Warning! Spoilers ahead for Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.

The villain of Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Wenwu (Tony Leung), is a dark mirror of Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen). After his fake-out introduction in Iron Man 3, the real Mandarin finally makes his appearance in the MCU through the Destin Cretton-directed film. But aside from wielding the power of the Ten Rings, Marvel Studios took some liberties in updating the character, including his origins and motivations.

In the MCU, Wenwu is the father of Shang-Chi; from a young age, the Master of Kung Fu has been groomed to eventually become the next owners of the Ten Rings. While the movie didn't explain the full origins of the power bands, it revealed that they gave Mandarin the ability to live through thousands of years, allowing him the opportunity to establish his crime organization. But, once he met his wife, Jiang Li (Fala Chen), he walked away from his life as a warlord and embraced being a family man. All that changed when his spouse was mercilessly killed by his old enemies.

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Marvel Studios fleshed out the character of Wenwu, making him an empathetic bad guy rather than a power-hungry villain who he was once. His primary motivation in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings was to save his wife, whom he mistakenly thought was being held captive in Ta-Lo. Unfortunately, despite Shang-Chi's repeated plea, the Mandarin just couldn't accept the fact that Jiang Li is dead, and that he can't do anything about it. He was ready to fight anyone who stood in his way between him and his goal. This is reminiscent of Wanda's arc in WandaVision, where Scarlet Witch is grieving the death of Vision (Paul Bettany). Thanks to her powers, she's able to conjure a version of the synthezoid and live an ideal life with him in a make-believe suburb in Westview, New Jersey. Considering Wenwu's designation as a villain in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, does this mean that Wanda should also be dubbed as one? Not really, since it's a little bit more complicated than just good vs. bad. It's difficult to straightforwardly write them off as villains when in reality, their actions were motivated by love.

Wandavisions Still Of Vision and Wanda Saying Goodbye To Kids

Wenwu's story is done. He died in Ta-Lo after his soul was sucked by the Dweller-in-Darkness; fortunately, in a brief moment of clarity, and maybe even regret, he's able to pass the Ten Rings to Shang-Chi. Unlike the Mandarin, Wanda still has the chance to prove that she's no villain. After the Maximoff Anomaly, the people of Westview are clearly angry at her for holding them hostage, while the rest of the world may simply see her as a dangerous being rather than a hero. At the end of WandaVision, she goes on a self-imposed exile to both run away from authorities, and properly process everything she just went through. The problem is, she's also unknowingly learning dark magic from the Darkhold which she took from Agatha Harkness (Kathryn Hahn). So, while it's not her intention, she might be going down the wrong path — one where she might not be able to come back from.

The tricky part with Wanda's upcoming story, however, is she might be forced to use any means necessary to save her boys, who call for her help — even if that means that she becomes a full villain moving forward. This is more likely going to fully play out in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness where she's slated to appear alongside Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch), and maybe even Shang-Chi given Shang-Chi and the Legend of Ten Rings' mid-credits scene. From there, it's unclear what's next for Scarlet Witch.

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