Shang-Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings Sets Up A Potential Replacement For Thanos

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings sets up a potential replacement for Thanos, better than Kang the Conqueror.

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings discovered and positioned a better replacement for Thanos, namely Xialing, Shang-Chi’s sister. The first three MCU phases have been all about the Infinity Saga, with Marvel Studios acknowledging that the films were all about Thanos and the Infinity Stones. Thanos sought to erase half of the universe after acquiring the Infinity Stones with a snap of his fingers. That is why he was considered the greatest MCU villain to date.

Thanos has been significant and prominent because of his raw powers and the scale of his plans and strategies. His presence in the Marvel Cinematic Universe can be felt with so many films telling the stories about the Infinity Stones. With that said, there have been some strong hints about the Infinity Stones as they were not a coincidence but were orchestrates. As Thor echoed in Avengers: Age of Ultron, “The Mind Stone is the fourth of the Infinity Stones to show up in the last few years. It’s not a coincidence. Someone has been playing an intricate game and has made pawns of us.” Apparently, fans are now waiting to discover whether MCU has positioned a similar villain for Phase 4 or not, and if yes, is it Kang the Conqueror who appeared as He Who Remains in Marvel and Disney+ series Loki? Kang the Conqueror is one of the top guesses because he played a key role in developing the Multiversal arc in Loki.

But the Marvel Cinematic Universe has apparently set up a better villain replacement for its Phase 4 and it is Shang-Chi’s sister, Xialing. She has taken the command of the Ten Rings, as shown in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings’ post-credits scene. Xialing might not possess the same brutal powers as the Mad Titan Thanos, but she is well-positioned to affect every single corner of the MCU. Before commanding the Ten Rings, she used to lead the Golden Daggers fight club, as seen in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. Under her leadership, the Ten Rings could handle literally any superhero affairs and that is why it becomes possible that Xialing could recruit some of the former fighters as well from the Golden Draggers. Precisely, she could well perform the classic Mad Titan role.

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings‘ post-credits scene gave the Marvel Cinematic Universe a completely new direction with the Ten Rings being under a leadership whose purpose is still unclear. Shang-Chi’s sister might not possess Thanos’ powers but she can serve a similar role in the future – especially because of her past that is related to the Golden Daggers. With that said, Xialing has the potential to be even more prominent to the MCU than her brother.