Do Shang-Chi and Katy Get together in the Comics?

Although the character may not be a mainstream, well-known Marvel superhero, ‘Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings’ blew the audience away, and is regarded as one of the best – if not the best – MCU movies since Phase 4 started.  One of the coolest things about the film was the awesome relationship and dynamic between Shang-Chi and Katy, his best friend from high school, who now works with him as a valet in San Francisco. Their relationship is rather platonic throughout the film, but some fans speculated it outgrew that by the end of the film. So, will Shang-Chi and Katy get together, and did they already get together in the comics?

Are Katy and Shang-Chi together in the MCU?

Katy, portrayed by the hilarious, talented Awkwafina, is Shaun’s (Shang-Chi) best friend in ‘Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.’ They met about a decade ago in high school, where Katy stood up for Shaun to defend him from bullies. They have been inseparable besties ever since, and now, in adulthood, they are also working together as valets in San Francisco.

Their relationship is described and portrayed as purely platonic, with nothing romantic going on between them even though others would like that to develop. For instance, Shang-Chi seems to be a welcome sight among Katy’s family – almost as if he were a family member himself – but her grandmother always asks when will the two get married.

Now, there have been a couple of details in the film that made some fans think the relationship between Shang-Chi and Katy could grow into something more romantic than platonic. Apart from her granny rooting for them, Katy was noticeably impressed when she saw Shang-Chi without his t-shirt.

Also, the fact that she followed him around the world unhesitantly despite knowing they were going up against superpowered, if not magical threats made some people think she wasn’t there just for the sake of friendship. 

The icing on the cake was the moment when Katy rested her head on Shang-Chi’s shoulder in the aftermath of the Ta Lo battle, sharing a very tender and emotional moment.

The reality is, however, that people are reading way too much into all of these moments because the truth is, it is absolutely just friendship. Deep, profound, true friendship, but only friendship nevertheless.

In an interview after the movie came out, the director, Destin Daniel Cretton, shared how he consciously wanted to depict that man-woman platonic relationship between Katy and Shaun, because the genre really lacks them: “We haven’t seen a lot of that onscreen, and we’re really excited to create that relationship between Shang-Chi and Katy.”

Awkwafina – the actress who portrays Katy – also shared her thoughts on Katy’s relationship with Shang-Chi, talking about the relationship for Digital Spy, saying: “I think that their friendship is really important for each of them individually.”

In other words, we don’t know what the writers have planned for the future, but it seems that everyone from ‘Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings’ is on the same page about this – Shaun and Katy are best friends, and there is nothing romantic in that relationship. In fact, Katy was like Shaun’s sister, more than his actual estranged sister.

Do Katy and Shang-Chi get together in the comics?

If you really wanted to know what will happen between Shang-Chi and Katy in the future of the MCU, you probably figured you’d check out their relationship in the comics, right?

Well, you’d fall short in that case, because Katy’s character was originally created for the MCU, and she does not exist in the comics. There isn’t even a similar comic book counterpart character that we could compare her to, in terms of her character development and relationship with Shang-Chi.

Shang-Chi did, in fact, have one major love interest in the comics, but it wasn’t Katy.

Who is Shang-Chi’s love interest in the comics?

Now, Shang-Chi is a methodical man who dedicated his life to the noble craft of martial arts and superhero work. That means, he basically didn’t have a whole lot of romantic partners or love interests in the comics (or in the MCU so far). He did, however, have one major love interest in Marvel Comics, and that was Leiko Wu.

Leiko Wu was an MI-6 secret agent whom Shang-Chi worked with on many occasions. Wu had a couple of partners before Shang-Chi – Clive Reson and Simon Bretnor – but eventually ended up with Shang-Chi. It was a bit awkward because Reston still worked with both of them as a member of their MI-6 team.

After Shang-Chi briefly retired, the two lost contact and broke up, and during this time, Wu married Reston, who she later divorced for a third guy – a Triad leader called Skull-Crusher.

That didn’t really last long because Leiko was murdered while on a mission, so Shang-Chi and Skull-Crusher teamed up to avenge her death. To cut the story short, she was later resurrected and had somewhat of a relationship with Shang-Chi yet again, but it mainly consisted of working together and helping each other out in times of desperate need.

The last time we saw them together, Leiko kissed Shang-Chi in ‘Shang-Chi and the Ten Rings’ #5, but their relationship status as of now is unknown – though both are alive and kicking in the comics.

Will Leiko Wu appear in the MCU?

Right now, we don’t even know exactly when Shang-Chi will return to the MCU. We know that ‘Shang-Chi 2’ is in development, that Katy will appear in that film as well, and that they’ll both return as members of the new Avengers team.

But, as far as Leiko Wu goes – or any particular character that would be her MCU counterpart – we have no idea when or if they’ll appear in the MCU. It’s possible that Shang-Chi gets a love interest down the line – as basically every recurring MCU character eventually does – but for now, his closest female relationship stays with Katy – his best friend, and fellow future Avenger.

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