Mandarin (character)

The Mandarin is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He is the archenemy of Iron Man. The character was created by Stan Lee and designed by Don Heck, first appearing in Tales of Suspense #50 (Feb. 1964). The character is described as being born in China before the Communist revolution to a wealthy Chinese father and an English aristocratic mother, both of whom died when he was young. He is characterized as a megalomaniac, attempting to conquer the world on several occasions, yet also possessing a strong sense of honor. The Mandarin is portrayed as a genius scientist and a skilled martial artist. However, his primary sources of power are 10 rings that he adapted from the alien technology of a crashed spaceship. Each ring has a different power and is worn on a specific finger. Though his primary obsession is Iron Man, given his high status as a supervillain, he has also come into conflict with Thor, Hulk, Shang-Chi, and other superheroes in the Marvel Universe. The Mandarin has appeared in several forms of media. In the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) film, Iron Man 3 (2013), two characters lay claim to the title of The Mandarin: Trevor Slattery, a hired actor portrayed by Ben Kingsley, and Aldrich Killian, Slattery's superpowered benefactor portrayed by Guy Pearce. Later, Tony Leung portrayed Xu Wenwu, the "real" character that inspired Slattery and Killian's scheme, in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021). In 2009, The Mandarin was ranked as IGN's 81st-greatest comic book villain of all time.