Every MCU Villain Plot Ranked From Worst To Best
20. Getting Rich (And Back At Tony Stark) - Aldrich Killian (Iron Man 3)
In what is easily the most divisive plot in all of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Iron Man 3 took the Mandarin, one of the most iconic villains of Iron Man's past, and reduced him to a joke. It was brave of Marvel Studios to attempt something so different, though it is easy to see why many were unhappy.
Every time one of Killian's Extremis experiments went wrong, he would pass it off as a terrorist attack orchestrated by the 'fictional' Mandarin. It was something of an insult to a great character from the comics, but actually quite a genius cover up by the real villain.
If only the rest of the plot could have been that smart. Killian's ultimate goal was to the kill the President and replace him with a loyal pawn, allowing him to control supply and demand on both sides of the war on terror with his Extremis soldiers. So ultimately, Killian Aldrich's plan came down to a blind want for money and power.
What began as a plot revolving around a personal grudge against Tony Stark, and a resentment toward the world thanks to his disability, ended up as something actually quite generic, and could have been far better. Maybe Marvel Studios would have been better going with the real Mandarin after all.