Anna Daniels
The Mandarin is one of those MCU characters that can claim they’re one of the most liked comic villains, but the most hated character from the Marvel Universe films. While fans rarely like villains, in the films, because of their ruthless ways, and what they do to our beloved superheroes.
This one receives hate for a different reason. Screen Rant lists the 10 most hated supporting characters from the Marvel cinematic universe and Trevor Slattery, known as the Mandarin in Iron Man 3, is the number one listed.
Who was the Mandarin in the MCU?
The Mandarin was a comic book supervillain known for being the arch-enemy of Iron Man. After losing his wealthy parents when he was young, he grew up to be a ruthless character obsessed with his own power. It’s that lust for power that drove him to try to take over the world several times.
Using space technology, he created the ten power rings we know from the Iron Man comic books, which gives him his superpowers. This kick starts his quest to get revenge from civilization for treating him the way they did. It, ultimately, puts him in the path of Iron Man and some other Avengers, who are out to save the world.
Why didn’t fans like the Mandarin in the films?
The comic book fleshed out the Mandarin’s character to be one of the best villains the Avengers have dealt with up to that point. His lust for power and cruel demeanor made him an equal match to Iron Man, as far as evil villains go. MCU fans anticipated his arrival when producers announced the Iron Man 3 movie would come out soon.
However, when the movie arrived in theaters, the Mandarin was a far cry from the villain he was in the comic books. In fact, it went away from the storylines that we’re used to in the comic books.
When the Iron Man 3 trailer came out, fans believed the Mandarin would play the leader of that terrorist group. The implied storyline had fans anxiously waiting to see the villain make his appearance, finally, on the large film screen.
What they got, though, was not a ruthless leader of a blood-thirsty group, but an actor named Trevor Slattery, played by Ben Kingsley. He was simply a drunken actor playing the part of the Mandarin to hide the illegal activities a large corporation was doing with genetics they didn’t want the public to know about.
Needless to say, Iron Man fans weren’t happy and thought Shane Black, the writer, and director of the film, did the character a major disservice.
Why did the director of ‘Iron Man 3’ add this twist?
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wt1wMx_J7vE?feature=oembed&w=500&h=281]
Cinema Blend shares Shane Black’s thoughts concerning the change he made to the character. The director explained that most people go into these movies knowing everything about it from all the trailers the movie-goers see before ever watching a second of the film itself.
He intended to provide an element of surprise to give the fans something they wouldn’t be expecting. It looks like he did a great job of doing that because they fooled many people. It’s just unfortunate that few fans were very receptive to the twist he added.
When asked if he would do it over, if he could, Shane Black responded that he wouldn’t change it. He explained that if he tried to give the audience what they’re anticipating, all the time, it wouldn’t work out. Sometimes, you just have to go with what your creativity tells you to do.
In the end, the twist added a different layer to the movie, and it certainly wasn’t what we were expecting. But, since the film came out, fans got a bit of restitution with a one-shot exclusive clip from Thor: The Dark World Blu-ray disc.
Trevor gets to meet the real Mandarin, during his stay in a high-security prison. We also know that there’s a future movie where the real Mandarin will finally make his appearance, so the fans have something to look forward to.
Written by: Cheat
