Xu Xialing (Mandarin: 徐夏灵)[3] is the current leader of the Ten Rings, the daughter of Xu Wenwu and Ying Li, and the younger sister of Shang-Chi. Xu was not allowed to train alongside the men in her youth, leading her to learn martial arts through observation. When Shang-Chi defected from the Ten Rings, Xu felt abandoned, also deciding to defect years later. Xu relocated to Macau, where she founded the Golden Daggers Club. Years later, Xu was approached by Shang-Chi and Katy Chen, whom the Ten Rings were hunting. The three were eventually captured by the Ten Rings and reunited with their father. Wenwu was preparing to venture into the realm of Ta Lo and reunite with his late wife; his destructive plans alienated Xu, Shang-Chi, and Chen, leading to their imprisonment. After escaping, they journeyed into Ta Lo and joined the elders in defending their village. Ta Lo's warriors, along with Xu, later joined forces with the Ten Rings to defeat the Dweller-in-Darkness. In the aftermath, Xu assumed leadership of the Ten Rings in the wake of her father's death.
"The Nine-Tailed Fox will find special treats from all over the world for you, and just like Xialing, will protect you with her strength and intelligence."
Xu Xialing was born in between 2003 and 2004 to Xu Wenwu and Ying Li, and was the younger sister of Shang-Chi. She and her family lived in the Ten Rings Headquarters in China for many years happily.[1] One night, Ying told Xu stories about the legends of Ta Lo as a bedtime story. She started by explaining the Shishi, who guarded each other, which Shang-Chi likened to his protection of Xu. Ying then noted that Xu was cute and clever, comparing her to the Jiu Wei Hu.
Ying talked about the flying Qilin next, so Xu noted that the guardians which flew were her favorites. This prompted Ying to described the Fenghuang. Ying talked about Morris and Dragons, and Shang-Chi expressed admiration for Ying's village. Shang-Chi and Xu went to sleep while Ying noted that the village did not have everything.[4] Ying gave Xu a dragon pendant that could open the key to the map to Ta Lo. Ying taught Xu and Shang-Chi many other lessons, but one day while the three were outside, they were confronted by the Iron Gang, who wanted revenge on Wenwu. Ying ushered Xu and Shang Chi to leave so that she could fight the gang, which resulted in their mother's death.[1]
After the death of Ying Li in 2007, Xu Wenwu decided to train Xu Shang-Chi to be an assassin for the Ten Rings, but did not allow Xu to train with the others because she reminded Wenwu of her mother. Despite this, Xu watched Shang-Chi train with the other assassins from the side, and began to train herself based off of what she had observed, including training with her Rope Dart.[1]
In 2014, when Xu was ten years old, her brother, Xu Shang-Chi was tasked to finally avenge their mother's death. Xu expressed her concern that he would leave her alone at the headquarters, but her brother promised that he would return soon. He later realized that he had a chance to escape his father's control and did not fulfill his promise, leaving Xu alone. In 2018, Xu survived the Snap.[1]
Six years after her brother abandoned her, Xu managed to escape the Ten Rings Headquarters through a secret tunnel passage within the compound. She moved to Macau, where she then founded the fighting club, the Golden Daggers Club, where she befriended Jon Jon. Over the years, Xu was quite successful in building up her club, managing to find some fighters with various backgrounds ranging from normal martial artists to super-powered individuals and professional killers who were willing to participate in her tournament.[1]
In 2024, Xu found herself reunited with her brother, who had traveled to Macau with Katy Chen, and had been signed up as her opponent in the main cage. Shang-Chi was taken aback to his sister, but she did not hesitate to attack him, much to his confusion.
Because he did not want to fight her, Shang-Chi was quickly knocked to the ground by Xu. He attempted to explain himself, but Xu did not want to hear it and continued fighting Shang-Chi. Although he persisted in not fighting his sister, Shang-Chi began defending himself from Xu's vicious strikes. Shang-Chi managed to inform Xu that their father was coming for them, and she told him that he shouldn't have come back and went to leave the cage. But she was stopped by the memory of Shang-Chi abandoning her, which brought back her resentment, and she spin kicked him in the face, knocking him out.
After the fight, Xu had Shang-Chi and Chen brought to her office, where he explained that they were attacked by the Ten Rings, and that they would be coming for her next. Xu revealed to Chen how she waited for Shang-Chi to return for six years until she figured out she no longer needed him, and stated that she still didn't need him. Shang-Chi then asked about a postcard she sent him, but Xu knew nothing about it, and at that moment, the alarms went off due to the Ten Rings attacking. Xu and Jon Jon escaped in a secret elevator, leaving Shang-Chi and Chen behind.
