Shang-Chi Confirms Marvel Won't Make Iron Man 3's Mistake Twice
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings admits that Iron Man 3's Mandarin was insensitive and confirms Marvel Studios won't repeat this mistake.
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings confirms Marvel Studios won't make Iron Man 3's Mandarin mistake again. The latest installment of the Marvel Cinematic Universe pits Shang-Chi (Simu Liu) against his father Wenwu (Tony Leung), who is the real "Mandarin." Fans have waited a long time to see the leader of the Ten Rings organization get a proper introduction in the MCU, especially after how the character was used in Iron Man 3.
It was in the first Phase 2 MCU movie that Marvel delivered one of its biggest and most controversial twists. Iron Man 3's marketing hyped up the inclusion of The Mandarin, who is one of Iron Man's greatest villains in the comics. Ben Kingsley playing the character only raised excitement. However, Iron Man 3 revealed that this was all a ruse. Kingsley's character was actually Trevor Slattery, a failed actor hired by Aldrich Killian to play the part of The Mandarin and make him out to be a global terrorist. Marvel began attempting to "fix" this reveal soon after with the All Hail the King One-Shot, which confirmed that the real Mandarin was out there in the MCU.
Shang-Chi finally gave audiences a chance to meet this individual, but Wenwu rejects everything that Iron Man 3 made him out to be. He acknowledges that Killian's plan appropriated parts of his story incorrectly. Wenwu also mocks Killian's decision to call his fake terrorist "Mandarin," as that is best associated with the chicken food dish. Marvel Studios went a step further to acknowledge Iron Man 3's mistake with its portrayal of the Mandarin by including Trevor Slattery in Shang-Chi as well. He discusses how he came to be Wenwu's prisoner and being hired to play an exaggerated version of Shang-Chi's father. It is during this moment in Shang-Chi that Trevor and Marvel Studios acknowledge the insensitivity of Iron Man 3, with Slattery calling out his unflattering portrayal of Wenwu.
Marvel Studios clearly made a point to use Shang-Chi as a way to atone for some past mistakes with the Mandarin character, but it also highlights an understanding on the part of the MCU to be more careful in the future. Marvel knew that they couldn't bring a direct translation of Mandarin from the comics to the MCU back when Iron Man 3 was being developed because of how stereotypical he was in the source material. That is one of the reasons the Trevor Slattery twist was implemented. However, Shang-Chi shows that even the studio would now concede that they could've used the character better before, and it is a promise that they'll try and do better going forward.
Whether it is Iron Man 3's Mandarin or Doctor Strange's The Ancient One, Marvel Studios has shown instincts when making changes from the comics to avoid the MCU having characters who are racially insensitive. It is what they decided to do to try and update the characters that haven't completely worked, though. Casting Tilda Swinton as The Ancient One to avoid the character's Asian-stereotype portrayal from the comics could make sense, but Marvel still could've cast an Asian actor to play the part instead of white-washing a prominent Asian character. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings' acknowledgment that Iron Man 3's Mandarin was insensitive is a step in the right direction for the MCU, and it confirms Marvel Studios will be more careful as the shared universe unfolds and introduces even more characters of different ethnicities, sexual orientations, and so on.