Shang-Chi introduced another side of the universe to the fans of the MCU. What's more, it brought powerful magical artifacts onto the scene and a brand new superhero. The film is a fast-paced, action-filled funny story that leaves very little time to think about the plot in greater detail.
However, even though the fans seem to be enjoying Shang-Chi's adventure of discovering all he can do, the film still doesn't explain everything. It has multiple unresolved mysteries and potential plot holes that could have the audience scratching their heads in confusion.
8 What Can The Rings Do?
Even though the movie has the ten rings in its title, it doesn't truly explain everything they can do. It's clear they give its user extraordinary strength and possibly agility, but in the comics, each ring has a specific function.
For example, one of them can lower someone's body temperature while another allows the wearer to control someone's mind. The post-credit scene suggests that Shang-Chi and other MCU heroes could work on learning more about the rings, its origin and exact function in the future.
7 What's Up With Captain Marvel And Bruce Banner?
The post-credit scene sees the return of two well-known heroes - Captain Marvel and Bruce Banner aka Hulk. However, at one point, Captain Marvel excuses herself and leaves the conversation in a hurry, suggesting that she has to deal with a certain problem. The question remains what the problem is.
As for Bruce, he looks older than in Avengers: Endgame (2019) as his hair is mostly grey. That could mean more time passed since the Avengers reversed the blip than the film initially suggested.
6 Where's Doctor Strange?
Bruce Banner and Carol Danvers aren't the only old characters who show up. So does Wong, Doctor Strange's right hand. Wong appears on two occasions. The first time, he fights in the arena in the building where Shang-Chi is looking for his sister. The second time, Wong finds Shang-Chi and Katy and brings them to the meeting with Bruce and Carol.
However, Doctor Strange is strangely absent from the movie despite the close connection between the two men, the fact they live together in Sanctum Sanctorum. Perhaps the question where Doctor Strange is will be answered in his second solo movie.
5 What Will Happen With The Ten Rings?
When Shang-Chi returns to the Ten Rings, the audience learns more about the terrorist organization. However, by the end of the film, the Ten Rings have a new leader, Shang-Chi's younger sister Xialing. She could very well turn things around and make the Ten Rings into a less deadly organization. However, whatever she decides to do with her father's organization remains unclear at the moment.
4 Will Shang-Chi And Katy Get Together?
Shang-Chi and Katy have a deep bond in the film. They've been best friends for years and at one point, Katy's grandmother asks Shang-Chi when will they get married. However, Shang-Chi claims they're only friends.
Despite that, the film's ending suggests at the possibility they could become something more. Shang-Chi and Katy both risk a lot to save each other which means they might indeed be more than friends.
3 How Did Shang-Chi Survive?
One of the unanswered questions and possible plot holes concerns Shang-Chi's life after he left his father. Shang-Chi came to America and started a new life under the name of Shaun. However, since he was only fourteen when he left his home, it begs the question how he managed to survive.
Coming to America would require a lot of money and also probably getting false identification cards. Maybe Shang-Chi had someone who helped him, or he could have stolen what he needed, but whatever the case, the film doesn't answer this question.
2 How Did Katy Become Such A Good Archer?
Before Shang-Chi and Katy leave America and go to Shang-Chi's home, their lives doesn't seem to lead anywhere. Katy herself seems to lack clear purpose in life. She starts learning archery when they arrive in the hidden village of Ta Lo.
Katy has only a very little time to practice her new archery skills before the attack. Yet despite this, she manages to hit a flying target and even hits a huge dragon from a large distance to the exact right place. That speaks of an unlikely set of luck, because Katy simply couldn't have become such a good archer during such a short period of time.
1 Why Didn't Mandarin Hear His Wife Sooner?
Finally, the final question and a possible plot hole is why Mandarin didn't hear and search for his wife sooner. If he knew where his children were all along, he could have easily found them when they were very young and take the pendants from them.
He would have found his way to Ta Lo and rescued his 'supposed' wife long before Shang-Chi was old enough to stop him. If the Dweller and his evil servants spoke to Mandarin much sooner, it would have been that much harder to stop them.