Despite the resentment she still harbored for her brother, Xu decided to go back and help him fight the Ten Rings agents. Fortunately, Xu arrived by the scaffolding to catch Chen as she fell, saving her life. Xu then climbed the scaffolding to where Shang-Chi was being attacked by multiple agents. The siblings fought together, with Xu being more brutal as she kicked the agents off the building to their deaths, until Death Dealer arrived and stole Xialin's pendant and knocked her down. They were all eventually captured by the Ten Rings, and Xu and Shang-Chi were reunited with their father.[1]
Xu Wenwu took Xu, Shang-Chi and Katy Chen to his helicopter and brought them back to the Ten Rings Headquarters. Once they landed, Wenwu instructed Razor Fist to take Xu and Chen to Xu's old room, while he spoke with Shang-Chi. Xu told Chen about what it was like growing up after her mother died, which led to her running away and starting the Golden Daggers Club.
That night, Wenwu had his children and Chen join him for dinner, where he revealed that he always knew where they were this whole time. After talking about the death of Ying, Wenwu showed them to his office, where he explained to them that he had been researching into Ta Lo and that he believes that their mother is alive and waiting to be freed. Xu and Shang-Chi gave each other a concerned look as Wenwu stated that he had heard Ying's voice call to him, which made him conclude that he needed to save her from Ta Lo.
Xu and Shang-Chi did not believe their father, so he placed their pendants in the eyes of a dragon statue which released water into the air that then turned into a map that gave directions to Ta Lo. With the exact time and place to enter Ta Lo revealed to him, Wenwu readied his agents to rescue Ying from the Dark Gate. Xu questioned her father on what he would do if the people of Ta Lo wouldn't let him open the gate, and he calmly stated he would burn the village. Xu and Shang-Chi protested their father's plan, but he would not desist, and he decided to have them locked up.
The three discussed whether or not Wenwu was right about Ta Lo, but they agreed that they had to get there before he destroyed it. When Shang-Chi commented that Wenwu's actions could also destroy their family, Xu coldly stated that their family had been destroyed for many years. They then heard groans, so they followed the noise to discover Trevor Slattery. While Shang-Chi and Chen talked to him, Xu went off to access the tunnel system, and came back, destroying the cell wall that would lead them straight to the garage.[1]
Arriving in the garage, the group, including Trevor Slattery, stole Razor Fist's car and made their way for the exit. They were blocked off, so Xu told Katy Chen of another exit. As they made their way through the garage, they were chased by Ten Rings assassins, so Xu and Shang-Chi fought them off from outside of the car until they successfully escaped the compound.[1]
Following Morris' directions, the group successfully made it through the forest maze and went through the gateway into Ta Lo. As the drove through the realm, they looked in awe of all the different creatures that populated the land. They were approached by the villagers, led by Guang Bo, who told them to turn back.
However, the villagers were told to stand down by Ying Nan, who revealed herself to Xu and Shang-Chi as their aunt. Shang-Chi informed Nan that Xu Wenwu was coming to Ta Lo to free Ying Li from the Dark Gate, with Xu explaining that he heard her call for him. After asking about the Ten Rings, Nan then educated them on the history of Ta Lo, specifically about the Dweller-in-Darkness and how the Great Protector helped lock him in the Dark Gate, which the villagers have been protecting ever since.
Nan continued to explain how the Soul Eaters were manipulating Wenwu to use the rings to open the gate. Nan then brought Xu and Shang-Chi to the memorial in honor of their mother, telling them that she knew that her children would one day come to Ta Lo, leading to Nan presenting them with Dragon Scale Armor that Li had prepared for them upon their arrival. Nan told her niece and nephew that even though they may feel alone, they always have had family, and she welcomed them home.
Changing into some clothes native to Ta Lo, Xu watched a group of villagers train in preparation for the upcoming fight. Nan approached her, and told that unlike the environment that she grew up in where Wenwu would not allow her to train, in Ta Lo, everyone was equal and taught to fight. Nan then handed Xu a rope dart, which she trained with in a designated spot, accurately hitting all of her targets with ease.[1] That night, Shang-Chi tried to apologize to Xu for abandoning her, but she coldly informed him that she would not be able to forgive him so easily.[9]
The next day, Xu Wenwu arrived with the Ten Rings, so Xu, Shang-Chi, Katy Chen and the entire village of Ta Lo readied themselves for battle. Xu and Shang-Chi stood upfront with Ying Nan as Wenwu approached, demanding they release Ying Li. Neither side stood down, so the battle commenced.
Xu used her rope dart to swiftly disarm and defeat several Ten Rings agents. When she spotted her brother being attacked by Razor Fist, Xu used her rope dart to restrain him, allowing her to knock him down. Xu told Shang-Chi to go after their father before he opens the Dark Gate. Razor Fist got back up, so Xu continued to fight him with her rope dart, which kept him from getting in close range over her.
