20 Insane MCU Moments Marvel Didn't Show
16. The Mandarin (Iron Man)
If the Iron Man filmed tanked at the box office, the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe could have been abandoned. Marvel believed the first film in the MCU should be Iron Man since he had the most straight-forward story.
However, the original script was very different. Stark's father, Howard, would become War Machine, not Jim Rhodes. Also, it would have been revealed that Tony Stark was the one who built Doctor Octopus’ mechanical arms.
But the biggest difference in the original script was the antagonist was meant to be Iron Man's arch-nemesis, The Mandarin. Unfortunately, The Mandarin is often depicted as a “Fu-Manchu villain” and so, the filmmakers worried he would come across as a racist stereotype. If the filmmakers decided to incorporate The Mandarin into the first Iron Man film, they could have been accused of embracing racism, which could have made the movie bomb.
To play it safe, the script was rewritten so Obadiah Stane AKA Iron Monger would be the first supervillain of the MCU. Since Stane has a personal relationship with Stark and was the main villain of Iron Man's most celebrated story, Demon in a Bottle, he seemed like the perfect enemy to start the franchise.