Ten Rings (Weapons)

The Ten Rings are a set of ten of unknown ancient origin, that provide the user a series of mystical powers. They were acquired by Xu Wenwu during the Middle Ages, which granted him absolute power, and provided the name and the symbol for his army known as the Ten Rings.
==History==
===Origin===
The origin of the rings had been shrouded in mystery, as there is no identifiable extraterrestrial roots. Ancient in nature, they possess a thermoluminescent trace once activated that emits a magical beacon. As time passed, the origins became unclear, as the story is altered from generation to generation.Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
===Ten Rings===
====Discovery of the Rings====
Thousands of years ago, Xu Wenwu discovered the rings, which granted him immense power and immortality. Wenwu used this power to amass an army of warriors called the Ten Rings, and conquer many kingdoms and topple governments throughout history. Over the centuries the tale of how and where Wenwu found the rings changed until no one but Wenwu himself knew where the rings came from; however, not even Wenwu knew who created the rings.
====Assault on the Seljuk Castle====
Leading his army of the Ten Rings, Wenwu had set his sights on using the power of the rings to conquer much of Asia. Wenwu led his army to an enemy castle, as he stepped forward on horseback alone, allowing his enemies to fire a sea of arrows at him. Unafraid, Wenwu proceeded to use his rings to create a shield for himself, as he charged forward and engaged the army single handed, slaughtering the soldiers with the power of the rings.
Having been able to easily defeat his enemies, Wenwu fired a blast of energy, which tore through the soldiers and destroy the gate into the castle, allowing Wenwu and his army to walk into the castle and claim it in the name of the Ten Rings. Wenwu would continue doing this across Asia, conquering a castle that became the Ten Rings Headquarters, as Wenwu kept the ten rings on his arms while he watched his soldiers training.
Wenwu led his army into further battles, including a battle across a snow-covered forest, during which Wenwu used the power of the rings as a whip, swiping through his enemies and once again emerging victorious. As Wenwu's armies continued growing, his soldiers and spies would mark their bodies with the symbol of the Ten Rings, showing their loyalty to the cause with the image of their leader's greatest weapon.
====Search for Ta Lo====
When Xu Wenwu was searching for Ta Lo, his squadron of vehicles began to be attacked by the forest itself, forcing Wenwu's car to be driven off a cliff, with Wenwu barely saving himself by using his rings to launch out of the car and catch himself just in time, while Hui and the rest of his unit perished. Exploring the forest, Wenwu came across its guardian, Ying Li, who blocked the way and insisted that Wenwu would not be allowed to enter Ta Lo.
In response, Wenwu armed his rings and attacked Ying Li, only for her to surprise him by avoiding his attacks, and even blocking the rings from striking her. In their fight, it was more a dance where Ying Li was able to deflect the rings and momentarily change their nature before redirecting them back to Wenwu. Eventually, Wenwu was overpowered and defeated by Ying Li, as he hit a tree and fell into a little pond, while she disappeared, leaving Wenwu to realize that he might have fallen for the only person to beat him in combat.
====Wenwu's Peaceful Life====
Following his defeat, Xu Wenwu chose to continue to visit Ying Li, and the two struck up a romance. The two chose to be together, and Wenwu chose to dismantle the Ten Rings as well as choosing to cease using the rings, while the couple lived a happy family life, with their two children, Shang-Chi and Xu Xialing. However, when Li was murdered by the Iron Gang, looking for revenge, in his grief, Wenwu once again took up the rings.
====Massacre of the Iron Gang====
Seeking revenge for Ying Li's murder, Xu Wenwu took Shang-Chi into a mahjong parlor to confront some of the Iron Gang members who was at one of the tables. Using the rings, Wenwu destroyed the table and threw one of the members out of the window. The gang members then attempted to shoot Wenwu, only for him to deflect the bullets with the rings, he then ensnared the last member and threw him onto a glass wall. 
With the Iron Gang member severly wounded from the attack from the rings, Wenwu promptly stood over him and asked him where his leader was, however, the member was unaware where he was. Accepting this answer, Wenwu proceeded to kill the last member by firing one of the rings directly into his head, before Wenwu and Shang-Chi calmly left the parlor together, with Wenwu choosing to keep the rings on for many more years.
