Now that the "Iron Man 3" trailer has been out for a day, one of the many questions on everyone's mind is the exact identity of the film's villain.
We know Ben Kingsley's playing The Mandarin; however, despite a lot of explosions, multiple Iron Man suits, and a desperate-looking Tony Stark, we didn't get any shots of the real bad guy in action.
For those unfamiliar with the comics, we've broken down the mysterious Mandarin and his connection to Stark.
We also think he may not be the only villain in the film.
Here's everything you need to know about the latest "Iron Man" villain.
The Essentials:
The Mandarin's been featured in the Iron Man comics since 1964. A descendant of Genghis Khan, he's essentially out to avenge himself against the hand life dealt him (His parents died soon after his birth, he was left penniless after his savings were spent on the his trainings in combat, and the Chinese government took away his home after he couldn't pay taxes.) What better way to achieve those goals than world domination?
His beef with Stark:
His fighting techniques employ a level of combat combined with science. Basically, Mandarin looks to take weapons of mass destruction and turn them against their own countries. With that in mind, Tony Stark's technology is of high interest to Mandarin.
(Perhaps this means we'll see the character using Stark's technology against him and the U.S. government?)
The deal with the rings:
They're no joke. The Mandarin's true testament to power are the rings he found aboard an alien ship (really). We've broken down each of the individual rings' functions below:
Left Hand:
- Pinky: Ice beam
- Ring Finger: Mind control
- Middle Finger: Electric beam
- Index Finger: Heat ray / flame blaster
- Thumb: various electromagnetic powers
Right Hand:
- Pinky: Takes the light out of an area. (think the Deluminator in Harry Potter)
- Ring Finger: Disintegrate objects
- Middle finger: Creates vortexes
- Index finger: Creates magnetic waves / sonic vibrations
- Thumb: Ability to change matter's shape or form
This Marvel illustration offers some variations on the powers.
However, we're betting Kingsley's Mandarin isn't the only villain Stark should fret.
From the looks of it, and if you know anything about Iron Man characters, Guy Pearce's role of Aldrich Killian will center around another bad guy.
Our reasoning?
When Pearce was first interviewed for his role, he played it off as nothing more than "cameo stuff." However, we've seen / heard that before.
Killian's well known in the Marvel universe as a scientist who created an Extremis technology that allows nanotechnology to bind with a human (aka the Iron Man suit with Tony Stark which appears to be in full use this film).
In the comics, funding for the project was pulled and Killian took matters into his own hands giving the product to terrorists.
This seems feasible for the plot considering there were comics featuring Mandarin planning to unleash an army of Extremis soldiers.
SEE ALSO: How the "Iron Man 3" trailer reminded us of "The Dark Knight" trilogy >
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