If anybody can claim the part of Iron Man's longest running bad guy, his true arch enemy, then it's the Mandarin. Unfortunately the character is a little...problematic, to say the least, embodying pulpy prejudices against and stereotypes of Asian characters that started in the early 20th century and should really have stayed there. Still, if you want to see why people got so upset by the Ben Kingsley bait-and-switch with the character in Iron Man 3 without getting too upset yourself, then the 2004 Enter The Mandarin miniseries is both a good introduction to the villain and one that does well to downplay the, well, racist parts. Written by Joe Casey, one of the creators behind Ben 10, and with a clear drawing style by Eric Canete, the intentions of the series are clear. Like The Iron Age, Enter The Mandarin is all about retelling an old Marvel favourite in a way that can be enjoyed by a modern audience, especially readers who may never have picked up an Iron Man comic before. Which isn't to say it's simplistic, or shallow, in any way. Quite the opposite, in fact. Similar to Busiek's take on old material, Casey and Canete honour the stories they are retelling without ever feeling beholden to them. In doing so they carve out a much more subtle, nuanced take on the rivalry between Iron Man and the Mandarin, making sure neither character is reduced to a one-dimensional pawn amongst the dense plotting and big splashy fight scenes. If you want to get a sense on why the animosity between the two runs so deep, this is both the best example and probably the best story involving the two full stop.
Tom Baker is the Comics Editor at WhatCulture! He's heard all the Doctor Who jokes, but not many about Randall and Hopkirk. He also blogs at http://communibearsilostate.wordpress.com/