====Attack on the Golden Daggers====
Having begun a mission to track down his children, Xu Wenwu would eventually catch up with Shang-Chi in the Golden Daggers Club. Having already captured Xu Xialing and Katy Chen, Wenwu found Shang-Chi in the middle of a battle against Death Dealer. Just as Shang-Chi attempting to use one of Death Dealer's daggers against him, Wenwu unleashed his Ten Rings, grabbing Shang-Chi by the arm and pulling him back with the rings, preventing him from killing Death Dealer. Knowing that he was no match against his father and the Ten Rings, Shang-Chi surrendered to Wenwu.
====Battle of Ta Lo====
As part of his mission to revive Ying Li and try to restore his family, Xu Wenwu led the Ten Rings into an invasion of Ta Lo, where they were challenged by the soldiers of the realm, along with Shang-Chi and Xu Xialing. When it became clear that they would be unwilling to surrender to him, Wenwu charged up his rings and ordered his soldiers to attack.
While Razor Fist and Death Dealer led the attack, Wenwu calmly moved towards his goal, ignoring a challenge from Ying Nan to fight. When Shang-Chi found his father, he approached him as they faced each other. They continued to fight each other until Shang-Chi gained the upper hand. Knocking him down, Shang-Chi told Wenwu that even if Ying Li could be revived she would not want Wenwu back, which caused an enraged Wenwu to punch his son with the full force of the rings which, sending him into the water.
====Showdown for the Rings====
Having reached the Dark Gates where he believed that Ying Li was being held captive, Xu Wenwu then used the rings to reach the gate and started punching it allowing some Soul Eaters to escape through the cracks Wenwu was creating. Shang-Chi was saved from drowning by the Great Protector, who helped him intercept Wenwu before he could fully break the gate. 
Resuming their previous fight, Wenwu flung half of his rings at Shang-Chi, although Shang-Chi caught them and managed to gain control of them. Realizing what he had done, he used his newfound skills to better control the rings and use them against his father. Wenwu and Shang-Chi continued to fight with their halves of the rings until Wenwu launched Shang-Chi into the air and struck him with a heavy blow.
However, Wenwu saw Shang-Chi in the smoke, who gained control of all the rings. Shang-Chi launched a powerful attack with the rings before ultimately deciding to put them aside, sparing his father. Unfortunately, Wenwu still believed his wife was still alive. Shang-Chi tried to convince him to retreat, but the voice of the Dweller-in-Darkness broke the Dark Gate. Wenwu chose to save Shang-Chi from the Dweller, choosing to die himself.
====Under Shang-Chi's Ownership====
A dying Xu Wenwu, gave his son, Shang-Chi his rings so that he could survive. Shang-Chi was then rescued by Xu Xialing and the Great Protector. However, the Dweller-in-Darkness caught up to them and nearly killed the Great Protector, but before it could do so Katy Chen saved it using the Bow and Arrow. With Xialing and the Great Protector's help, Shang-Chi then used the rings to destroy the Dweller, ending the battle.
====Analyzed====
Shang-Chi and Katy Chen were at a restaurant with their friends Soo and John when an Inter-Dimensional Portal appeared and Wong stepped out. He called for Shang-Chi and asked if he had the rings with him. Shang-Chi told him that he did, and Wong told him and Chen to come with him. They exited through the portal and arrived in Kamar-Taj, where they discussed the rings with Carol Danvers and Bruce Banner via a holographic call. Danvers reported that the rings weren't like any alien technology she had ever seen, and Banner noted that they were not vibranium and that they were far older than the thousand years' time that Xu Wenwu had been using them.
Wong then explained that he felt the rings' energy in Kamar-Taj when Shang-Chi used them for the first time. He then showed them an image of the rings sending out a message to an unknown recipient. Wong told the group that whatever they were, it was nothing that had yet been documented in the Codex. As the conversation ended, Wong warned Shang-Chi and Katy that their lives had changed forever with no way of going back.
===Alternate Universe Versions===
====Hela's Banishment====
To be added
==Capabilities==
The Ten Rings would grant their users enhanced strength and longevity, be fired as projectiles, emit concussive energy blasts, and can be telepathically controlled to be used as platforms to help their users move through the air. The enhanced strength granted by the rings is proportional to how many rings the user is wearing at once, Xu Wenwu typically kept five rings on each arm to evenly distribute their strength enhancement but could double the power of his punches by moving all rings to a single arm, Shang-Chi similarly wore the rings on his leg to enhance the strength of his kicks. Wenwu killed a member of the Iron Gang by firing a single ring directly into his head at point blank range. In the same battle Wenwu deflected bullets fired at him by blocking them with the rings. Both Shang-Chi and Wenwu used the rings as a means of propulsion to launch themselves into the air then land safely by having the rings act as platforms to land on.
