Dweller In Darkness is the secondary antagonist of the 2021 Marvel film Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.
Dweller In Darkness is a soul-consuming demon kept imprisoned for thousands of years by the people of Ta Lo. Thousands of years ago, the Great Protector and the people of Ta Lo sealed the Dweller In Darkness within the Dark Gate. Wenwu, thinking he is hearing his murdered wife acalling for her freedom from the Dark Gate, uses the power of the Ten Rings to try to free her from her unjust imprisonment. As Wenwu fractures the gate, it releases Dweller in Darkness minions that extract souls with which it feeds the Dweller in Darkness to increase its strength. Eventually the real prisoner of the Dark Gate is released and it kills Wenwu by extracting his soul. Wenwu, realizing his terrible mistake, passes the Ten Rings to Shang-Chi just before he dies. Shang-Chi, his sister (Xu Xialing), The Great Protector and Katy work together to defeat the Dweller in Darkness and end the threat.
Appearance
Dweller In Darkness is a Chinese dragon possessing wings and long tentacles from its hindquarters. Primarily black with translucent red in its wings this dragon has a fearsome maw and a spiked head. Its long neck glows as it consumes the souls of its enemies gaining strength and power in the process. It has a row of spikes along its spine from head to tail. Two forearms are equipped with four talons on each hand. Its secondary forelimbs possess three sharp talons on each hand. Difficult to miss are the two huge dragon wings which give Dweeler in Darkness aerial mobility. There are also two large temple crests which are hard to ignore. A large nose spike extends upward from its face.
Powers and Abilities
The Dweller In Darkness possess the following powers and abilities:
- Soul capture for strength
- Teeth and claws
- Power and durability
- Mimicry
- Mezmerizing
- Winged flight
- Steals life essence
- Ancient but not immortal
Fate
The Dweller In Darkness is destroyed by a combination of attacks from multiple sources.
- The Great Protector keeps it busy till others can deal the final blows at peril to its own life as the Dweller in Darkness attempts to extract its soul for ultimate power .
- Katy Chen fires a dragon scale tipped arrow at the Dweller in Darkness' throat freeing the soul of The Great Protector.
- Shang-Chi, now having the power of the Ten Rings, shoots the rings into the maul of the Dweller of Darkness and causes them to erupt with such force inside, it kills the Dweller in Darkness.
Trivia
- The first English line isn't spoken until about 10 minutes into the film
- The final film features over 1,700 visual effects shots.
- Shot under the working title of "Steamboat".
- The animals in Ta Lo represent specific concepts: the Chinese guardian lion represents peace, supremacy, energy and happiness, The qilin (the creature that Trevor calls a "weird horse") represents longevity and prosperity. The fenghuang (phoenix) represents immortality. The jiuweihu (nine-tails fox) represents supernatural powers, peace and prosperity. The dijiang (Morris) represents chaos and confusion, and enjoys singing and dancing.
- The Dweller-in-Darkness is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He is a demon, one of the Fear Lords, who has clashed with Doctor Strange.
- The Dweller in Darkness has a different backstory (and name) in the comics.
- Fear Lords: D'spayre, the Dweller-In-Darkness, Kkallakku, Lurking Unknown, Nightmare, Nox, Straw Man.
- The Dweller in Darkness is the leader of the Soul Eaters.
- This version has a more wyvern-like appearance and is depicted as a soul-consuming demon kept imprisoned for thousands of years by the people of Ta Lo.
Photo Gallery
Video Gallery[]
