WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, now in theaters.

In the Marvel Cinematic Universe, there's been an obsession with silent soldiers as if Marvel's looking to carve out its own version of G.I. Joe's Snake Eyes. First, Bucky Barnes returned as the Winter Soldier, silently killing for Hydra as the group tried to seize world power, while Black Widow recently flipped the script on a usually-talkative Taskmaster, reframing Tony Masters as the quiet Antonia. Now, the studio is trying its hand at a third badass in the form of the quiet Death Dealer, so let's dissect if this new assassin is better than the others.

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings wants to affirm that Wenwu's secret organization is a force to be reckoned with. It shows the Ten Rings creating soldiers to continue Wenwu's thousand-year-old empire, with his son eventually falling in after his mother's death. However, his sister, Xialing, is left out, with Death Dealer mercilessly beating the boy in training.

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Clearly, Wenwu wants the keys to the kingdom handed down to Shang-Chi, and Death Dealer is his right-hand man and most trusted agent to prep the boy. And make no mistake, Death Dealer is badass, with an awesome mask and some epic fight sequences, as seen with the scaffolding fight in Macau years later. Death Dealer eventually gets the better of the siblings, almost killing Shang-Chi for forsaking the organization. At this point in Shang-Chi, this war general not having any powers, apart from being an expert martial artist and brilliant tactician with blades and staffs, suggests he's going to be a powerhouse in the final act.

However, a couple of things detract from Death Dealer being finessed into the finished product. Firstly, he lacks personality and this really makes the character feel tacked on. Had there been more interaction with him and Xialing, or even Wenwu giving him direction on which sibling to guide, it'd have resonated more. He's clearly a skilled killer but there's no heart or soul to him, which ends up making his death fall flat.

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This brings us to the second point, as the silent assassin's death happens so quickly in the battle at Ta Lo, it negates the warrior seen throughout the rest of Shang-Chi. Death Dealer's shaped as this majestic warrior so it leaves fans hoping to see him kicking butt with Razor Fist and the others when they switch sides to fight the Dweller-in-Darkness' forces. Instead, after Wenwu's people realize their crusade is a trick, the soul-sucking bat-like creatures simply swoop down and drain the life from Death Dealer's body. It's incredibly underwhelming, painting the total opposite of Bucky and Antonia in the field when the odds are stacked.

Taskmaster in the Black Widow Movie

Bucky, admittedly, had many movies to impress fans, but his Winter Soldier did enough by scaring Nick Fury, Black Widow and Captain America. He also had a profound backstory and multiple action sequences in place against many a villain and hero. The personal, emotive stakes were there, which could also be said for Taskmaster, as she was Dreykov's daughter, whom he built in the Red Room to kill Nat after the ex-Widow bombed them.

Whether or not Antonia lived, that gave the audience a reason to connect with her and sympathize, even wanting Nat to repent for her sins. But as for Death Dealer, while he can do almost everything the others can, there's just a lack of emotive tissue that makes the character feel all style and no substance. Had he helped save Xialing later at Ta Lo, lived and moved on for a sequel with a new Ten Rings, this may have shaped a better arc of redemption. But as it stands, he's just a tool that's quickly disposed of just when the stage is set for him to shine.

To see Death Dealer get a raw deal, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is in theaters now.

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