10 Surprise Movie Villain Reveals Everyone Hated

8. Aldrich Killian (Guy Pearce) - Iron Man 3

Iron Man 3 Mandarin Aldrich Killian
Marvel Studios

Now, while Iron Man 3's reveal that the "Mandarin" (Ben Kingsley) was actually a stand-in performer by the name of Trevor Slattery proved divisive with many fans, it might've gone down smoother if the later reveal of the "real" Mandarin proved more convincing.

In the third act, we learn that Aldrich Killian (Guy Pearce) is actually the MCU's version of the Mandarin, effectively repeating the formula of the two prior Iron Man movies, where the seemingly main villain is in fact concealing the real malevolent stuffed shirt antagonist.

Pearce is a phenomenal actor, but between Killian's underwhelming motivations for terrorising Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) and the totally bland reinterpretation of the legendary comic book villain, it's no wonder fans were left miffed.

The MCU is clearly hoping they'll strike it third time lucky, though, as the upcoming Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings will feature the real, definitely 100% real version of the character, as played by the fantastic Tony Leung.

Fingers crossed. Just keep it simple and, uh, don't be racist, yeah?

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Stay at home dad who spends as much time teaching his kids the merits of Martin Scorsese as possible (against the missus' wishes). General video game, TV and film nut. Occasional sports fan. Full time loon.