Ying Nan

"After losing someone like her, it's easy to feel alone in this world. But you're not. You are children of this family, and I welcome you home."

- Ying Nan to Shang-Chi and Xu Xialing

Ying Nan (Chinese: 應南) is a guardian of Ta Lo, the sister of Ying Li, and the aunt of Shang-Chi and Xu Xialing.

Resident of Ta Lo
"Our people have been here for over four thousand years, preparing for something we hope will never happen. We are the keepers of the Dark Gate, sworn to protect this realm and yours from the evil that’s locked behind it."

- Ying Nan

As an inhabitant of the legendary village of Ta Lo, Ying Nan was dedicated to the protection of the Earthly Plane from the Soul Eaters that lied beyond the Dark Gate.

Ying Nan became separated from her sister Ying Li after she married Xu Wenwu and the elders of Ta Lo refused to welcome the latter within the village. She was saddened upon learning of her sister's death, and had a memorial set up in the village to honor her memory.

Meeting Niece and Nephew
"You were everything to her. She knew that one day you would find your way here and asked me to prepare something for your arrival."

- Ying Nan to Shang-Chi and Xu Xialing

Ying Nan was among the crowd of residents of Ta Lo when her nephew Shang-Chi and her niece Xu Xialing made their way to the village, guided by Morris. Unlike Guang Bo, who was wary of these outsiders, Ying Nan warmly welcomed the group in the village, even hugging Shang-Chi's friend Katy Chen as she introduced herself. Upon learning that Xu Wenwu was coming to Ta Lo in an attempt to breach the Dark Gate, as he believed his late wife Ying Li to be locked behind, Ying Nan proceeded to narrate the legend of Ta Lo, and how its inhabitants protected the world from the Dweller-in-Darkness and his Soul Eaters, who were feeding Wenwu lies about his wife in order to bring the gates down and invade the realm of Ta Lo and everything that lied beyond.

Ying Nan then took her niece and nephew to the memorial in honor of their mother, before giving them traditional clothes of Ta Lo and formally welcoming them into the village. Later, as she noticed Xialing watching young girl train for battle without taking part herself, Ying Nan reminded her niece that unlike what she had known among the Ten Rings, men and women of Ta Lo were viewed as equals regarding what they could do. She then gave Xialing a rope dart she could train for the impending battle.

Ying Nan then left to train on her own in a small arena, where she was approached by her nephew, who asked her to teach him the fighting style of the protectors of Ta Lo, since he knew that it had enabled his mother to beat Wenwu. Ying Nan agreed to train Shang-Chi, accompanying his progression and noticing that he seemed blocked because he did not fully embraced his own heritage. Ying Nan thus motivated her nephew to accept who he was an to take the best in both his mother's and father's legacy.

Battle of Ta Lo
"I miss my sister as much as you do, but this is not the way to honor her memory."

- Ying Nan to Xu Wenwu

Ying Nan stood in the frontline when the Ten Rings led by Xu Wenwu made their way to Ta Lo in an attempt to invade it and breach the Dark Gate. She attempted to reason with Wenwu, stating that the voice of Ying Li he was hearding actually came from the Dweller-in-Darkness, but her words fell on deaf ear as Wenwu remained persuaded that his wife was held captive by the elders of Ta Lo. Ying Nan thus had no choice but to fight against the Ten Rings.

Disposing of her initial opponents with ease thanks to her mastery with her Dragon Scale Staff, Ying Nan went to confront Wenwu, but instead found herself forced to fight against the Death Dealer, against whom she was able to hold her own. As the battle seemed to get in favor of the Ten Rings, Ying Nan noticed that Wenwu had used his rings to breach the Dark Gate, causing the arrival of Soul Eaters. Ying Nan warned Razor Fist that the defenders of Ta Lo and the Ten Rings had to ally to fight this new enemy, and although Razor Fist initially dismissed her offer, he was convinced after a Soul Eater killed the Death Dealer and Ying Nan saved Razor Fist himself from another creature.

Ying Nan joined the troops gathered on the shore of the lake of Ta Lo to fight off the swarm of Soul Eaters that had been released from the Dark Gate. She then watched in awe as Shang-Chi emerged from the lake, riding the Great Protector. She instructed her nephew to find and stop his father while she continued battling the Soul Eaters, eventually witnessing the arrival of the Dweller-in-Darkness. However, the creature was eventually defeated by Shang-Chi, and Ying Nan survived the battle.

