Despite being around in the comics for decades, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings has certainly opened the eyes of a lot of new fans. This masterful martial artist has proven himself to be the most accomplished hand-to-hand combatant the MCU has to offer. But there's also competition in other worlds.
In the overall realm of comic books, there are a lot of incredibly talented fighters with deep roots in the martial arts. While some of them would give Shang-Chi a lot of trouble, many of them could not stand up to him. And that list includes some pretty big names.
10 Snake-Eyes Would Need To Pull Out All The Stops
When it comes to the toughest of the tough on the G.I. Joe team, look no further than the mysterious Snake-Eyes. Little is known about his past, other than he has received a lot of advanced combat training from the US military and has even more training as a ninja.
The man is an expert in various forms of armed and unarmed combat, not to mention various firearms and explosives. No one is suggesting that Snake-Eyes wouldn't be a huge challenge for Shang-Chi. At the same time, Shang-Chi is still the better fighter and isn't afraid of a masked man with a gun.
9 Karnak Takes Fighting To Another Level
When Inhumans reach a certain age, they pass through the Terrigen Mists. This unleashes their dormant powers. Karnak's older brother Triton was left unable to survive outside of the water. As such, their parents kept Karnak as far away from the Terrigen Mists as possible.
Instead, Karnak grew up studying philosophy and honing his body into one of the deadly weapons around. He is easily one of the finest martial artists Marvel Comics has. But even Karnak has his limits and Shang-Chi is the person to test them.
8 Archer Is Basically A Living Weapon
When Archer broke away from his cult of a family, he wasn't expecting to end up befriending someone like Armstrong. The immortal warrior has no discipline whatsoever, something Archer has in spades. But becoming a fighter of that caliber requires an incredible amount of discipline and training.
Archer is easily one of the top martial artists that Valiant Comics has. He would certainly provide Shang-Chi with a difficult challenge. That being said, Shang-Chai would be able to defeat him quite handily, though they might just end up being friends.
7 Storm Shadow Is One Of The Best Fighters Of All Time
Unlike his clan brother Snake-Eyes, Storm Shadow is quite focused on being a ninja. He spent his entire life honing his skills, joining the military as a means of finding combat to enhance those same skills. That's where he met Snake-Eyes.
Storm Shadow primarily uses the traditional weapons of the ninja and rarely uses a gun in combat. But if he's going to take on a fighter with the skill of Shang-Chi, he might consider borrowing an Uzi from Snake-Eyes. Not that it will help.
6 Ozymandias Considers Himself The Pinnacle Of Humanity
It would be fair to call Ozymandias the man with the plan. Unfortunately, his plan to bring some semblance of peace to the world involved killing a significant percentage of its population. One might say that he's a burn the village to save the village kind of guy.
Ozymandias considers himself to be the peak of humanity, both in intelligence and in physical abilities. While it doesn't come up too often in the comics, he is an incredibly proficient hand-to-hand combatant. Still, Shang-Chi is better and might have a few moves even Ozymandias has never seen before.
5 Black Canary Would Need More Training
Being a superhero means being prepared for anything. As such, it's nice to have an ace in the hole. And in Black Canary's case, that ace is her Canary Cry. That sonic attack has been incredibly useful over the years. At the same time, Black Canary has also been trained to fight.
Those fighting skills have become her bread and butter. The scream is useful and has saved her life on more than one occasion but her martial arts expertise is her go-to. But Shang-Chi might be able to show her a few fighting moves she's never seen before.
4 Kato Is Tough And Skilled But Couldn't Stand Up To Shang-Chi
The Green Hornet has generally been respected as one of the greatest heroes of all time. But his partner in crime Kato might be the greatest sidekick ever, not to mention an incredible martial artist. It's not like Green Hornet didn't pull his weight but Kato kept that man alive.
Honestly, watching Shang-Chi and Kato face-off would be a battle for the ages. Both of them have an incredibly refined skillset, with neither of them really outclassing the other. Ultimately, Shang-Chi is just good enough to take Kato down, though a victory going the other way wouldn't be a surprise.
3 Shang-Chi Might Teach Daredevil A Lesson In Fear
While it's true that Daredevil has some superhuman abilities, they are centered around his senses. Otherwise, he is in peak human condition and a highly trained fighter. The fact that Daredevil has the number of wins he has against more powerful opponents is impressive, to say the least.
Keeping all of that in mind, Shang-Chi is definitely the better fighter. The Man Without Fear is one of the most impressive warriors Marvel Comics has to offer. Unfortunately for him, Shang-Chi is a few places higher on that same list.
2 Shredder Hasn't Faced Anyone Of This Caliber
The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles have spent a significant portion of their young lives dealing with the nefarious Shredder. While the reasons for their enmity vary depending on the comic, movie, or TV series in question, that doesn't change the fact that they genuinely hate each other.
Shredder is a formidable martial artist, good enough to take on and defeat all four turtles by himself. But Shang-Chi is a better trained and more polished fighter. To him, Shredder would just be another goon sent by his father to test him.
1 Batman Is Good But Not That Good
Having no superpowers other than money in a world filled with gods and monsters is a difficult position to be in. But Batman has found ways to even the odds through a shocking array of gadgets, amazing vehicles, and a seemingly neverending supply of teenage sidekicks.
Batman has honed his fighting skills to build himself into one of the best fighters DC has to offer. But he's had his losses against better fighters and Shang-Chi would certainly hand him one more. Batman is a hell of a fighter. Shang-Chi is just plain better.