Anthony Stokes on why The Mandarin was the best villain of 2013….
2013 was a year that showed much promise, and when it came to the Oscar contenders, it delivered in full. Honestly I can’t look at a single Best Picture nominee and say it doesn’t deserve it, and there were very few snubs (the big ones being Rush and Fruitvale Station). However, where 2013 really dropped the ball was the summer blockbusters. Like clockwork each and every one of them disappointed in some way, while smaller movies sneaked up and made an impression (see The World’s End, Pain and Gain, This Is the End, etc.). Nevertheless, one blockbuster from last year that I believe is under-appreciated is Iron Man 3, and it also happens to have the best villain in The Mandarin.
Iron Man 3 is a classic case of not being able to please the fans. It’s darker, more focused, and more character-based then its predecessors, yet people still find the weirdest things to complain about (somebody told me in conversation that it was bad because Tony Stark used a gun). But, the most dividing factor – and something I loved – was how Shane Black and Drew Pearce handled The Mandarin. Both Black and Jon Favreau have been very vocal about The Mandarin and how difficult he is to pull off. I agree. His magical rings given to him by aliens doesn’t work in an Iron Man movie. I understand that it’s a shared universe, but Marvel movies should have villains with similar powers as their heroes. Every Iron Man villain has been tech or science fiction based, and every Thor villain has been fantasy or magic based.
For me, the comic book Mandarin is a tired and weak character. He’s essentially a Fu Manchu stereotype, and in order for a faithful adaptation The Mandarin would have to have been played by Ken Jeong. People are comparing The Mandarin to The Joker or Lex Luthor in terms of stature, which is complete rubbish. Everyone knows who The Joker and Lex Luthor are thanks to the video games, TV shows, and movies they’ve featured in. I’ve never seen or heard The Mandarin mentioned outside of comic books, except when he’s been rumored for Iron Man movies. While I’m not the biggest comic book fan, I’m pretty sure if I haven’t seen him mentioned, the casual movie goer hasn’t. And that aside, you can name dozens of good Joker and Lex Luthor stories. Not so for The Mandarin. The only good comic book run with The Mandarin seems to be Invincible Iron Man, but even then it’s basically a revamp of the character into more of a savvy businessman, much like Tony Stark himself.
But this isn’t an article on why The Mandarin isn’t as good a comic book villain as fans make him out to be, so let’s get on to why he’s the best villain of the summer and the year. The way The Mandarin is introduced is incredible, with Black and Pearce drawing from a number of different sources of inspiration from Bin Laden, Heath Ledger’s Joker, and maybe even a little Jigsaw and Hannibal Lector. Every scene that he’s in is tense and relentlessly fascinating. Marvel knows how to pick its actors and Ben Kingsley performs extremely well and his dialogue was haunting. And then Black pulls the rug from under his audience…
So The Mandarin is really just a front created by Aldrich Killian as a scare and business tactic. What makes this twist great is that Guy Pearce is essentially playing director and fabricating a bad guy that people would be scared of. And it worked, for Ben Kingsley’s Mandarin was extremely effective. It held a mirror to what American audiences find scary and consider a good villain. There’s also the idea that fear can be manufactured for financial gain, and I feel that unlike a lot of twists the more you think about this one the better it gets. Ben Kingsley as Trevor is equally impressive, with him rattling off dialogue and still being captivating as a complete ass. I love Trevor and I cannot wait for his return in the Marvel One-Shot All Hail the King.
Although it’s open to debate, my interpretation is that Aldrich Killian is the metaphorical revamped Mandarin from Invincible Iron Man, while Kingsley’s terrorist warlord was there to satisfy those fans wanting the stereotyped comic book villain. And if the movie fails it’s that Killian simply isn’t as threatening as Ben Kingsley’s Mandarin. He plays him too smirky and it seemed like he wasn’t taking the role as seriously as Ben Kingsley. This may be the one time I feel that Marvel has miscast somebody. But even so Killian is still a pretty interesting character as he’s essentially a deconstruction of his type.
Although his opening would lead you to believe he targeted Tony Stark out of revenge, upon repeat viewings it’s pretty clear that Killian only goes after Stark after he threatened his plan. He doesn’t initially come as a threat, he comes peacefully, and Killian’s lack of motivation is what makes him interesting, along with his plan which is pretty simple by movie standards – he wants to control the President of the United States. A big problem I have with villains these days, specifically Christopher Nolan ones, is that their schemes require God-like planning, timing, and flat-out luck and the more you think about their plans the dumber they get. Even Joker knock-offs like John Harrision from Star Trek Into Darkness and Silva from Skyfall have these convoluted, asinine plans that could easily go wrong. Killian’s plan is easily traceable and well thought out and doesn’t really on the viewers suspending their disbelief.
So, all in all I think Marvel did a ballsy thing by essentially taking a character who’s not as good as he’s made out to be and representing him in both his iterations. Between Killian, The Mandarin and Trevor, essentially we get three villains in one movie and while they vary in quality I love each of them for what they have to say about cinema in general. Yes Iron Man 3 could have been better, but when it comes to the villains it got it right.
Do you agree? Let us know in the comments below…
Anthony Stokes is a blogger and independent filmmaker who also assists with the music blog DopesterMusic and co-hosts the podcast Delusional Losers.