Shang-Chi finds himself face-to-face with a dragon in the new trailer for Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. Tie-in toys have revealed that this dragon is called the "Great Protector," but it could also be a version of the comic book villain Fin Fang Foom (a.k.a "He Whose Limbs Shatter Mountains and Whose Back Scrapes the Sun"). This mighty lizard has a long history in the pages of Marvel Comics, and he holds the secret to the true origin of the Ten Rings of Power.
Not to be confused with Shou-Lao, the dragon that Danny Rand fought in order to become the Immortal Iron Fist, Fin Fang Foom is an alien who hails from the distant planet of Kakaranthara. He came to Earth along with several other members of his race (known as the Makluans, the Axonn-Karr, or the Space Dragons) eons ago, after growing bored of how peaceful life was on Kakaranthara and deciding to seek out new worlds to conquer. It was Fin Fang Foom's voyage that first brought the Ten Rings of Power to Earth, where they ultimately ended up being wielded by the Mandarin - who, in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, is Shang-Chi's father.
The latest trailer for Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings shows the Mandarin wielding the rings both in a grand battle and as part of his modern criminal enterprise. But while the Mandarin may claim the rings as his own, the Makluans would disagree. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings star Simu Liu has debunked rumors that Fin Fang Foom will appear, counting the dragon (who has a clumsy and rather racist attempt to create a Chinese-sounding name) among the "questionable elements" from the comics that won't be included in the movie. But even if the Great Protector isn't Fin Fang Foom in name, it could end up sharing much of the same backstory.
Fin Fang Foom actually predates Shang-Chi's first appearance in Marvel Comics by more than a decade. The ancient dragon made his debut in Strange Tales #89. Published in 1961, the comic very much reflects the Red Scare that dominated American politics at the time, telling a story about how a plucky hero uses the wrath of Fin Fang Foom to fight against "Communist tyranny" and "the armed might of the red hordes." The hero, Chan Liuchow, lives on the island of Formosa, which is facing the imminent threat of invasion by China's Communist forces. Having unearthed an ancient manuscript detailing the whereabouts of a slumbering dragon called Fin Fang Foom, Chan makes his way to the beast's lair and wakes Fin Fang Foom up using secret herbs. He then taunts the dragon and flees from it, leading it to the heart of the Chinese army and letting it rampage through the amassed forces. When the invasion force is destroyed, Chan leads Fin Fang Foom back to his cave and puts him back to sleep.
Though Fin Fang Foom made a few other appearances in the interim years, it wasn't until the 1990s that he made his way into Marvel Comics' main superhero canon and his backstory as a Space Dragon from Kakaranthara was established. Awoken from his ancient slumber by the Mandarin in Iron Man #1961, Fin Fang Foom was at the center of "The Dragon Seed Saga," in which the Mandarin attempted to use the mighty power of the dragon to establish a new dynasty of his own making in China, only to find that he'd bitten off more than he could chew. The wizard Chen Hsu, who had helped the Mandarin to find Fin Fang Foom's lair, was actually another Space Dragon in disguise - and the "new dynasty" he'd promised wasn't the one that the Mandarin had in mind. With Fin Fang Foom restored, Chen Hsu uses a psychic call to awaken eight other dragons across the world that had disguised themselves as humans, and reveals that his true plan all along was to make dragons the masters of Earth.
Where "The Dragon Seed Saga" comes into play for Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is the comics' reveal of where the Ten Rings of Power came from. These ancient artifacts were discovered by the Mandarin on a crashed spaceship belonging to the Makluans, where they were originally used as control elements for the ship. The Mandarin was able, over time, to unlock the powerful potential of the Ten Rings, but their rightful owners were the surviving Space Dragons - Fin Fang Foom among them - who had crashed in the ship. Fin Fang Foom chose to slumber beneath the Earth, while the rest of the dragons escaped attention by disguising themselves as humans. Over the centuries their dragon forms grew in size, until they were ready to take back the Ten Rings of Power and conquer Earth.
It was here that the Mandarin proved himself worthy of the Ten Rings. The dragons attempted to call the rings back to themselves, since they still shared a bond with them, but the Mandarin had gained enough mastery over them that he was able to resist, even as the strain of keeping the rings on his fingers caused him great pain. He still wasn't able to defeat the dragons alone, however. Only when Iron Man grasped his hands and combined their powers were the dragons were destroyed. The blast destroyed the Mandarin's hands, but they regrew as scaled dragon claws that the supervillain used to reclaim the Ten Rings.
In the new trailer for Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Shang-Chi finds himself face-to-face with the Great Protector after falling into deep water. The dragon does not appear to be immediately aggressive, unlike Fin Fang Foom, who generally responds to being awoken by going on a destructive rampage. The Great Protector toys also do not resemble Fin Fang Foom at all; instead of being green with a wide mouth and jutting lower jaw, the dragon is red and white with a gentle-looking face. There's no dragon in Marvel Comics called the "Great Protector," so it may be the case that Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings included Fin Fang Foom's story and simply changed his name. Alternatively, the Great Protector could be a more benevolent member of the Makluan race that helps Shang-Chi to stop his father.
If the Great Protetor's name does prove to be a bit of a misnomer, and it's just as dangerous as Fin Fang Foom, Shang-Chi may still be able to use the dragon to defeat his father by employing a similar strategy to Chan Liuchow in the original Strange Tales comic. Shang-Chi could rouse Fin Fang Foom from his rest and lead him to the Mandarin and the Ten Rings in the hope that the dragon will reclaim the artifacts stolen from his race. Another possibility is that the Mandarin uses the Ten Rings to exercise control over the dragon and wield him as a weapon. The Great Protector could be one of the ways in which the Mandarin has used the Ten Rings to accumulate power over the centuries; after all, no one wants to mess with a man who has his own pet dragon.
Whether it proves to be Shang-Chi's foe, his ally, or simply an element of chaos, it will certainly be interesting to see how the Great Protector fits into Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.
from ScreenRant - Feed https://ift.tt/2U3G3OF
https://ift.tt/3xXwAHj
Comments
Post a Comment