Shang-Chi Deleted Scene Reveals Real Mandarin’s Role In Iron Man’s Origin Story

Eight years after Marvel pulled off its fake Mandarin twist in Iron Man 3, the studio finally brought forth the real Mandarin in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. Trevor Slattery was hired to pretend to the be leader of the Ten Rings, the same organization that kidnapped Tony Stark in the first Iron Man movie back in 2008. Shang-Chi confirmed that Wenwu was the organization’s actual leader, and a deleted scene from the film’s Blu-ray release provided a direct link between the character and the men that took Tony hostage.

The deleted scene in question, which isn’t among the features available on Disney+, is called “Do it Yourself,” and it takes place right after the death of Ying Li, Wenwu’s wife. After Ying Li’s murder, Wenwu returns to the Ten Rings and resumes control. of his criminal empire around the globe, having given it up when he started a family. In the scene, Wenwu comes back to his mansion and speaks with a captured Iron Gang leader and discusses his recent trip. He explained that he’s been in Afghanistan meeting with Raza, the leader of the Ten Rings operation in the country, and that he’s happy with the progress they’re making in destabilizing the nation. 

If you recall, Raza is the name of the Ten Rings leader from Iron Man, who was in charge of the mission that saw Tony Stark captured by the terrorist organization. Wenwu doesn’t specify in this new scene whether or not he was directly responsible for the attack on Tony’s convoy, but he was indeed overseeing the activity of that particular cell of the Ten Rings. This ties Wenwu almost directly to the events of the original Iron Man movie. 

The entire thing comes full circle when you think about Shang-Chi’s future in the MCU. At the end of the movie, Shang-Chi is brought in to a meeting with notable Avengers like Wong, Carol Danvers, and Bruce Banner. He’s going to be a big part of their plans moving forward, essentially becoming an Avenger in his own right. Wenwu, his father, was overseeing the organization that captured Tony Stark in an effort to destabilize Afghanistan and become a global power. By doing so, he inadvertently helped create Iron Man, who eventually led the Avengers to prominence.

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is now available to stream on Disney for for purchase on VOD services. The 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, and DVD editions will be available on November 30th.