Marvel is formally considering Shang-Chi “New Avenger.” Back in 2014, entertainer Simu Liu took to Twitter to address Marvel Studios: “Hello Marvel, extraordinary occupation with Captain America and Thor. Now what about an Asian-American legend?” after seven years, Liu has his desire, as Shang-Chi – the acclaimed “Expert of Kung Fu” in the funnies – enters the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Suitably enough, he’s played by Liu himself.
Marvel has distributed a limited time video, “Accolade,” that seems to address the inquiry. It sets up a reasonable account throughline with the legends of the past – Iron Man, Captain America, Black Widow, and Thor – and Shang-Chi himself. Above all, it promotes Shang-Chi as “Marvel’s New Avenger.”
According to a showcasing point of view, it’s a good idea for Marvel to interface Shang-Chi to the Avengers. His image is unquestionably not as notable as any semblance of Iron Man and Captain America – even in the funnies it’s been some time since Shang-Chi featured in a continuous series instead of a miniseries – thus this promotion attaches him to greater, more settled brands, and particularly to the actual Avengers. The trailer centers around three Avengers whose MCU experiences have reached a conclusion, and the fourth OG Avenger it references is one whose heritage is going to be passed to another; Mjolnir will be employed by Natalie Portman’s Jane Foster in Thor: Love and Thunder. The unmistakable ramifications is that another age of Avengers is coming, and Shang-Chi is one of them. Pleasingly, it looks like the Avengers of tomorrow will be significantly more assorted than the ones who initially ventured into the spotlight in 2012’s The Avengers.
There’s no genuine proof whether the Avengers actually exist in-universe in the MCU at this moment. “Supplicate nothing insane happens once more,” a school video proclaimed in Spider-Man: Far From Home, “on the grounds that are the Avengers even a thing any longer?” But assuming the Avengers don’t presently exist, this limited time video recommends it’s inevitable before they are changed – and Shang-Chi will be numbered among them.
