How Tall Is Shang-Chi in the Movie and Comics?

Recently concluded Phase 4 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe continued the story of some already-known MCU characters, but it also introduced some new ones. One of them is Shang-Chi, played by Simu Liu. The movie Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings was released in September 2021, and it received positive reviews and grossed $432 million worldwide. The sequel is currently in development, and Shang-Chi is also set to be a part of upcoming crossover movies. The sequel to the original movie is currently in development, and while we’re waiting for it, why don’t we research Shang-Chi’s physical attributes? Today we are asking ourselves, how tall is Shang-Chi in the movie, and how does his height compare to his comic book counterpart?

The character of Shang-Chi is 5′10″ (1.78 m) tall in comic books, and the movie’s character incarnation is higher than the comic book’s counterpart. Still, it’s hard to know, given that multiple sources provide different information regarding Simu Liu’s precise height. IMDb used to list Liu’s height at 6′0″ (1.83 m), but multiple other sources say he’s around 5′11″ (1.80 m).

Shang-Chi quickly became recognizable thanks to his knowledge of martial arts, which even helped the movie to gain popularity because it brought back the memories of times when martial arts movies were at their peak. A martial arts movie dressed into the superhero genre, what more could we ask for? Apart from being an actor, Simu Liu is also a stuntman who performs his stunts, and in that line of work, physical fitness is crucial. But one interesting fact is that he had very little martial arts experience before he started training for the role of Shang-Chi.

How much does Shang-Chi weigh, and how he compares to other MCU heroes?

Height and weight balance are very important for a person skilled in agile martial arts. For example, the legendary Bruce Lee, one of the most famous martial arts movie stars, was 1.72 m tall and weighed 64 kg. Don’t think we’re trying to compare these two in any way because that’s impossible.

Not only because of Lee’s legendary status but also due to the interesting but important fact that Simu Liu isn’t officially a martial artist. He had very little experience in that arena before he joined the MCU. Still, it is known that the key to being a good martial artist isn’t about bulging muscles but being quick and agile, and the character of Shang-Chi is also an example of that.

We can use a BMI (Body Mass Index) calculator to compare Shang-Chi to other famous MCU heroes. If we put Shang-Chi’s height and weight into a BMI calculator, we will see that his BMI is 24.4, considered a normal weight. For comparison, Bruce Lee’s BMI with the mentioned measures is 21.6. FYI, a BMI between 18.5 and 24.9 is considered normal; anything below is considered underweight, and anything above is considered overweight.

Let’s compare now Shang-Chi’s BMI with some known MCU heroes.

• Tony Stark: Without the iron suit, Robert Downey Jr.’s Tony Stark. He was 174 cm tall and weighed 85 kilograms. His BMI was 28.1.
• Steve Rogers: Chris Evans’ Steve Rogers, before he was injected with the super serum, was 162 cm tall and weighed 43 kilograms. After taking the serum, his body measurements increased to 187 cm and 108 kilograms. His BMI before the serum was only 16.4; after taking the super serum, it went up to 30.9. A BMI above 30 is generally considered obesity, but we’re not talking about the average person here; we’re talking about the super soldier.
• Spider-Man: Tom Holland’s web-slinger is around 173 cm tall and weighs 64 kilograms. His BMI is 21.4
• Thor: Chris Hemsworth is known for his physical appearance now only in the MCU but generally as well. His God of Thunder is 190 cm tall and weighs around 91 kilograms, which makes his BMI 25.2
• Kang the Conqueror: We also wanted to include the Multiverse Saga’s big bad here. Jonathan Major’s time-traveling villain is around 191 cm tall and weighs 105 kg, making his BMI 28.8

The stars of Marvel movies are known for being in good physical shape when playing these roles. And make no mistake. It’s hard to keep that level of physical fitness all the time. Some stars like Chris Hemsworth are trying their best to look good all the time, while Chris Evans, although he still looks fit, admitted that he lost some weight after hanging up the shield of Captain America.

Simu Liu is a movie star who visually is not as muscular as some of his colleagues, but he is always in good shape, considering that he is not only an actor but also a stuntman. Despite not being an actual martial artist, Liu did quite well as Shang-Chi, and we’ll see more of him in his solo sequel and some MCU crossover events in the future.