Shang-Chi's Ten Rings Beacon Theory: Why the Signal May Point to Loki, and Why Doctor Doom Could Want It

My theory is that the beacon lit by Shang-Chi's use of the Ten Rings points to Loki, sitting at the center of the multiverse. Whether the signal is being sent to him or coming from him, I think it could set up a journey at the heart of Avengers: Doomsday, and possibly explain why Doctor Doom would want the rings.

I'll be the first to admit that several post credit scenes in the Multiverse Saga may end up going absolutely nowhere. Even Kevin Feige has admitted we may never see some of those characters again. But some of those scenes, like the one at the end of Multiverse of Madness and especially the one in Shang-Chi, seem to carry huge implications that still hold wherever the story is going with Avengers: Doomsday and, eventually, Secret Wars.

Shang-Chi's post credit scene hints the beacon switched on when he took the Ten Rings

Some of the dialogue in the Shang-Chi post credit scene is very obviously a nod to the crowd, referencing things audiences already know from the MCU. Hulk asking Captain Marvel whether the rings are Chitauri is simply because the Chitauri are the alien force that invaded. He has no real reason to think they are Chitauri. The line exists so Captain Marvel can reply that they are not like any alien tech she has seen.

We then learn that the rings are ancient. The most important detail, though, is that Wenwu had the rings for a thousand years, yet the beacon was only felt once Shang-Chi took them over. That makes it fair to assume Shang-Chi taking control is what set the beacon off, and that whoever the beacon is connected to was waiting for Shang-Chi to get them.

The beacon is shaped like Loki's Yggdrasil world tree

The clue is in the shape the beacon's light takes. It courses from the center out through the top and the bottom, and it is frayed like a tree on both sides. Rotate it about 45 degrees and you get exactly the shape of the Yggdrasil world tree that Loki turned the multiverse timeline into when he took his seat at the center of the multiverse.

That is why I believe the signal is either going to Loki or coming from him. I say either because the dialogue in the scene seems to imply the beacon is being sent to that location, while the animation certainly looks like the signal is emanating from it. That leaves two possibilities, and they mean different things.

If the signal goes to Loki, it may be a recruitment call for his Multiverse Avengers

If the signal is truly being sent to Loki, it would notify him that Shang-Chi now holds the rings and is ready to be recruited for his Multiverse Avengers. Industry insiders have indicated that one of the teams we will see is a force Loki recruits himself.

I have always thought this raises a complication. At the end of Loki season 2, it certainly felt like he was confined to that chair: the guy who worried about his friends, now destined to be alone at the center of the multiverse, giving them all a chance, as Sylvie put it. But we did get a glimpse of his power set. He could stop time, work outside of it and go back in time, and it is implied he spent decades or maybe even centuries learning physics by the end of season 2.

So a lot of Loki's life has been lived offscreen. It is possible that at some point he thought to plant weapons that would tell him, in the future, which heroes to recruit, such as Ms. Marvel's bands and what probably would have been the sword for Black Knight. That said, as I noted at the top, we might not be seeing Black Knight for a while.

If the signal comes from Loki, the Ten Rings could be a road map for Thor

The other option is that the animation is showing what really happens and the signal is coming from Loki. In that case, the Ten Rings would work as a road map of sorts: a way to find Loki and to get to him.

Behind the scenes set photos and clips posted to social media by the actors and stunt doubles themselves suggest someone is making that trip, so consider this the lightest of spoiler warnings. At least Thor's stunt double was on set in the TVA, outside the entrance to the Loom, where Loki took his seat. That means at least Thor is going to travel there.

Other industry insider reports say that, apparently, Thor may be one of the first characters to learn what is going wrong with the multiverse as Doom arrives, because of his connection to Eternity through Love. That means Thor could be on his own path to assemble Avengers, or simply to find a way to Loki himself, which might lead him to Shang-Chi.

Doctor Doom may be racing for the same road map

If the rings are a road map to Loki, the heroes may not be the only ones looking for it. Doctor Doom could be too. That might explain Doom's motivation to come to the 616 in the first place, or why the 616 matters: the road map to Loki exists in that timeline. It could become a race to get the road map before Doom does.

And since Thor is shown in the TVA, we know at least Thor, or possibly other Avengers, will get there. So what if the final battle of the film actually takes place there, over the chair at the center of the multiverse? Even with Loki involved, we could see Doom against the heroes trying to stop him, all centered around the throne Loki currently sits on.

Loki can't leave his throne, but he might not need to

There is one asterisk I want to put on this theory, because it really sort of irks me: Loki can't leave that seat. "I think that that is very important. I think it's also very true," which means the Avengers have to go to him.

But Loki has also been shown to create multiple clones of himself. If he is sitting at the center of the multiverse, perhaps one of his powers will let him manifest inside the multiverse as an avatar or in some other way, as well as a clone. "That would be absolutely insane." Given what we have already seen of Loki as a god of stories, he might be one of the more powerful, if not the most powerful, characters we have, outside of a Celestial like Eternity.

Is the beacon coming from Loki's location or going to it? I think the answer means very different things for the plot, so which reading do you believe?