- NOTE: This article is about the incarnation of the Mandarin from the Marvel Cinematic film series. The mainstream version can be found here: Mandarin (Marvel).
“ | So, you mean to tell me that you don't know the history of the Mandarin himself? He was a warrior-king..... inspired generations of men through the Middle Ages, perhaps even further back in time. | „ |
~ Jackson Norriss explaining about the Mandarin. |
“ | I gave you ten years to live your life. And where did that get you? You walked in my shadow. I trained you so the most dangerous people in the world couldn't kill you. Son, it's time for you to take your place by my side. | „ |
~ The Mandarin to Shang-Chi in the upcoming film. |
Wenwu, better known as The Mandarin is a major antagonist in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, mostly serving as the unseen overarching antagonist of the Iron Man trilogy and the Marvel one-shot All Hail The King, and is set to appear as the main antagonist in the upcoming film Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.
He is the founder and supreme leader of the terrorist organization Ten Rings, who is currently at large due to his identity remaining anonymous to the public. It was initially believed that Aldrich Killian was the Mandarin, employing Trevor Slattery as his puppet, but as the latter eventually discovers, the Mandarin is actually quite real.
He will be portrayed by Tony Leung Chiu-wai in his Hollywood debut.
Biography
Beginnings
According to Jackson Norriss, there was a rumor that the Mandarin had many followers, who described him as an ancient warrior-king that has inspired generations of men since the Middle Ages, perhaps even further back in time. It is unknown if that rumor was true or not.
Iron Man series
The Mandarin doesn't appear, nor is mentioned in Iron Man, but he sets his plot in furthering the goals of the Ten Rings by arranging Raza and a couple of terrorists to kidnap Tony Stark and hold him for ransom in an attempt to gain advanced weapons for their own goals (thanks to a deal with Obadiah Stane). However, Stark escaped captivity by using his new advanced armor to defeat Stane and the terrorists.
The Mandarin doesn't appear, nor is mentioned in Iron Man 2, but it is implied that he sent one of his agents to aid Ivan Vanko to kill Stark at the Prix de Monaco. To that end, the agent gave Vanko a pass to enter the race for the opportunity. However, Stark foiled this with his armor again before using his new armor (along with Rhodes') to defeat Vanko.
The Mandarin is mentioned in Iron Man 3, where Aldrich Killian hired a drunken actor named Trevor Slattery to impersonate the Mandarin as part of Killian's true plan of using Extremis experiments as purposeful attacks on the U.S. government. Needless to say, Stark managed to avoid this by purposely self-destructing all of his armor to destroy the Extremis soldiers, allowing Pepper to defeat Killian for good.
All Hail the King
The Mandarin serves as the unseen overarching antagonist of the short film, as he is very upset at Slattery (who is currently in Seagate Prison) for (unintentionally) stealing his name and making a mockery of his beliefs. As such, he sends Jackson Norriss to break Slattery out of prison and bring him over in person.
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
He will make his first on-screen debut as the main antagonist.
Quotes
“ | Throughout my life, the Ten Rings gave our family power. If you want them to be yours one day, you have to show me you're strong enough to carry them. | „ |
~ Mandarin to Shang-Chi in the upcoming film. |
“ | Be careful how you speak to me, boy. | „ |
~ Mandarin to Shang-Chi in the upcoming film. |
Trivia
- Initially, Aldrich Killian was intended to be the Marvel Cinematic Universe version of the Mandarin, according to Shane Black. However, Kevin Feige later suggested that Killian developed the Mandarin persona based on legends, implying that there could in fact be a Mandarin closer to his comic book counterpart out there.
- This was revealed in the one-shot All Hail the King featuring Ben Kingsley's return as Trevor Slattery, in which the short film revealed that the Mandarin is indeed real and that he is a separate individual from both Slattery and Killian.
- Kevin Feige confirmed on his Reddit AMA in 2019 that Marvel Studios has plans to feature the real Mandarin in the future. This was indeed confirmed some months afterwards with the announcement that the Mandarin will be the main antagonist of Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.
- There were once discussions about teasing an appearance of the Mandarin or Shang-Chi in the post-credits scene of The Avengers, but the idea was dropped and replaced by the Shawarma restaurant scene.
- The Mandarin is the second villain in the Marvel Cinematic Universe who replaces the protagonist's original father from the comic book continuity, as the Mandarin replaces Fu Manchu as Shang-Chi's father. The first was Ego from Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, who replaced Jason of Spartax as Star-Lord's father.