12 Years Later, the Controversy Around Iron Man 3 Feels Even More Ridiculous

In Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, a moment of tension investigating the fortress belonging to crime lord Wenwu (Tony Leung) culminates in the film’s heroic leads discovering the incarcerated Trevor Slattery (Ben Kingsley). He’s been trapped in this palace for eons ever since he impersonated The Mandarin in Iron Man 3. This of course had been teased at the end of the Marvel One-Shot short film All Hail the King where Slattery was confronted by a Ten Rings soldier who said “the real Mandarin” wanted to meet him. Turns out Wenwu wanted to incarcerate Slattery, transform him into his court jester, and ridicule the preposterous “Mandarin” name.

Slattery’s return inspired cheers in multiplexes across the world while his subsequent gags in the film (including how his acting career was inspired by those “ape actors” in Planet of the Apes) only further endeared Marvel fans to Kingsley’s character. So much so, the standout Shangi-Chi player is now set to return in Disney+’s Wonder Man. That in mind, it’s easy to forget now that Trevor Slattery’s appearance in Iron Man 3 inspired so much controversy 12 years ago, but boy did it ever. Iron Man 3 daring to subvert expectations for who “The Mandarin” was instilled hostility in audiences that festered for years in the Marvel fandom. Such hostility has gotten only more and more ridiculous as the years have gone by.

Iron Man 3’s Mandarin Controversy Explained

For six months before Iron Man 3 hit theaters, trailers and commercials for the feature emphasized that Kingsley’s The Mandarin was going to be a big foe for the character. He’d ominously intone things like “heroes…there is no such thing” and “I consider myself a teacher” in Iron Man 3’s promos, setting up a grand debut for Iron Man’s most famous comic book foe. In the film, of course, this all turned out to be a ruse. The Mandarin was really boozey actor Trevor Slattery. The real villain wasn’t some nebulous foreign boogeyman but rather American tech guy Aldrich Killian (Guy Pearce), who utilized Slattery as The Mandarin to draw focus away from his own plans.

This was a hysterical subversion of expectations that made masterful use of Kingsley’s comic sensibilities while also injecting shockingly pointed social commentary into a Disney superhero movie. However, a lot of the internet was genuinely livid over this plot twist. Marvel fans had been wanting to see a “proper” Mandarin for years and were miffed that the trailers proved misleading. Editorials cropped up all over the internet talking about how Iron Man 3 “ruined The Mandarin.” Months later, YouTube channels like Screen Junkies teared into this decision and only further heightened the criticism over this Mandarin subversion.

[RELATED: Shang-Chi Director Destin Daniel Cretton Says Working With Ben Kingsley Was “a Highlight of My Life”]

Even at the time, this controversy was chuckle-worthy since general audiences clearly had no problem with Trevor Slattery. Plus, these comments never seemed to ignore the larger social commentary and thematic elements this twist was playing towards. Rather than giving folks the comic book material they were used to, writer/director Shane Black upended expectations to create a major blockbuster that had something to say about who America defines as its “enemies.” These loftier goals were ignored in favor of complaining that Iron Man 3 didn’t directly translate racially questionable Mandarin-centric comic book covers from the ’70s.

Would The MCU Even Take A Swing Like Trevor Slattery Today?

Iron Man 3’s willingness to upend audience expectations with everything related to Trevor Slattery remains quite shocking given the MCU’s modern reliance on fan-service. Now Marvel is quick to lean on things like the Avengers: Doomsday cast or stacking the Disney+ shows with familiar faces meant to remind people of art they already consumed. Fresh new visions that could prove controversial are eschewed in favor of regurgitating Wesley Snipes as Blade. Even the radical reimagining of The Mandarin as Wenwu in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings from a few years ago now feels divorced from a new MCU status quo relying on multiversal cameo appearances.

Would the MCU even try a modern equivalent to Trevor Slattery? It’s doubtful, which makes it extra exciting that Iron Man 3 went in such a bold direction years ago. Going this route inspired lots of furious internet criticism, no doubt about it. However, that’s how you know Slattery did something right. This plot twist provoked emotional reactions from all over the spectrum. It didn’t just inspire incessant clapping and cheering in multiplexes. If only more modern MCU productions had the gall to embrace a delightful character like Trevor Slattery that inspired so much pointless controversy eons ago.

Iron Man 3 is now streaming on Disney+.