Shang-Chi (Simu Liu) in Marvel Studios’ Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.
Credit: © Walt Disney Studios

May is Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month. All month long, Behind the Headlines will feature AAPI pioneers in a variety of areas.

Marvel’s newest superhero and first-ever Asian lead has actually been around for a while. Shang-Chi is a comic-book superhero who is a Chinese master of martial arts. He was created for the American publisher Marvel Comics. Shang-Chi was featured in the motion picture Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings released in September 2021.

Shang-Chi was trained as a child to serve his father’s secret criminal organization. He developed superior skills in hand-to-hand combat and mastered various weapons. Shang-Chi also has advanced instincts and wisdom. In addition, Shang-Chi possesses 10 rings with supernatural powers. The rings are worn on the fingers in the comics, but they appear as iron bracelets in the film.

Shang-Chi was created by the American writer Steve Englehart and artist Jim Starlin. He first appeared in the 1973 comic Special Marvel Edition #15. From 1974 to 1983, he was the lead character of Marvel’s “Master of Kung Fu” series. Shang-Chi also appeared in such Marvel comic-book series as “Heroes for Hire,” “Agents of Atlas,” “Avengers,” and “X-Men.”

In the original comics, Shang-Chi is raised in an ancient fortress in China as part of a secret society. After being assigned to assassinate an enemy of his father, Shang-Chi meets a British secret agent named Smith. Smith reveals the criminal nature of the secret society. Shang-Chi’s father is Fu Manchu, a crime lord also known as the Master of Kung Fu. Shang-Chi agrees to work with Smith and British intelligence to stop his father’s criminal organization.

In Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, the character is played by the Chinese-born Canadian actor Simu Liu. The character’s origin story is largely rewritten, in part to correct harmful stereotypes present in the original comics. The creators and cast consisted largely of artists of Asian descent. The film was directed by the Japanese-American Destin Daniel Cretton from a screenplay by the Chinese-American writer Dave Callaham.

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings follows Shang-Chi and his friend Katy in San Franciso, California. They are running from villains sent by his father, Xu Wenwu, who is armed with immortality granted by the fabled 10 rings. The characters travel to Macau, China, where Shang-Chi’s sister, Xialing, runs a successful underground fighting club. Xialing joins them to travel to the magical world of Ta Lo, the home of the sibling’s late mother and her warrior people. There, they confront otherworldly forces and Xu Wenwu’s secret society.