Ten Rings

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

Thousands of years ago, Xu Wenwu discovered the Ten Rings, mystical iron bands that grant immortality. He amassed an army named after them and conquered many kingdoms. In 1996, Wenwu attempted to invade Ta Lo but was stopped by guardian Ying Li. They fell in love, married, and had two children, Shang-Chi and Xialing. Content with family life, Wenwu deactivated the Ten Rings organization. However, when Li was murdered by the Iron Gang triad, Wenwu reactivated the group. He trained his son Shang-Chi as an assassin under Death Dealer while forbidding Xialing from training due to her resemblance to Li. At age 14, Shang-Chi killed the Iron Gang leader but abandoned the organization, traumatized; Xialing followed six years later.

In Their Own Story

In 2010, the Ten Rings Afghanistan cell captured Tony Stark after Obadiah Stane arranged an attack on a US convoy. Raza demanded a Jericho missile in exchange for freedom, but Stark and Yinsen built armor to escape, with Yinsen sacrificing himself. Despite this, the group continued working with Stane, using stolen missiles to attack Gulmira until Stark intervened. Later, Aldrich Killian of AIM hired actor Trevor Slattery to impersonate Wenwu, claiming credit for Extremis explosions as 'the Mandarin.' The real Wenwu, outraged, had Slattery broken out of Seagate Prison only to keep him as a court jester. In 2015, the Ten Rings attempted to buy Yellowjacket suits from Darren Cross but were foiled by Scott Lang.

Reader's Guide

In 2024, Wenwu heard Li's voice telling him she was trapped in Ta Lo. He sent agents led by Razor Fist to retrieve pendants gifted to Shang-Chi and Xialing. After successfully taking both, Wenwu revealed his plan to destroy Ta Lo to free Li, imprisoning his children when they refused. They escaped with Slattery and a creature named Morris to warn the village. Wenwu invaded Ta Lo, manipulated by the Dweller-in-Darkness into breaking its seal. Realizing his error after Death Dealer was killed, Wenwu sacrificed himself to save Shang-Chi, bequeathing him the Ten Rings. Shang-Chi used them to destroy the Dweller. Surviving members joined villagers in a lantern ceremony before Xialing restructured the group to include female fighters.

Did You Know?

• The organization was founded one thousand years ago by Xu Wenwu.
• Actor Trevor Slattery was hired by Aldrich Killian to impersonate the Ten Rings leader, believing he was starring in a movie.
• Xialing was forbidden from training because she reminded her father too much of his late wife, Ying Li.
• In an alternate 2010, Erik 'Killmonger' Stevens infiltrated the Ten Rings to save Tony Stark and expose Obadiah Stane.