Being the superior fighter, Xu was soon able to best Razor Fist, restraining his blade and holding the blade of her dart to his throat. They then noticed Soul Eaters emerge from the gate, which led Xu to release Razor Fist and tell him they need to work together. Razor Fist was against the idea until he witnessed one of the creatures kill Death Dealer, followed by his blade having no effect on the Soul Eater. The fight then stopped between the people of Ta Lo and the Ten Rings, as they now focused on the new threat.[1]
With the Soul Eaters quickly approaching, the people of Ta Lo and the Ten Rings joined forces, and stood by the lake, ready to fight off the incoming army of creatures. Just as the Soul Eaters were about to attack, the Great Protector emerged out of the water, and ate most of the creatures.
More Soul Eaters honed in on the village, so the two armies fought together to eradicate the creatures, with Xu defeating many with her rope dart. During the battle, Xu noticed the Great Protector being swarmed by Soul Eaters, so she used her rope dart to knock them off. The Great Protector knowingly looked at Xu, and allowed her to ride her. The Dweller-in-Darkness broke out of the Dark Gate, so Xu and the Great Protector rushed over and attacked the evil creature.
The Dweller headed for the the village, so Shang-Chi jumped onto the Great Protector, and they chased after it. As they departed from the gate, Xu discovered that her father was dead, and she and Shang-Chi looked at each other solemnly. The Great Protector managed to stop the Dweller from attacking the village, restraining it, but it was strengthened by consuming souls, and it knocked Xu and Shang-Chi off the dragon. However, they managed to get back on, with the combined use of the rope dart and the Ten Rings.
As the Dweller began extracting the soul from the Great Protector, it also latched onto Xu and began to pull her away. Shang-Chi quickly grabbed her, using the rings to link them together, but it rendered him unable to save the Great Protector. Xu understood this and tried to tell her brother to let her go, but he vowed to never leave her again. Fortunately, Katy Chen fired an arrow that went through the Dweller's throat, wounding the creature, allowing Xu and Shang-Chi to climb back onto the dragon.
The Great Protector proceeded to battle the weakened Dweller, and once it had been overpowered, Xu told Shang-Chi to defeat the creature, so he leapt onto the Dweller. To assist him, Xu wrapped one end of her rope dart around the Dweller's head and had the Great Protector pull the other end to force the Dweller to open its mouth so Shang-Chi could blast the rings into it. After Shang-Chi defeated the Dweller, he and Xu rode back to the village on the Great Protector, smiling after their victory. That night, everyone gathered to honor those who had died in the battle.[1]
After leaving Ta Lo, Xu told Shang-Chi that she would stay at the Ten Rings Headquarters to shut down Xu Wenwu's operations while he returned to the United States of America. However, her true intentions were to actually become the Ten Rings new leader. This brought about an upheaval of reforms to the organization, such as introducing a female unit to train alongside the men in the courtyard, in addition to dismantling a number of its other operations.
While sorting through artwork plastered in her room, she discovered a sketch of her late mother, taking a moment to remember her. Razor Fist then approached Xu to inform her that her new subordinates were waiting for her orders. With Razor Fist and Jon Jon at her side, Xu took her seat on the throne her father once held, and announced that the Ten Rings have a lot of work to do.[1]
Personality[]
"The little girl you left behind would've forgiven you instantly. But I don't know that girl anymore."
Xu is a cold, rebellious, and complex woman due to being abandoned by her brother and neglected by Xu Wenwu. Because she is a woman, she couldn't train alongside her brother, Shang-Chi, or inherit the Ten Rings, showing that she was looking down on by her father and his men. But regardless, she learned to train on her own by watching Shang-Chi's training as observing their movements. She's brash and hardened as she showed no mercy in her fights through the underground fighting club while finding some accepted in there and not underestimating for being a woman.
Despite her harsh and cold attitude, she's rather compassionate towards women, enough to save Katy Chen, who didn't know how to fight. Due to her harsh upbringing and being rejected, she's a feminist and wants to have equal rights for herself and other women. She revealed to Chen that she wants women to join the Ten Rings as well as becoming the leader of Ten Rings because she felt that she could change the all-male organization to an equal one where she can be accepted. Deep down, she's a vulnerable and emotional person who hides her insecurities through a cold facade.
She has a very strained relationship with her brother, who broke their promise of returning to her, and her father, who neglected her. She didn't mind punching Shang-Chi out of anger while being cold to her father. However, Xu is willing to put feelings aside and teamed up with Shang-Chi to stop their father from destroying Ta Lo village, the home place of their mother. Despite her resentment towards her family, she deeply cared for and loved her mother, Ying Li. She often sketched her in her room where other sketches of her. Also, Xu still cared about her brother and father. After saving Ta Lo, Xu finds it in her heart to forgive her father despite everything he has done. Also, Xu reconciled with Shang-Chi as she has come to terms that he is one of the few family members she has left in her life.
