Warning: The following contains SPOILERS for Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.
The real Mandarin, Xu Wenwu, finally made his MCU debut in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings—but just how old is this ancient warlord? Wenwu's exact age isn't revealed in Shang-Chi, but it's clear that he has been using the Ten Rings to extend his life far beyond what is natural for a human. Using context clues from Shang-Chi and information from the comics, however, Wenwu's age can be approximated.
The Mandarin has had a few false introductions throughout the MCU's history. A villain claiming to be Iron Man 3, however it was later revealed that the man was actually Trevor Slattery (Bill Kingsley), an actor who had adopted the Mandarin's moniker. When the real Xu Wenwu was revealed in Shang-Chi, it was clear that the villain was not amused with the theft of his legacy, keeping Slattery locked in the cells beneath his home. The real Xu Wenwu was a warlord who had discovered the Ten Rings in ancient China, which granted him power and eternal life.
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There is no exact date for his birth, but according to Shang-Chi, Wenwu is likely thousands of years old. In the retelling of the legend of the Ten Rings by Shang-Chi's mother at the beginning of the movie, it is confirmed that the legend has been told for thousands of years. During this scene, Wenwu and his army wore armor that mimicked that of the Yuan and Ming dynasties—albeit with the Marvel style treatment—meaning his tirade had already begun by the Middle Ages. In the mid-credits scene, Shang-Chi estimates that his father had had the rings for about a thousand years. Putting all of this together, Wenwu and his legendary army, the Ten Rings, have likely been ruling over China for centuries.
The comics give a more concrete timeline for Wenwu's life. Tales of Suspense Issue 62 (1959) establishes that Wenwu was a descendent of Genghis Khan, born to one of the wealthiest men in China and an English noblewoman. Wenwu's family fell from grace during the Communist Revolution of 1949, when Wenwu was a grown man. Putting together this timeline and Wenwu's Marvel biography, his birthdate can be estimated around 1920 — much younger than his MCU counterpart.
Wenwu's age isn't the only way Shang-Chi deviated from the comics: Shang-Chi's possession of the Ten Rings never happened in the comics, Death Dealer doesn't work for MI-6, and Shang-Chi's father isn't Fu Manchu. The change to Wenwu's age was likely to make him more impressive, as a centuries-old immortal makes a much cooler villain than a 100-year-old man who looks good for his age. While much was revealed about Xu Wenwu in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, his exact age may always remain a mystery.
