The Story Behind the SHANG-CHI AND THE TEN RINGS Logo Controversy and Why It Changed

Marvel’s lead graphic designer for the first MCU film Iron Man, Dianne Chadwick, created the logo for the mysterious Ten Rings organization over a decade ago. After enjoying many years of success from working on many prolific films in her portfolio, she never imagined that the studio would feature her Ten Rings design as the center theme in a movie 14 years later, but with some changes.

The original design includes original red and black insignia, featuring two crossed swords enclosed by 10 interlocking circles that were inscribed with the names of ancient Mongolian tribes in traditional vertical script. It became one of the franchise’s first Easter eggs, later appearing in Iron Man 3, the Marvel One-Shot “All Hail the King,” and a deleted scene in Ant-Man.

But after Iron Man 3 hit theaters in 2013, however, the Mongolian government sent an official letter of complaint to Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige, “declaring that the film’s use of Mongolian script offensively tied the country’s intangible cultural heritage to a terrorist group.”

So now fans have noticed that a new black and white version of the logo in the upcoming Shang-Chi film “swaps out the Mongolian for 10 inoffensive Chinese characters written in ancient seal script, all synonyms for strength or power.”

Marvel, and most major companies for that matter, are pretty willing these days to right the wrongs that have been done in the past. People know that cultural inaccuracies are hurtful, and fans won’t stand for it, so it’s good to see that the change was made. It seems like it makes more sense this way anyway.

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is set to hit theaters on September 3rd.

via: Variety