10 Controversial Changes Movies Made To The Comic Book Source (That Actually Improved It)
4. The Mandarin - Iron Man 3
The Mandarin twist in Iron Man 3 will forever be a divisive topic among Marvel fans. Some saw it as a clever subversion of expectations, whilst others thought it was disrespectful to one of Iron Man’s most iconic foes.
Instead of portraying a straight ahead version of the comic character – and get accused of racial stereotyping – Marvel decided to play with it by having two versions for the film. One is a drunken British actor playing the public face of the Ten Rings terrorist group, with the actual MCU Mandarin is Guy Pearce’s Killian.
This decision split a lot of fans down the middle, but it’s hard to see how a straight ahead version of The Mandarin in the comics would fly today. Marvel also gave a peace offering to those upset by making the short All Hail The King, which confirms the real Mandarin is still out there somewhere.