Shang-Chi, the character on which Marvel’s new movie Shang-Chi and The Legend of The Ten Rings is based, has a troubled history. 

Shang Chi was originally created by Steve Englehart and Jim Starlin in 1973 to capitalize on the success of Bruce Lee and other kung fu stars. 

The Shang-Chi comics included some pretty racist imagery such as Shang-Chi being yellow. 

The current version of the comic has been improved and is free of racist imagery. 

This racist history is one reason why China banned the film despite its large cultural impact and popularity among Asian Americans.

Despite being banned in China, Shang-Chi and The Legend of The Ten Rings have left their impact on the rest of the world. With a majority Asian crew and an Asian director, this film addresses the increasing problem of anti-Asian racism in the United States. 

By centering on an Asian hero, Shang-Chi offers an antidote to a history of prejudiced portrayals in which Asians were often used as the punchline.

Shang-Chi was born to the Mandarin, a thousand-year-old war tyrant, but when the Mandarin met his wife Ying Li, he put away his warlike ways… until one day, a gang killed her. 

As a result, the Mandarin turns back into a tyrant via the power of the ten rings, magical rings that grant the user awesome power and which he uses to kill almost everyone involved in killing his wife except the leader of the gang, whom he sends his son Shang-Chi to kill. 

But Shang-Chi never returns home. 

Instead, he settles in San Francisco where he meets Katy, a nice funny girl with whom he maintains a platonic relationship. She gets to know him, which in turn allows the audience to better understand his character.

Eventually, the peace Shang-Chi finds in San Francisco is disturbed after he receives a letter from his sister. When he boards the plane, Katy insists on going with him and ends up tagging along to go see his sister. When he arrives, his sister tells him that she sent no letter, and they find out their father tricked them and brought them to his fortress.  

Now the Mandarin is almost always angry and upset. He mopes around his fortress until one day he hears an angelic voice hearkening to him for help. It sounds like his dead wife, Ying Li. 

The Mandarin tells his children that their mother’s voice was guiding him to the magical village where she was born. However, Shang-Chi is skeptical, so he goes to the village with Katie and another mystery character to investigate whether his mother is really there. 

What they discover in the village is that the voice is from a Demon who knows that the ten rings can free him from his prison inside the village.

After Shang-Chi and Katy obtain new armor and hang out with the townsfolk, the Mandarin arrives.

At this point, some really cool battles happen with dragons and mystical creatures, but if you want to know what happens there you will have to see the movie.

If you are a fan of Marvel’s over-the-topness, then you will love the action scenes in this film. In one scene, Shang-Chi does battle on a bus with a character named Razor Fist. As the fight escalates, Razor Fist cuts the bus in half.

I thought this scene was incredible, but some people found it unrealistic and distracting from the drama of the film. 

If you want to watch this film, you have to understand that there is a lot of CGI and that sometimes it can be very distracting because it draws away focus from what is really happening in the story.

With a great story and a great message, Shang-Chi has made over $300 million and is one of the highest-grossing movies of 2021. 

If you have not yet seen the movie you still have time because Shang-Chi and The Legend of The Ten Rings are still in theaters and will soon be on Disney Plus, so if you have not seen the movie you should go see the movie.