u/HotZoneKill

Source: https://x.com/i/status/2081515348520534191

[Source](https://people.com/marvel-and-hasbro-unveil-new-avengers-doomsday-toys-see-the-x-men-captain-america-and-thor-in-action-exclusive-12026736)

Just a preface, I'm half Asian, and this is about the MCU's Shang-Chi. I loved the first movie and I'm glad he's finally back in Avengers: Doomsday, but I'm also frustrated that Marvel has sat on one of the best post-Endgame characters for years. Marvel definitely deserves criticism for how badly they've managed the Multiverse Saga and, by extension, Shang-Chi.

What bothers me is that in some Asian spaces I'm in, the discussion has gone from criticizing Marvel's planning to outright conspiracy thinking. The screenshots are from different threads within the same sub, and the person highlighted in red is the same user making most of these arguments. According to him and other likeminded folks, Marvel never intended to make a sequel, Destin Daniel Cretton secretly knows it's canceled, every interview saying Shang-Chi 2 is still in development is a lie, and because he directed Wonder Man and Spider-Man: Brand New Day during the downtime and is doing the live-action Naruto soon, Cretton's somehow betraying Shang-Chi and by a larger extent, the Asian community. They act like Cretton personally controls when Marvel greenlights and releases movies or shows.

Their reasoning honestly reminds me of the same thought process you see with chuds and anti-woke YouTubers. Not because the politics are the same, but because the logic is. Jump to conclusions, assume hidden motives, dismiss contradictory evidence as PR, and reinterpret every new development as proof your conspiracy was right all along.

Their hypocrisy with Simu Liu is what really gets me. These same people constantly hold him up as an example of Asian representation, but the second he says something optimistic about Shang-Chi or defends Cretton taking other projects, suddenly he's a corporate mouthpiece. Apparently he's only trustworthy only when he reinforces their narrative. Whenever I've pushed back, I don't get counterarguments—I’ve been called a Marvel shill, a race traitor, or accused of defending racism. For the record, I've criticized Marvel plenty for its anti-Asian racism (just look at my posts about C.B. Cebulski’s yellowfacing, Iron Fist’s origins and Jeph Loeb), I just don't think every disappointing production decision about Shang-Chi automatically proves some secret anti-Asian male agenda.

Maybe it’s just me, but after a while it almost starts to feel like they're more invested in proving Hollywood has it out for Asian men than they are in seeing Shang-Chi actually succeed. It feels like they literally want the franchise to fail, because every positive development turns into constant defeatist doomposting. It becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy since it convinces people the franchise is already over before Marvel has even canceled anything. It's gotten to the point where I don't even like posting Shang-Chi news in those spaces anymore because I know there's a good chance the thread will just get hijacked by the same handful of people. Instead of talking about the actual news, every discussion turns into the same conspiracy argument over and over again.

Sorry for the long rant, I'm just really frustrated about this and need to vent. It's bad enough seeing racist dogwhistles from the Meth Dealer and his ilk, and it's worse with these other guys too.