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Iron Man 3tricked the audience into believing Tony Stark ( Robert Downey Jr ) was plump to present the Ten Ring ’s leader , The Mandarin , but had Marvel gone with its original design , Iron Manwould have met the actual Mandarin in his first moving picture , which would have completely changed the Marvel Cinematic Universe . The MCU is what it is today thanks to Jon Favreau’sIron Man , the movie that started it all back in 2008 and determine the tonicity for subsequent movies . Iron Manalso demonstrate the title character as a loss leader of the MCU , subsequently becoming one of the drawing card of the original Avengers alongside Steve Rogers / Captain America .
During his time in the MCU , Iron Man came across a smorgasbord of villains , of which some targeted him as personal vengeance , while many others were the unwitting result of Tony ’s rashness , past mistakes , failed engineering , and more , as was the case ofIron Man 3 ’s Aldrich Killian ( Guy Pearce ) andAvengers : Age of Ultron ’s title villain . However , one of the most famous bad guys he came across was the supposed Mandarin inIron Man 3 , who was actually a paid doer namedTrevor Slattery ( Ben Kingsley ) , but the original plan for the firstIron Manmovie was to have the real Mandarin as the scoundrel , so much so thatFavreau announced him as such , and had Marvel stuck to that plan , the MCU would have been very different – and here are five ways in which the real Mandarin inIron Manwould have changed this attached universe .
5The Ten Rings MCU Role Would Be Different
Although inspired by the Mandarin ’s ten cosmic rings in Marvel Comics , the Ten Rings is an original creation for the MCU , so it ’s not surprising that Marvel has been making a lot of change to it as the MCU expands more and more – however , had the real Mandarin been the primary villain inIron Man , the Ten Rings as it ’s now get it on would be very unlike . The Ten Rings is a clandestine criminal and terrorist organizationfounded by Xu Wenwu in the Middle Ages , and by the 21st century , it was involved in terrorist activities all over the world . Iron Manrevealed that Tony ’s business partner , Obadiah Stane , had been illegally sell Stark Industries ' weapons to the Ten Rings and made a deal with them to assail the military convoy Tony was travel in . The Ten Rings told Stane they would need more money to kill such an authoritative target as Tony Stark , and they draw another prisoner , Ho Yinsen , to salvage Stark as pieces of shrapnel were near his core , making means for the arc nuclear reactor on his bureau that would go on to power the Iron Man lawsuit .
contingent about The Mandarin ’s role inIron Manare scarce , but he was supposed to be a rival of Stark Industries , so it was all about getting Stark ’s engineering and weapons , so The Mandarin surely would have had other ways to get to Stark instead of attacking the military convoy , though that would have also given a new beginning story to Iron Man , the discharge nuclear reactor , and his suits . Had The Mandarin been the main high-risk hombre inIron Man , his and the Ten Rings ’ aim in the MCU would have been a lot clear from the beginning , as so far , the organization has taken part of or undertake to do things that do n’t really seem to follow a melodic phrase , and it was n’t untilShang - Chi and the Legend of the Ten Ringsarrived in Phase 4 that there was some coherence in what The Mandarin and the Ten Rings do in the MCU . Most importantly , the Ten Rings would have become the biggest threat on Earth in the MCU , as even if the Mandarin died , someone else would take the pot , and the organization would have continued targeting Iron Man and others as well .
4Iron Man 2’s Ivan Vanko Might Have Never Appeared
Among the matter the Ten Rings did that do n’t really seem to fit the organisation ’s stylus is its involvement with Ivan Vanko , the villain inIron military personnel 2 . Ivan Vanko was a Russian physicist and son of Anton Vanko , a scientist who partner with Howard Stark at Stark Industries and created the first Arc Reactor with Stark . After Anton died in poverty due to Howard ’s actions , Ivan swore revenge against the Starks , targeting Tony , and for that , he counted on the assistance of the Ten Rings . Ivan built a replica of the Arc Reactor along with an exoskeleton with two wire whips , and with the help of the Ten Rings , he traveled to Monaco to the Circuit de Monaco , as Tony was attend the outcome . Had Iron Man faced the real Mandarin and the Ten Rings in his first solo movie , it ’s unbelievable the establishment and its loss leader would have helped someone else get their revenge against Tony when they could do it themselves , especially as help Ivan Vanko would n’t have do good them in anything .
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3Iron Man 3 Might Have Been Saved From Backlash
One of the biggest alteration that the real Mandarin inIron Manwould have brought is all aboutIron gentleman 3 . As mentioned above , the thirdIron Manmovie was supposedly run to introduce the Mandarin , but the twist in the story was that Aldrich Killian had charter actor Trevor Slattery to set as the Mandarin and take reference for a bunch of “ terrorist attacks ” that were really failed experiment of Killian ’s Extremis . The Mandarin twist inIron Man 3is one of the most criticize moments in MCU history and with honorable reason , but had the real Mandarin been preface inIron Man , this would have never happened , andIron Man 3could have focused on just Aldrich Killian as the villain or another character .
2Shang-Chi Might Have Arrived Earlier To The MCU
Shang - Chi and the Legend of the Ten Ringsintroduced Xu Wenwu , the real Mandarin , who also happens to be Shang - Chi and Xu Xialing ’s founder . Xu Wenwu ’s bearing inIron Manwould have made mode forShang - Chi ’s founding in Phase 1 , which in turning would have totally changed Iron Man ’s MCU history . Shang - Chi would have shared the spotlight and leadership of the MCU with Iron Man yield his connective to the Ten Rings , and the Mandarin and the organization would have been at the sum of both Shang - Chi and Iron Man ’s stories . Shang - Chi would have also been part of the original Avengers team , changing the dynamic in the group , and events like those ofAvengers : Age of Ultron , Captain America : Civil War , and even the Battle of Earth inAvengers : Endgamewould have been completely unlike or not happened at all – and with the Ten Rings being the chief and most extended threat in the MCU , Shang - Chi would have become one of the most crucial characters , match or even surpassing Iron Man and Captain America .
have-to doe with : Is Shang - Chi ’s Father The Real Mandarin ? It ’s Complicated
1What Would Have Happened To The Mandarin?
One of the biggest questions around the Mandarin ’s introduction inIron Manis what would have happened to him at the end . As mentioned above , even if Xu Wenwu had been killed by Iron Man , someone else would have taken over the Ten Rings ’ leadership , as see inShang - Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings , where Shang - Chi ’s sister , Xu Xialing , became the unexampled loss leader . The Ten Rings would have sure enough continued with their mission againstIron Man , becoming a recurrent Iron Man antagonist , and as mentioned above , that would have made the Ten Rings ( and the Mandarin , if he hold out ) the biggest threat on Earth in the MCU – and with Shang - Chi around , the Mandarin and the Ten Rings would have made Shang - Chi ’s and the Avengers ’ stories a hatful more complex and striking , giving a dissimilar tone to the overall MCU .