There have been a number of villainous groups that have antagonized the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but none has proven to be quite as resilient as the Ten Rings. The mysterious crime syndicate has been causing chaos since the very beginning of the MCU and has continued to make its presence felt throughout the years.
And while some of the Ten Ring's appearances are less obvious than others, every action the group takes helps it amass power and destabilize its enemies. Here's a breakdown of every time the Ten Rings has appeared throughout the MCU.
Iron Man: The Ten Rings Kidnapped Tony Stark
Iron Man is the first film in the MCU and also marks the first appearance of the Ten Rings. While Tony Stark is in Afghanistan demonstrating the power of his Jericho missile, he is kidnapped by a cell of the Ten Rings led by a man named Raza. The group holds Stark hostage, trying to force him to build a Jericho missile for them. However, Stark instead builds the first Iron Man suit with the aid of Ho Yinsen and escapes, nearly wiping out the Ten Rings' camp in the process.
It's later revealed that Raza's sect was hired to kill Tony by his business partner Obadiah Stane, but they changed their plans once they realized Stark's capabilities. As payback for their treachery, Stane has the few remaining members of Raza's group killed and steals the pieces of the Iron Man suit they had recovered.
Iron Man 2: The Ten Rings Assist Ivan Vanko
The Ten Rings' role in Iron Man 2 is key to the film's events, despite being minor in the grand scheme of things. Toward the beginning of the film, Ivan Vanko meets with a member of the group who provides him with fake documents that allow him to travel to Monaco, where he confronts Stark. The group's partnership with Vanko indicates that they are seeking revenge on Stark for his escape from them in Iron Man. Without the Ten Rings' aid, Vanko would likely have never been able to attack Tony, meaning the film's events were set in motion by the sinister organization.
Iron Man 3: The Ten Rings' Name Is Was Co-Opted by Killian
Technically, the Ten Rings don't actually appear in Iron Man 3. Instead, Aldrich Killian and A.I.M. co-opt the group's name and iconography to cover up the explosions that result from their failed Extremis experiments. They even go so far as to hire actor Trevor Slattery to pose as the group's leader, the Mandarin. But Stark and James Rhodes discover this ruse when they confront Slattery at Killian's mansion and manage to defeat the maniacal scientist with the aid of an Extremis-empowered Pepper Potts.
All Hail The King: A Ten Rings Agent Abducted Trevor Slattery From Prison
Following the release of Iron Man 3, Marvel put out an installment of their Marvel One-Shots series that revealed what happened to Trevor Slattery after his arrest. Titled All Hail the King, the short film centered around a reporter named Jackson Norriss interviewing Trevor in prison and telling him about the history of the Ten Rings and the real Mandarin. The one-shot ends with Norriss, who is revealed to be a Ten Rings agent, breaking Slattery out of prison in order to bring him to the real Mandarin to be punished for his impersonation.
Ant-Man: The Ten Rings Was Involved in the Sale of a Yellowjacket Suit
As the events of Ant-Man pick up in intensity, the villainous Darren Cross strikes a deal with Hydra agent Mitchell Carson to sell him the size-changing Yellowjacket suit. Carson arrives to the deal accompanied by another Hydra agent, as well as a man with a Ten Rings tattoo on his neck.
This shows that the Ten Rings is not above allying with other nefarious organizations to accomplish their goals, which apparently include acquiring Hank Pym's size-changing technology. Unfortunately for the villains, they are defeated by Scott Lang in the Ant-Man suit, and the Ten Rings' buyer is killed when the Pym Technologies building implodes.
Shang-Chi: The Ten Rings Steps to the Forefront of the MCU
After a lengthy absence from the MCU, the Ten Rings returns in full force in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. The organization is at the film's forefront, with "the Mandarin" finally appearing in the flesh, although he dismisses the title and instead is referred to by his real name, Wenwu. He attempts to recruit his children, Shang-Chi and Xialing, to help free their mother from a prison that he believes she is trapped in.
However, it's revealed that Wenwu is being manipulated by a creature called the Dweller-in-Darkness. He is eventually killed by the monster, but his rings are used by his son to defeat it. But while Shang-Chi keeps the physical ten rings, Xialing takes over the organization named after them, intending to use it for her own purposes and allowing women to join it for the first time.
To see the Ten Rings' most recent MCU appearance, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is in theaters now.