Category: Shang-Chi

XIALING, NULL

The sister has a lot going on as a character, and seems placed to contribute more in further sequels.

She’s self-taught. While Shaun was trained abusively, Xialing was ignored. On the quiet, she watched and learned.

She’s self-made. After leaving home as a teenager she built a fighting arena in Macau that becomes hugely successful. At the end of the movie, she’s taking over her father’s crime business.

It’s actually a bit awkward. She’s brave, strong, smart — a hero — yet no one ever suggests that she wear the Ten Rings. Even she never questions why Shaun gets the power. It’s canon, or it’s a father/son inheritance, or both. Shaun never even offers her the Rings. I mean, yes, that’s the story — abused boy becomes resolved man — but if sister is going to be worthy of power, then we need to see that discussion.

Oh, dear. She’s much more developed than mom and auntie, but is she just an archetype, too? What does she want? What is her arc and what are her goals? She gets a lot of screen time and is integrated into the main plot. She saves them on the skyscraper scaffolding and in the final dragon battle, but her actions could’ve been performed by anybody. Besides being Sister, she brings nothing specific to these moments. Yikes.

YING NAN, NULL

This is the aunt who lives in the magical realm. If you want a character to enter at the Third Act and dominate with ease, of course you cast Michelle Yeoh. Does she have a number, though, or is she an archetype like her dead sister?

She has a compassion for her niece and nephew, and no flexibility toward her brother-in-law. She reveres her sister’s memory. These are all predictable emotions and reactions. As with Li, the portrayal is so compelling I want to find more than the writers gave these characters. This film is not their story, so great actors are given only a sketch to inhabit.

You know what movie gets this right? Moana. The grandma is like these women, really only an archetype of a wise woman mentor, yet the writers also gave her a specific character, nailed in one or two scenes. I’ll have to take a closer look! I love that movie.

Meanwhile, I’m sorry to say, we have no Enneagram here. The showrunners cast Yeoh, who brings a certain charismatic identity imbued from her other films, and calls that her character.

XU WENWU, FOUR

The Ringbearer, the patriarch, the villain. Tony Leung’s portrayal is so complex and nuanced, I kept wanting him to be the hero and future Marvel addition! He went from conqueror and crime lord to husband in the blink of a scene, and I believed every moment of it. When his wife Li dies he switches back, becoming even harsher, and again I believed it. At the end when he releases the evil dragon, he thinks he’s releasing his trapped wife. He’s hearing suspicious voices, and again I believe. He breaks my heart with his desire to see his wife.

A Four. Who else could hit emotions on such a spectrum? Who else would find revenge as palatable as bliss?

LI, NULL

This is Shang-Chi’s mother. We don’t see much of her, but she is so impressive I wish we saw more. Gentle, obviously. She defeats the Ringbearer in the smoothest, quietest manner possible. Nature swirls around her, a cloud of leaves dancing with her movements. It’s lovely.

She gives up her own country to live with her husband and children. As a mother, she’s a fearless defender and a patient teacher.

Actually, she’s kind of perfect. Too perfect? Is she a real character or only an avatar of motherhood and sacrifice? She’s portrayed so beautifully, I want to give her a number, lol! Sadly, though, she has no flaws, no arc, and she’s basically fridged.

SHAUN/SHANG-CHI, NINE

Our protagonist, who will become a Marvel superhero in later projects, has a very strict father and a dead mother. (Thanks, Disney, for killing off another mom.) He leaves home in his teens, making a new life in America, and only returns when his father sends goons to attack him and steal his mother’s pendant.

So, strong and self-determined. He sets out with nothing. Of course he’s a physical creature, but, interestingly, I don’t think he’s a Body Type. Until called to fight he shows no interest in physical skills. His father, through abuse, coerces him to train. It’s not really something Shaun seeks from his own sense of self.

What is he, then? First, let me honestly own that I wasn’t impressed with Shaun. He was the weakest link in an otherwise good movie. The actor is wooden, or too stoic to be understood even by a camera, and I had a hard time engaging with his character. He’s not a Body Type, and he certainly isn’t a Head Type. Before his father comes for him, Shaun is a valet driver with little ambition or interest beyond karaoke night with his friend Katy. By default he becomes a Heart Type (or a Null).

I’m wrong.

You know what he is? A badly written Nine. He avoids conflict, which would be a defining trait. He’s a superhero, so they’ve put him in the traditional Nine silo, but given him none of the other characteristics of a Nine. Where is his lazy good humor? Where is his curiosity about people and the world? Where is his drive to maintain his activity level? Where is his diplomacy and righteous judgment? He decides his must kill his father, render a verdict, but it’s all so bland and contrived. It comes from the writers and not from a character drive.

I will call him a Nine, because that’s what the movie expects us to see, but I don’t think the showrunners or the actor have earned the number.

KATY, EIGHT

Who is this fabulous Shang-Chi goddess, lol? Awkwafina brings good-natured humor, compassion, loyalty, and grit to the role. (When she starts singing “Hotel California” at a thug on a skyscraper ledge, rip.) At first we think of her as a good egg and a comedic relief sidekick. That archery, though! I didn’t expect her to become a superhero partner.

So let’s take the archery seriously. Let’s say it’s not just a gimmick (Give the lively comedienne a pointy prop!) but a physical gift that surprises her, an inherent trait. Body Type, right? I have a hard time seeing Heart or Head jumping in and excelling at a complicated athletic discipline. With time and training, yes, but not in a few days’ timespan. (Again, we’re suspending our disbelief and calling the whole Ta Lo adventure plausible.)

She’s too flamboyant to be a Nine, but what about an Eight or a One? Her boldness and ribald humor could indicate either number.

I’m going to say Eight. I love the idea that the superhero Eight, an overworked and tired trope, is refreshed here by Katy’s unique perspective. Also, an Eight can hide their athleticism more than a One can. A One is an Energizer bunny, and that’s not our Katy.