The MCU Has Finally Delivered a Sequel to Its Best Movie Post-Endgame (& It’s Better Than the Original)

Marvel Studios used to hand out sequels like it was the house with full-sized candy bars on Halloween night. Tony Stark got to run it back in Iron Man 2 before Thor and Captain America even got a chance to have one movie. It was all about striking while the iron was hot, which is why it was paramount to release a film featuring the majority of the Avengers every couple of years. All the hard work led to Avengers: Endgame, a movie that acted as a swan song for the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe, allowing it to turn the page and enter a new era.

Unfortunately, the Multiverse Saga has been a hot mess. Having to change Big Bads isn’t helping matters, but it feels like Marvel Studios is constantly taking its eye off the ball. Nowhere is that more evident than in the situation with Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. Despite achieving critical success and a decent box office haul, the movie has yet to receive a sequel. Well, it hasn’t gotten one in the traditional sense, as the MCU just recently continued the story of the titular hero and his friends in an unexpected place.

Shang-Chi and Katy Play Major Roles in Marvel Zombies

Four years after their adventures on the big screen, Shang-Chi and Katy Chen are back in action. The events of Marvel Zombies place them right where they are at the start of Shang-Chi, working as valet attendants in San Francisco. The arrival of zombies forces them to run for their lives, but help arrives in the form of the Ten Rings, who come to save their leader’s son. Wenwu sacrifices himself to save Shang-Chi and his friends, Katy, Jimmy Woo, and Death Dealer, and the group escapes the city before it’s too late. Years later, they’re all riding in Max Max-inspired cars, looking for somewhere to settle down for good.

The group arrives in New Orleans and offers cows as tribute to the leader of the settlement, Helmut Zemo, who, of course, is up to no good. Shang-Chi and Co. don’t realize that until it’s too late, but they once again persevere, teaming up with Kamala Khan and Blade on their way to New Asgard. Trouble finds them when they arrive, with Scarlet Witch hosting a feast for the Asgardians. She means to turn them into members of her undead army, and her plan goes off without a hitch. Still, Shang-Chi isn’t ready to give up, so he agrees to fight in the final battle against the villain’s forces. He meets his end, just like so many of his friends, but his latest appearance reveals so much about his character that the actual Shang-Chi 2 can embrace.

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Shang-Chi Is Ready to Lead His Own MCU Team

All the death in Marvel Zombies weighs on Shang-Chi. After all, he spends five hard years with Katy, Death Dealer, and Jimmy, and they all die under his watch. However, he never loses his composure, even helping motivate Kamala when all seems lost. More likely than not, Shang-Chi will take a back seat in Avengers: Doomsday, probably being one of the heroes on Sam Wilson’s team that goes up against not only Doctor Doom but the New Avengers. He shouldn’t playing second fiddle forever, though, because he’s a natural leader who can form his own team when the ball finally gets rolling on his second solo movie.

What Marvel Zombies does is form its own version of the Agents of Atlas, a team that both Shang-Chi and Jimmy are part of in the comics. There’s no reason that Shang-Chi 2 can’t take a page out of its animated collague’s playbook and go down the same route. Shang-Chi can help Katy hone her skills and give Jimmy a greater purpose than doing the FBI’s dirty work. Death Dealer won’t be around since he dies in Shang-Chi, but he wasn’t the best communicator anyway. Shang-Chi can make up for his abecne by filling out his roster with other big names, which will ensure that the MCU can never forget about his corner of the universe again.

Marvel Zombies is streaming on Disney+.

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