This article contains spoilers for both post-credits scenes of Shang-Chi. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings proved to be one of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s biggest successes of 2021, taking a character who was unknown to anyone beyond die-hard comic fans and turning him into a household name. And with his debut film proving to be a hit, it was inevitable that a sequel would be greenlit by Marvel Studios.
But while the next Shang-Chi film likely won’t be hitting theaters until Phase 5 of the MCU, it’s never too early to theorize about what villains might be showing up. The first movie took villains like the controversial Mandarin or the obscure Razorfist and Dweller-in-Darkness and turned them into memorable big-screen menaces. And while it’ll no doubt be a few years before any news on the Shang-Chi sequel is released, there are plenty of perfect candidates for the film’s antagonists.
Fin Fang Foom
The film’s first post-credits scene reveals that Wenwu’s Ten Rings — the origins of which have yet to be revealed — are transmitting a beacon to somewhere unknown. This obviously foreshadows that the sequel will delve into the history of the rings, likely introducing their creator(s) as a major force in the story. In the comics, the Mandarin’s rings were created by a species of alien dragons called the Makluans from the planet Kakaranthara. And while the Makluans aren’t nearly as prominent as, for instance, the Kree or the Skrulls, one of their number is a major comic villain: the would-be conqueror Fin Fang Foom.
Fin Fang Foom, whose name roughly translates as "He Whose Limbs Shatter Mountains and Whose Back Scrapes the Sun", has menaced the Marvel Universe since 1961. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, this diabolical dragon has battled against the likes of Iron Man, the Fantastic Four, Thor, and the Hulk over the decades. He’s not the most complex or nuanced antagonist, but he doesn’t need to be — he’s a giant evil dragon. With his fan-favorite status and close ties to the lore behind the Ten Rings, Fin Fang Foom is the natural choice for the big bad of the next Shang-Chi film.
The Hand
Of course, while the first film also includes a giant dragon-like monster as its ultimate villain in the form of the Dweller-in-Darkness, it also features the Ten Rings organization as more prominent, personal antagonists for the majority of the movie’s runtime. For the second film, the Hand could easily be introduced as a new enemy faction, possibly as a rival to the Ten Rings. As fans of the Netflix Daredevil series will know, the Hand’s status as a criminal organization wielding mystical martial arts would make them fit right into Shang-Chi’s world.
While the Netflix version of the Hand was criticized for being a group of generic evil ninjas without much to make them stand out as compelling antagonists, a fresh start in the MCU could be exactly what they need to live up to their full potential. One of the Hand’s comic leaders — Tomi Shishido, the Gorgon — would make a perfect rival for Shang-Chi in the same vein as Wenwu.
Lady Iron Fan
One of the latest additions to Shang-Chi’s rogues’ gallery, Lady Iron Fan was introduced in the current comic run by writer Gene Luen Yang. A crime lord with deep connections in the supervillain community, her introductory issue sees her holding an auction for a Cosmic Cube at her Macau casino. Besides being an influential underworld figure, she also has a distinct fighting style, wielding razor-sharp hand fans that she can control telekinetically. Despite being a very recent introduction to the Marvel Universe, Lady Iron Fan could definitely make a memorable MCU villain.
Xialing
It’s easy to forget that even after she fought loyally alongside Shang-Chi against Wenwu and the Dweller-in-Darkness, Xialing is still a powerful crime lord in her own right. But sure enough, the second post-credits scene shows her taking Wenwu’s place as the leader of the Ten Rings organization. It’s unclear whether she’ll be a hero, a villain, or somewhere in between when she next appears, but as the new head of one of the world’s biggest crime syndicates, it’s very likely that she’ll be up to no good in the near future.
Shang-Chi’s Other Siblings
Besides the MCU-original Xialing, the Shang-Chi of the comics has clashed with several other siblings who remained loyal to their villainous father’s ideology. There’s his adoptive brother M’Nai, aka Midnight Sun, his half-brother Moving Shadow, and his sisters Bao Yu and Shi-Hua, aka Cursed Lotus and Sister Hammer. Granted, the possibility of Shang-Chi and Xialing having additional siblings was never mentioned in the first film, so introducing more of Wenwu’s children might feel forced. However, these characters could just as easily be retooled as unrelated members of the Ten Rings, or completely independent antagonists.