Trevor Slattery

"Ladies, children, sheep... Some people call me a terrorist, I consider myself a teacher. Lesson number one: Heroes - there is no such thing."

- The Mandarin

The Mandarin is the arch-enemy of Iron Man.

Early Life
The Mandarin's true name is unknown. He studied South American insurgency, Sun Tzu and other ancient warfare tactics. He later became a intelligence field officer, but due to witnessing the atrocities of the world, it drove him mad. He was also an expert in global intelligence and knew how to use the media to his benefit. He has a great hatred for America and used it to unify his group, the Ten Rings, who shared his hatred.

Iron Man
The Mandarin is referenced through the name of the terrorist group called "The Ten Rings", who holds Tony Stark captive. Raza, the leader of the Ten Rings, has a single red ring that he rubs with his other hand. He also makes a reference to Genghis Khan when speaking to Stark and Yinsen.

Iron Man 3 Prelude
When Rhodey flew around the world in his new battle suit, destroying the terrorist cells of the Ten Rings organization, Mandarin sent his men to capture him and his armor. Though they failed in their mission, they managed to scan the War Machine armor, thus obtaining invaluable information data for The Mandarin would use against Tony Stark.

Iron Man 3
Mandarin is the sinister head of the terrorist organization known as The Ten Rings, from which all the acts of extreme terrorism plaguing the world appear to emanate.

Character traits
The Mandarin, surrounded himself with Chinese iconography, dragons, and the symbols of warlords. He used many other warrior motifs and symbols and twisted them for his own use, such as Asian royal robes, a terrorist beard, samurai hair, a Captain America shield tattoo with the "A" for "anarchy" on the back of his neck. He also wanted to teach the world lessons, such as the fact that there was no such thing as heroes.

Relationships

 * Tony Stark - Arch-enemy.
 * James Rhodes - Enemy.
 * Aldrich Killian - Ally.
 * Eric Savin - Ally.
 * Jack Taggert - Ally.
 * Raza - Subordinate.

Appearances/Actors

 * Marvel Cinematic Universe (2 films)


 * Iron Man (Referenced Only)
 * Iron Man 3 - Ben Kingsley
 * Marvel Cinematic Universe (1 comic)


 * Iron Man 3 Prelude (First appearance)

Behind the scenes
Kevin Feige on the character adaptation of The Mandarin in Iron Man 3
 * This version of The Mandarin will not follow that same backstory, said Kevin Feige, the president of Marvel Studios. Don’t expect aliens, even though The Avengers and Thor opened up this unified cinematic world to the presence of extra-terrestrials.
 * Iron Man 3 will be more about a clash of technology, Feige says and those who have been paying close attention to the previous two films know that The Ten Rings is a term for the terrorist group that kidnapped Tony Stark in the first movie, and gave the villain Whiplash some assistance in the sequel.
 * In that way, The Mandarin (who for a time was going to be the main villain in the first film) has been a part of the Iron Man series from the beginning, albeit as the off-screen manipulator.
 * “A lot of this movie is about characters going back into the shadows for various reasons and characters who have been in the shadows coming out and into the light for the first time,” Feige says. “It is Tony who, for various reasons, finds himself receding into the darkness. I don’t mean emotional darkness, I mean literally ducking out of the spotlight. And we’ll see other characters stepping up who have pulled strings from the background, starting to show their hand.”
 * Kingsley is not, of course, Chinese, but Feige says they wanted to blur the background of this version of The Mandarin. “It’s less about his specific ethnicity than the symbolism of various cultures and iconography that he perverts for his own end,” Feige says. From his samurai hair, to his royal robe, to his bin Laden-esque beard, and the AK-47 he keeps at his side, Kingsley’s interpretation is a hodgepodge of various warrior motifs.
 * In his attempt to rid the world of its oppressors by replacing them, The Mandarin considers himself a twisted version of absolute good. “Don’t all good villains?” says Feige.

Trivia

 * Hasbro released a Mandarin figure for Iron Man.
 * In the comics, The Mandarin is a member of The Hand but in the upcoming film, Iron Man 3 he is the leader of the Ten Rings.