MCU: 10 Things You Learn Rewatching Iron Man 3

9. The Mandarin Twist Is Not A Big Deal

Iron Man fans have long been familiar with the problematic connotations surrounding the Mandarin. His initial incarnation amounted to little more than a racist stereotype of an Asian man, a character of the Fu Manchu age that really had no business being a Marvel Comics character.

When it came to actually casting the role proper, Marvel Studios looked to Ben Kingsley, an Anglo-Indian actor who's specialised in villainous roles throughout his career. He sounded threatening right from the start, and naturally people began to invest in Kingsley's portrayal. When it later transpired, however, that Kingsley's character wasn't the Mandarin - and that he was just an actor called Trevor Slattery - some fans were not happy at all.

The fact that this twist has doomed the film to so many is (and let's be blunt), frankly absurd. Black subverted everyone's expectations and, in doing so, provoked a Last Jedi-esque backlash wherein fans were chagrinned to see their fan theories rubbished by the time the film released.

Back then and even now the backlash just seemed completely unwarranted. Guy Pearce's Killian is a thoroughly unsettling villain, and in fitting the theme of Tony's past coming to haunt him, he's also the more appropriate.