10 MCU Moments That Don't Quite Fit
7. Revealing The Mandarin - Iron Man 3
In a storyline that appears to be yanked from bad pro wrestling, The Mandarin's portrayal in the MCU has been, at best, confusing. At worst it's another patched-up continuity error.
The Mandarin has been Iron Man's arch-nemesis in the comics for decades. In 2013's Iron Man 3, we learn that a dastardly terrorist named the Mandarin is responsible for a number of recent attacks. Despite Mandarin's status in the comics, the film portrays Mandarin as a second-tier villain next to Extremis creator Aldrich Killian.
Iron Man eventually catches up to Mandarin only to discover... that he is not the real Mandarin! He is an actor named Trevor Slattery, a man who was installed as a puppet figurehead to protect the real Mandarin's identity.
Once we are deep into the movie's third act, we discover that not only was Slattery a fake, but the real Mandarin was in fact... Aldrich Killian? The plot twist fell flat with comics fans. What's worse is that in 2021's Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Marvel attempted to retcon this move by bringing in yet another "real" Mandarin (and they mean it this time).