She misses her mother along with her brother and father. Xu has shown to respect and care for her mother's homeland as she was willing to do anything to protect, even from her own father. Due to growing up in a cold and harsh environment, Xu is often amused by Katy's comedic personality.
In contrast to Shang-Chi, who wanted to leave his past behind, Xu always kept her ambitions of joining the Ten Rings. Upon running away from the Ten Rings, she single-handedly founded the Golden Daggers Club, claiming that she would build an empire of her own as she was not allowed into her father's. Following Wenwu's death, Xu told Shang-Chi that she would shut down the Ten Rings, but she instead decided to seized the opportunity to take control of the terrorist organization and continue her father's operations, albeit in her own style.
Abilities[]
"I wasn't allowed to train with the boys. But I watched everything they did and taught myself to do it better."
Xu is an extremely skilled and formidable hand-to-hand combatant and martial artist. Unlike her brother who was trained by the Ten Rings, she was self-taught, which trained herself from a very young age, by observing others and aimed to do better than them, making her one of the most powerful and best fighters on the planet. Her fighting style includes mixed martial arts and Tai chi. She was able to defeat Shang-Chi in Golden Daggers Club, though he was holding back and she was still not as equally skilled as him. She easily defeated numerous armed members of Ten Rings and Razor Fist.
Rope Dart Mastery: Xu is extremely skilled in using a rope dart for combat even though she was self-taught. She was able to use it to defeat numerous armed members of Ten Rings and Razor Fist.
Master Acrobat: Xu is an extremely skilled acrobat, gymnast, and aerialist.
Bilingualism: Xu is fluent in her native Mandarin, as well as English.
Equipment[]
Weapons[]
Xu Xialing's Rope Dart: In the battle between the people of Ta Lo and the Ten Rings, as well as their united battle against the Soul Eaters, Xu used a rope dart that had a dart on one end and a meteor hammer on the other.
Other Equipment[]
Dragon Scale Armor: Armor made by and given to her by the people of Ta Lo, made out of dragon scales.
Vehicles[]
Razor Fist's Car: She was a passenger in Razor Fist's car during their escape from the Ten Rings Compound along with Shang-Chi, Katy, Trevor Slattery, and Morris.
After the death of her father, Xu took over as the head of the Ten Rings organization. As seen in the post-credits scene, she expanded the organization to allow women to participate, as well as modernized it by installing satellite dishes.
Golden Daggers Club: Xu founded the Golden Daggers Club since she wasn't allowed into the Ten Rings organization by her father. Every fight is streamed online on the dark web, along with there being bets for each fight.
While Xu is an original character for the MCU, she does take inspiration from multiple characters in the comics, including several of Shang-Chi's sisters:
Zheng Bao Yu, also known as the Cursed Lotus and originally known as Fah Lo Suee, is Shang-Chi's elder half-sister and ran an underworld organization known as the Golden Daggers, like Xu's fight club. Also like Xu, Bao Yu fled her father's organization, only to return to run it after his death.
Zheng Esme, also known as Sister Dagger, is Shang-Chi's youngest half-sibling, with whom Shang-Chi had a tumultuous relationship at first, before bonding. She also sports a black bob hairstyle, a white costume, and possesses a dagger on a rope as her weapon, as does Xu.
Zheng Shi-Hua, also known as Sister Hammer, is perhaps Xu's closest analogue in the comics, having grown up with Shang-Chi and been separated in early youth by their father. In adulthood, the two clashed over control of their father's organization. Shi-Hua is also Shang-Chi's only full sibling, with the two sharing their mother, Jiang Li as well as their father.
Sasha Hammer, also known as Detroit Steel, was the daughter of the Mandarin in the comics, as well as the granddaughter of Justin Hammer.
Behind the Scenes[]
The first month of filming, Meng'er Zhang portrayed the character with having a red streak in her hair. After reading a Teen Vogue article pointing out how rebellious Asian females in media were portrayed with a color hair extension, Zhang asked director Destin Daniel Cretton that she not wear it in future scenes, to which he agreed.[11]
Xu is younger than Xu Shang-Chi. In real life, Meng'er Zhang is two years older than Simu Liu.
Jessica Henwick was offered an audition for Xu, but turned it down to appear in The Matrix Resurrections. According to Henwick, one of the factors in her decision was that she didn’t want to put a "lid" on her Iron Fist character Colleen Wing potentially returning to the MCU in projects produced by Marvel Studios in the future.[12]
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