'Iron Man 4' Rumors: Expanded Role For Mandarin Could Add Intergalactic Aspect, Set-Up For Larger Role Against The Avengers [VIDEO]
While the twist in the last Iron Man movie with the revelation of the Mandarin was met to mixed accords, it also set up a possibility that this major Marvel villain could return in another film. It also was teased by star Ben Kingsley that more of the Mandarin was on the way.
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With Iron Man not returning for a while to his own solo film, it could be some time before the Mandarin returns. But what kind of role could the villain have with Kingsley's Trevor Slattery in prison going into the next movie?
In the comics, the Mandarin manipulated the Royal Family of Inhumans into obtaining the mystic Eye of Yin, created centuries ago by Makluan-trained sorcerers, but he was overpowered by Black Bolt, who absconded with his rings. After allying himself with the former Russian super-operative Unicorn, the Mandarin regained the rings via a Makluan headband device and returned his attention to Tony Stark.
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In the identity of Gene Kahn, he stirred unrest among Stark's employees, then, when exposed, fought Iron Man alongside the Unicorn. However, careless use of the headband inadvertently switched the Mandarin's consciousness with that of the terminally ill Unicorn, and he quickly abandoned the fight to rectify the situation.
Adding insult to injury, he discovered that a rival mastermind, the Yellow Claw, had, at the prodding of the extradimensional Black Lama, seized his current base, one of his Chinese castles, in his absence. Retiring to an underwater base, the Mandarin captured Sunfire and forced him to power the machinery that restored him to his rightful body, but even with Ultimo's aid, regaining his castle was not so simple.
Iron Man and Sunfire intervened in the conflict, which ended with the Mandarin seemingly slain by the Yellow Claw's robot surrogate, the Makluan rings claimed by the Claw's servant Loc Do.
This storyline would also allow Marvel to introduce the Inhumans if they haven't gotten around to the property by the time of Iron Man 4. It also would give Iron Man a large adversary that could bleed over into a future Avengers movie.
