#11 (April 2022) by writer Gene Luen Yang and artist Marcus To, where they are legendary weapons originating from Ta-Lo that are acquired by Shang-Chi.
[6] Over the following years, the Mandarin studies Makluan science until he masters it, learning that each cylinder possesses a unique power and fashions them into rings.
[7] With 10 rings, the Mandarin then becomes a conqueror and subjugates the villages around the Valley, and through his advanced science, rapidly becomes a power that not even the Chinese army can successfully challenge.
His attempts at acquiring the Eye lead to conflict with the Royal Family of the Inhumans, resulting in Black Bolt stripping the Mandarin of the rings and hiding them.
[10] Taking the name Zhang Tong, the Mandarin starts a new criminal empire in Hong Kong and acquires the services of the Hand, permitting a single Hand agent to use one of the rings and having it automatically teleport back to the Mandarin if an agent is incapacitated; the ninja are also sworn to commit suicide if captured..
The Mandarin's agents kidnap James Rhodes and several of Tony Stark's other employees, forcing Iron Man into single combat in exchange for their lives.
The Hand ninjas are left without their weapons when their master is knocked unconscious, causing his rings to teleport back to him automatically and leaving them unarmed and unable to stop Stark's employees from fleeing.
[volume & issue needed] Next, Chen Hsu makes the Mandarin an offer that involves them traveling to the Valley of the Dragons.
[volume & issue needed] When Iron Man confronts the Mandarin and Fin Fang Foom, eight other dragons appear.
[volume & issue needed] The Mandarin's son Temugin receives a package containing his father's severed hands, bearing all ten rings of power.
[13] After Tony Stark reveals a conspiracy for mass murder in his own ranks, Temugin appears to have forgiven Iron Man for the death of his father and to have turned to more lofty pursuits, but events indicate that the evil power of the rings has corrupted his soul.
[volume & issue needed] The Mandarin is revived in a subsequent Iron Man story arc, in which he is revealed to have been in a prison in central China for some time and is missing his hands.
[17] Tony forms an alliance with others that the Mandarin has imprisoned, including Zeke Stane, Whirlwind, Blizzard, and the Living Laser.
Each of the rings search for new hosts with the purpose of "saving Earth from Tony Stark", using persuasive language and mind control to bend them towards their cause against Iron Man.
As part of his revenge on HYDRA for manipulating him during the "Secret Empire" storyline, the Punisher finds the Mandarin making a speech at the United Nations and fires a special bullet.
[27] The Mandarin's rings fall into the possession of Source Control, a black market network specializing in high-grade technology and weapons.
[33][34] The rings' operations cannot be explained by contemporary Earth science, but it is known that they served as near-limitless power sources for the warp-drive engines of the Makluan starship of Axonn-Karr.
As a precaution against the Wyrm, the Jade Emperor broke the Universe Ring into twelve separate ones and scattered them across several dimensions, although ten of them returned to Ta-Lo.
[36] When Shang-Chi and his siblings travel to Ta-Lo to rescue his mother Jiang Li and stop his grandfather Chieftain Xin's plot to destroy the Zheng bloodline, the Jade Emperor restrains them with the Ten Rings for trespassing.
Xin's treachery is revealed, prompting him to don a taotie mask to overpower the Emperor and his guards before attacking Shang-Chi's siblings.
With no other option, Shang-Chi gives in to his dark desires, allowing him to reclaim all of the Ten Rings from Xin, unlocking their full potential and taking on his father's appearance and personality.
[37] Unable to access the gateways to Ta Lo, Shang-Chi has the Ten Rings sealed in a vault within the House of the Deadly Hand.
Foretold of a dark prophecy warning of a threat to Earth that could only be stopped by an Earthly Ring-Keeper, the Emperor believed Shang-Chi to be this champion and at Jiang Li's urging had Jinzha and Muzha host the Game of Rings to confirm Shang-Chi's worthiness of wielding the Ten Rings.
[44] Much like their MCU counterpart, the Ten Rings grant their user superhuman strength, durability, speed and stamina.
[37] While the MCU Ten Rings grant their user superhuman longevity, it is not mentioned if the comics version possesses this ability.
[38] However, several mortals such as Black Jack Tarr have been shown to be able to physically interact with the Rings without any ill effects.
The rings (still bonded to the Mandarin's mummified hands) were apparently uncovered by Shang-Chi and his gang, but this was revealed to be a trap set by the Kingpin.
The Ten Rings grant their user enhanced strength and longevity, emit concussive energy blasts, and can be telepathically controlled as projectiles and tendrils.
This version is an ancient ruler of a vicious Chinese dynasty who used five rings, supernatural means, and two dragon Guardians, Fin Fang Foom and Zhen Ji Xang, to subjugate his people.