10 Classic Movies You've Always Misunderstood

5. Iron Man 3 - Killian IS The Mandarin

Now the furore has settled down, the polarising opinions on Iron Man 3'€™s central twist are a little less intense. Those who hated it have moved on and those who liked it still like it. While a big, polarising reaction can only help a mega film like this, the negativity wasn't exactly planned by Shane Black and co.

However, I think people would have been notably less irritated at the Mandarin€™'s dethroning if the subsequent crowning of the character had been better conveyed. Obviously everyone got Killian was the mastermind behind the whole plot, but him actually assuming the small orange mantle was severely downplayed.

Just before Pepper uses her suddenly discovered powers to knock Killian back, he screams in a rather fire drowned rasp that he is the Mandarin. This line is quite hidden and doesn't alter the twist, but changes the view of The Mandarin; it's a title for the head of The Ten Rings, not just the public terrorist.