mandarin
Mandarin remains mostly known as Iron Man's greatest enemy, but after Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, most MCU fans will connect him with Shang-Chi. That is because the movie has replaced Zheng Zu with Mandarin as Shang-Chi's villain father.
The battle between Shang-Chi and Mandarin in the comics has happened as well, just not on as big of a stage as the villain's wars with Iron Man. The two battled more than once, and much like Iron Man, Shang-Chi has rarely completely stopped Mandarin. He is easily Shang-Chi's most famous villain for non-comic fans.
Cursed Lotus
Cursed Lotus made her first appearance in Master of Kung Fu #26 in 1975. She is Shang-Chi's sister and one of his deadliest enemies. While Shang-Chi shook off the villainous father's influence, she wanted to follow in their dad's footsteps.
She ended up running the Oriental Expeditors, her own criminal organization that Shang-Chi had to deal with. She also caused problems as a member of the Doom Maidens and then made her way to New York where she began to pull off assassinations. As Shang-Chi's sister, she made it hard for him to really go all out against her.
Razor-Fist
Razor-Fist was the second villain to play prominently in the Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings trailer. While Mandarin was the best-known villain from the trailer, Razor-Fist is the more notable when it comes to Shang-Chi's rogues' gallery.
Razor-Fist first appeared in Master of Kung Fu#29 in 1975 and has been a Shang-Chi villain ever since, one of his more persistent villains. The villain lost his hand and had it replaced by the "razor-fist" his name represents. He has also battled Spider-Man, Wolverine, Domino, and the West Coast Avengers, showing his scope outside of Shang-Chi comics.
Moving Shadow
Moving Shadow was yet another son of the evil Zheng Zu. In this case, after Shang-Chi turned his back on his father's teachings, his dad had another son to hopefully replace Shang-Chi. He first appeared after many of Shang-Chi's other villains, in Shang-Chi: Master of Kung Fu #1 in 2002.
Unlike Midnight Sun, who struggled to come to grips with fighting his brother, Moving Shadow had no problem following the orders to assassinate his older sibling. What keeps him below Midnight Sun is the fact that he failed, so Zheng Zu lashed out at him and killed the man.
Midnight Sun
Midnight Sun was an African boy named M'Nai, whose parents died in an attack on his village. When Zheng Zu saw the boy was not even crying and remained strong, he took the child in and raised him. Unlike Zheng Zu's real son, Shang-Chi, M'Nai followed the teachings of his adoptive father.
Midnight Sun took on a mask and didn't want to fight his brother, but found himself forced into the fight. After this, Midnight Sun joined up with Kang to battle the Avengers and then with the Kree to battle Silver Surfer. He and Shang-Chi made peace in the end, but for years was one of his deadliest enemies.
Zheng Zu
Zheng Zu was the first enemy of Shang-Chi and remained his mortal rival through their entire lives. He was Shang-Chi's father in the comics and was known as Fu Manchu for much of his existence in Marvel lore. Introduced in Special Marvel Edition #15 in 1973, he wanted Shang-Chi to follow in his evil footsteps, and when he failed, he set out to kill his son.
Marvel changed the name to Zheng Zu due to copyright problems and that is how they have referred to him since. The villain sent many of Shang-Chi's greatest villains against him, from his other children in Midnight Sun, Moving Shadow, and Cursed Lotus, to the entire Si-Fan Ninjas clan. He is easily the most important character in Shang-Chi history and his most dangerous villain.