The Ten Rings criminal organization was depicted quite differently in critical injury of Tony Stark was the catalyst for his change of heart and the adoption of his Iron Man superhero identity. The organization is shown to be far more influential, deadly, and better equipped in 2021’s Shang-Chi, however, which might confuse viewers, if not for Shang-Chi’s clever explanation for why they were far weaker in their first appearance.
As explained in Shang-Chi’s prologue, The Ten Rings are an ancient organization founded by The Mandarin (one of Xu Wenwu’s many names throughout his extended lifespan) during the Middle Ages, and influencing world history through conquests, assassinations, and political manipulation. Their weapons and equipment—as shown in Shang-Chi’s action-packed third act—are highly advanced, and Wenwu’s top operatives, such as Death Dealer and Razor Fist, are among the world’s deadliest assassins.
The Ten Rings shown in Iron Man are deadly and tactically efficient, but outside of their competence, they appear to be conventional terrorists, keeping with the film’s relatively grounded tone. This is a far cry from the organization’s portrayal in Shang-Chi, which depicts their threat level as being comparable to groups like Hydra and the Red Room, if not exceeding them. Shang-Chi cleverly explains this, however, through the story of the Ten Rings’ founder and leader. When Wenwu fell in love with Ying Li, he ended The Ten Rings’ criminal operations, choosing a normal life for the first time in over a millennium. When Ying Li was murdered, however, Wenwu put on his mysterious rings once again and resumed his organization’s global criminal activities. The timeline coincides perfectly with Iron Man.
Wenwu and Ying Li fell in love in 1996, and The Ten Ring’s criminal activities were shut down shortly after the two started a family. The Iron Gang murdered Ying Li when her son, Shang-Chi, was seven years old, placing her death in 2006 or 2007. This means that Wenwu returned to his villainous way shortly before the events of Iron Man, the film that kickstarted the entirety of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. As explained in Shang-Chi, it took time for Wenwu to rebuild his empire to what it was before he met Ying Li, which would explain the Ten Rings group seen in Iron Man.
As explained in the Iron Man 3 Prelude comic, The Ten Rings (and not Aldrich Killian’s AIM façade) operated in cells spread out across the world and would receive funding and equipment from their typically-unseen leaders. The Afghanistan-based cell shown in Iron Man only used conventional weapons, as opposed to the advanced, crossbow-like energy weapons that Wenwu’s soldiers used in Shang-Chi. With The Ten Rings in the midst of rebuilding their empire, they most likely couldn’t equip their more remote cells with their best weapons and agents, reserving those for Wenwu’s command cell.
The Ten Rings’ goal of rebuilding their criminal empire would also explain why one of their cells fought so hard to steal Tony Stark’s weaponry. With advanced offensive ordnance like Stark’s Jericho Missiles, the cell’s leader, Raza, could have earned Wenwu’s favor. As shown in Iron Man, their endeavor backfired, resulting in Stark becoming one of the MCU’s greatest heroes, who helped dismantle the Ten Rings cell that captured him.
