Aldrich Killian/Mandarin (Iron Man 3)
Shane Black probably thought his Mandarin twist was pretty clever and edgy when he penned the script with Drew Pearce. Meanwhile, he singlehandedly destroyed the Mandarin for the MCU and wasted Guy Pearce’s talents in one film. What, you disagree? Cash me outside, how bout dat?!
The Mandarin is arguably Iron Man’s greatest foe and one of the most interesting super villains in comic book lore. For years, Tony Stark fans were excited by the prospect of seeing him face our iron-clad hero in a film outing, and it seemed like they got their wish with the casting of Ben Kingsley in 2013’s Iron Man 3. Then, it all went to pot, and we got one of the stupidest plot twists in the history of comic book movies.
Iron Man 3 presented the perfect opportunity to introduce a formidable adversary for Tony. Instead, we got a cheap copout and another failed villain in the MCU. Pearce is a tremendous actor, but he’s not Mandarin. Comic book movies deserve a better class of criminals, and this just wasn’t it.