Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings actor Florian Munteanu says his character Razor Fist is a superhero rather than a villain. Shang-Chi hit theaters this weekend, introducing the world to the MCU version of the kung fu master. The film, which had a stronger opening night than even F9, stars Simu Liu, Tony Leung, Michelle Yeoh, Awkwafina, Meng’er Zhang, and Fala Chen.
There is a lot of villainy for Shang-Chi to contend within the film, as he faces the Ten Rings organization, which was introduced in Iron Man, the very first MCU film. The group, which has been wreaking havoc throughout the Iron Man trilogy and the MCU in general, is led by Tony Leung’s Wenwu (aka the Mandarin), the father of Shang-Chi. One of the group’s strongest enforcers is Razor Fist, a man with a machete for a hand played by Munteanu, a former boxer who has also appeared in Creed II.
Despite his participation in the Ten Rings, his relentless bus fight scene with Shang-Chi, and his undeniably villainous character design, Florian Munteanu maintains that Razor Fist isn’t necessarily evil. Speaking with Screen Rant, Munteanu draws an interesting distinction about supervillains. He says, “they just fight for the other side, but they’re still superheroes.” Read the full quote here:
I have to leave it open. And still, villains are also superheroes; they just fight for the other side, but they’re still superheroes.
This is an intriguingly layered view from Munteanu. It speaks to the fact that nobody views oneself as a villain. Everybody, even if they’re characters in a film, comes from a different perspective and is fighting for what they believe to be a righteous cause. For instance, one of the most powerful villains in the MCU canon is Thanos. He may have conspired to destroy half of the population, but Thanos views what he is doing as a necessity to ultimately save the universe.
There is also the need to consider that Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is a part of a long-running franchise. Indeed, it’s the 25th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. As the franchise continues across years and years of movies, characters change and adapt, sometimes swapping their alliances with the side of good or evil (something that is a lot more explicitly laid out in superhero comics than real life). It has always been impossible to nail down Loki as a hero or a villain, and even someone like Scarlet Witch entered the MCU working for HYDRA. It’s entirely possible that Razor Fist could end up fighting with the Avengers, but even if he never does, he’s a superpowered being who is fighting for what he believes in, so that could certainly make him a hero in somebody’s eyes.