When thrown as projectiles the rings the user can call the rings back to return to them. While hovering in the air after being thrown the rings emit a magic energy field that the user can manipulate at will, Wenwu demonstrated the ability to use that energy field as a barrier by spinning the rings around himself at high speed, both him and Shang-Chi used the energy field to use the rings as a whip, while Shang-Chi used the energy field as tether to hold his sister's hand to save her from falling. The rings stop the user's aging as long as they're worn, allowing Wenwu to live for well over a thousand years while still looking like a middle-aged man; however, the rings do not grant true immortality as they cannot protect the user from fatal injuries or supernatural causes of death as seen when Wenwu's soul was extracted by the Dweller-in-Darkness.
The rings seem to have a degree of intelligence and self-awareness, likewise they appear to react to beings with abilities inherited from the Great Protector. Both Ying Li and Shang-Chi were able to take control of the rings away from Wenwu when they battled him by using the unique martial arts practiced in Ta Lo to redirect their energy, when used by them the rings' energy color changes from blue to golden. Shang-Chi initially only took five rings from Wenwu, with the other five rings willingly choosing to leave Wenwu and side with Shang-Chi after the two wrestled their rings colliding their energy fields. Once Shang-Chi obtained all ten rings at once they demonstrated new abilities when used in conjunction with the abilities granted by the Great Protector. Shang-Chi used the rings to project an energy blast that was powerful enough to kill the Dweller-in-Darkness with a single blow; the energy released from the attack was powerful enough to be detected by the Masters of the Mystic Arts all the way in Kamar-Taj.
Upon being analyzed by Wong, he determined that the rings started emitting a beacon to an unknown being after Shang-Chi used them to kill the Dweller-in-Darkness.
==Alternate Versions==
Origin 	Status	Creators	Owners 	Users
Zombie Outbreak	Active	- 	Xu Shang-Chi	Xu Shang-Chi
Merciful Hela 	Active	- 	Xu Wenwu 	Xu Wenwu
Old Man Wenwu 	Active	- 	Xu Wenwu 	Xu WenwuKahhori
==Appearances==
In chronological order:
* (alternate universe)
*
* (photo)
* (unreleased)Destin Daniel Cretton Inks Overall Deal With Marvel Studios & Hulu’s Onyx Collective; Set For Disney+ MCU Series & ‘Shang-Chi’ Sequel
* (unreleased; alternate universe)Spider-Man and Shang Chi In Marvel Zombies Topped Off a Killer Marvel Animation Panel at D23
* (alternate universe)
==Trivia==
*In the comics, the rings are piece of Makluan technology containing the soul of a powerful cosmic warrior. When the Makluan explorer Axonn-Karr crashed on Valley of the Spirits, the Mandarin killed him and acquired the rings.
**Following the success of Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, a different version of the Ten Rings, resembling the weapons shown in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, was introduced to the comics in July 2022.Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings Issue 1
*When Xu Wenwu uses the rings, they are blue and channel electricity. But when Ying Li or Shang-Chi uses them, they are golden and produce a fire-like stream. This likely represents . Wenwu's Yang is usage emphasized by masculinity and determined action, while Shang-Chi and Ying Li's Yin is represented by traditional femininity and passive redirection.
*In concept art for Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, the Ten Rings come from an alien meteorite. The rings inside of the meteorite would liquify into two molten snakes, which would then wrap around the arms and cool into the rings.Dane Hallett - Artist Page Xu Wenwu obtained the rings after breaking into a palace treasure room during the Qingming Festival in order to steal the Wands of Watoomb. After distracting the guards with a pretty girl, he snuck into the treasure room and discovered a glowing box containing the rings. He then used the rings to fight the guards and escape.Jeremy Love - Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
==Behind the Scenes==
*In most other interpretations of the character, the Mandarin's rings go on each of his ten fingers, as opposed to being on his wrists. The Marvel Cinematic Universe's version of the rings are similar to , which are used in martial arts for training and combat. Jonathan Schwartz said that the design of the rings was changed because they were going to look "a little goofy" in practice, besides that they would be similar to Thanos' Infinity Gauntlet.Shang-Chi Producer Confirms Avengers' Infinity Stones Influenced MCU's Ten Rings Design (Exclusive)
*Jeff Loveness implied that Kang the Conqueror has some connection to the Ten Rings, utilizing similar ring technology to them.Avengers 5 Writer Seemingly Confirms Kang 'Infinity Stones' Theory
==References==
==External Links==
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