In the aftermath of the battle, Ying Nan conducted a ceremony to honor the memory of all those who had fallen to the Soul Eaters.

Personality
"You are a product of all who came before you. The legacy of your family, the good and the bad, it is all a part of who you are. Stop hiding, nephew. It only prolongs the pain."

- Ying Nan to Shang-Chi

Ying Nan was a very wise woman who guided others in Ta Lo whenever in need. She was also an extremely confident, strong, fearless woman who was never afraid to stand up for what was right, as shown when she fearlessly entered into the battle field despite knowing the potential outcome of destruction awaiting towards Ta Lo.

Ying Nan is a very caring aunt who went out of her way to advise her niece and nephew so that they can become the best of who they are, a prime example being when she told her them to not be ashamed of who they are as that will only prolong the pain they are having from losing Ying Li.

Ying Nan deeply adored her sister as shown when she made sure that everyone honored her memory in the correct way. She also had a deep respect for her elders, past and emerging, along with warriors who died as heroes.

Powers

 * Great Protector Empowerment: As a Guardian of Ta Lo, Ying Nan is empowered by the Great Protector's magic so that she can protect Ta Lo from threats, gaining a range of abilities such as enhanced strength, durability, stamina, aerokinesis, and a higher control over one's energy.
 * Enhanced Strength: The magic of the Great Protector gives Ying Nan some degree of superior strength. As such, when training her nephew Shang-Chi, she was able to strongly hit him to demonstrate her powers.
 * Enhanced Durability: To be added
 * Enhanced Speed: To be added
 * Enhanced Agility: To be added
 * Enhanced Stamina: To be added
 * Enhanced Reflexes: Ying Nan is able to swiftly react to an opponent's attack, blocking their assaults while performing her own moves in retaliation.
 * Air Manipulation: The most notable feature of the Great Protector's empowerment was an aerokinesis ability that Ying Nan perfectly controlled, being able to manipulate streams of air around her and use the for offensive and defensive purposes.
 * Air Blasts: Ying Nan was able to generate direct concussive blasts made of pure air which could strongly hit her opponents.
 * Hurricane Generation: By taking control of small air currents, Ying Nan was able to generate small tornadoes that were powerful enough to carry human opponents away, causing them to fall on the ground.

Abilities

 * Master Martial Artist: Ying Nan was a tremendously capable martial artist, being one of the most seasoned warrior of Ta Lo. As such, she was able to train her nephew Shang-Chi, being perfectly able to hold her own against him despite the heavy training he had previously received.
 * Staff Mastery: Ying Nan was a proficient user of the Dragon Scale Staff, which she notably used against both the Ten Rings and the Soul Eaters during the Battle of Ta Lo.
 * Master Acrobat: Combining her fighting skills and her control over the Great Protector's magic, Ying Nan was able to perform skills of incredible agility, moving and jumping around her opponents with ease.
 * Bilingualism: Ying Nan is fluent in her native Mandarin, as well as English.

Weapons

 * Dragon Scale Staff: Ying Nan used a fighting staff as her weapon of choice. During the Battle of Ta Lo, she was able to take down many soldiers of the Ten Rings with her staff, even holding her own against the Death Dealer. Later in battle, she used the extremity of her staff, which was made of dragon scale, to kill Soul Eaters.

Family

 * Ying Li † - Sister
 * Xu Wenwu † - Brother-in-Law
 * Xu Shang-Chi - Nephew
 * Xu Xialing - Niece

Allies

 * Great Protector
 * Ta Lo Armed Forces
 * Guang Bo †
 * Katy Chen
 * Trevor Slattery
 * Morris
 * Ten Rings - Former Enemies
 * Mattias/Razor Fist

Enemies

 * Soul Eaters
 * Dweller-in-Darkness †
 * Li Ching-Lin/Death Dealer †

Trivia

 * In Marvel's official cast announcement in December 2020, Michelle Yeoh and Fala Chen's characters were named Jiang Nan and Jiang Li respectively. The "Jiang" family name was also featured in merchandise for Ying Li.

Behind the Scenes

 * Shao-Yan Li was a stunt double for Michelle Yeoh in the role of Ying Nan.