10 MCU Actors Who Were Utterly Wasted

For what is often considered to be one of the most controversial films in the MCU, Iron Man 3 was very different to the bombastic, light-hearted films Marvel fans had come to expect by 2013. Shane Black's entry into the Marvel universe focused far less on the action, and instead provided a profound and believable account of how Post Traumatic Stress Disorder can effect even the strongest of people.

A major point of contention in the film comes down to how Iron Man's arch nemesis, the Mandarin, is used. From the beginning, the Mandarin, played by Ben Kingsley, is built up to be an evil terrorist, hellbent on destroying Tony Stark. However, towards the middle of the film, it is revealed that Kingsley's Mandarin is actually an actor, known as Trevor Slattery, and that Aldrich Killian is the real villain.

Many hoped for some sort of redemption for Kingsley's Mandarin, and with the announcement that he would appear in 2021's Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, this became the new expectation for the film. Unfortunately though, just like Iron Man 3, Kingsley's Trevor Slattery is treated as a joke, and is ultimately nothing more than a background character in the MCU.