KevinAB

May 12, 2013 3:51 pm As I scroll through the various comments on this thread, I feel a profound sense of disappointment. I understand that many comic readers just want beat-em-up action and "fan-service" comic book continuity nods. I do. I just didn't realize that so many of the ifanbase fell into that group. The majority of the complaints I see stem from continuity differences rather than any issue with the film as a film. This signals a very clear line in the sand between "nerd rage" and actual criticism about the film. I liked the film quite a bit, and I didn't care about the continuity changes. What's that you say? Not a true comics fan am I? Not an Iron Man fan either? My word! My heavens! Such harsh, inaccurate words. I am 29 years old and buy comics every week. I have been "into" comics since Archie put out its Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comic, 85? 86? I have read Iron Man fairly consistently since the mid-90s, I started with the Heroes Reborn and, despite that, kept on throughout today. I've even tracked down backissues and read those! Armor Wars? Demon in a Bottle? Michelinie? I could probably out-trivia most people on this site. Does that mean my opinion matters more than yours? No, not at all. Does this mean I am more of a "comic fan" than you? Maybe, but not necessarily. What it means is that I am objectively a comic book fan who is intimately familiar with and has respect for the source material. I probably like the Mandarin comic book character more than most. I probably know more about the Mandarin comic book character than most. I also probably own and have read more comics featuring the Mandarin than most. Perhaps this explanation is unnecessary, but I want people who disagree with my acceptance of Iron Man 3 to know I have the "credentials" to have an "informed" opinion about the character. I *do* care about continuity changes, if I feel they serve little purpose or are simply poorly executed. The whole Catwoman movie upset me because it seemed like DC said, "hey, people have heard the name Catwoman. Let's make a movie called that. Hmmm we need to get rid of the Batman angle. Let's keep the name and toss the rest." I love the Mandarin and his 10 alien rings that each do something different. I can totally geek out on that. Did you know that he found those rings in a crashed spaceship that belonged to a race of dragon-like creatures? Someone above suggested that Killian was Fin Fang Foom, which is funny because Fin Fang Foom is an alien from that same race. In other words he is tangentially connected/responsible for the Mandarin's creation. Why didn't anyone else find the rings? Oh, well the spaceship crashed in a part of China called "The Valley of the Spirits" that is "forbidden" by local folklore. Mandarin didn't simply find rings that could fit his non-30 foot tall personage though. He found the alien power core and reverse engineered the rings over the course of a few years. Now, does all that sound like it could be simply told in a film? No, I didn't think so. And that was only an explanation of where the Mandarin got his powers, not why he wanted them, where he came from, and what he did with them. In addition to being a potentially culturally offensive/stereotypical villain, the Mandarin is also far too complex of a character to work in a standalone film. Yes, *if* they had known how the first one would do, and *if* they had expanded a bit on the "ten rings" bits in the first one and proceeded to then somehow portray Whiplash as having a mysterious backer with "strange" technology, then they *may* have been able to portray the Mandarin in the 3rd film. Honestly, I am glad they treated the Mandarin like they did because it worked. I can't imagine how a "faithful" adaptation would have. Speaking of faithful adaptation though, I would like to point out that the Mandarin, in the comics, is a genius megalomaniac with extensive scientific ability and acumen. His motivation is that his parents were wealthy, but by the time he reached adulthood, his family fortune was gone. He was evicted and dishonored. He turned to that Valley as a last hope for power and revenge on the world. Now, while this doesn't exactly parallel Killian's path in the film, it does maintain some very broad similarities. Scientific genius who isn't respected by his peers who, at his lowest point, manages to find something extraordinary that grants him the ability to build a (corporate) empire and gives him superpowers. I think Killian made a fairly faithful Mandarin in terms of his characterization as opposed to his power and cultural origins. To compare it to Batman Begins is fair because Ra's Al Ghul is a nigh immortal Middle Eastern man who discovered the secret to immortality via the Lazarus pits and over centuries built up an entire society dedicated to serving his will of winnowing down the planet's population to a more manageable and environmentally stable size. How much of that did Batman Begins get in the movie? Oh okay, he is the head of a society that serves him. What else? Oh, wait, nothing? Ohhhh right a nod to him being "immortal" because he always has a "stand-in" that is easily replaceable to avoid becoming a target himself. Hmmm sounds a bit like Killian, and Ducard/Al Ghul's facial hair was similar to the comics like Killian's dragon tattoos. Lazarus pits are as important to Ra's Al Ghul as the 10 Rings are to the Mandarin. They were also both white guys who used foreign (or foreign seeming) stand-ins to throw people off their true identities, as opposed to being foreign themselves. So yes, the comparison does work a teensy-tiny bit. I know this is all my own "nerd rage"/"my opinion is superior" drivel, but I don't. I think everyone's opinions are justified. I simply wish that people would stop having these knee-jerk overreactions before actually taking the time to think about how different the film actually *is* from the source material. Are you really mad at their portrayal of the Mandarin? Or are you mad that once again a film made a significant change to the source material, otherwise known as disliking when Hollywood "plays with our toys" incorrectly?

April 24, 2013 7:33 pm Daniel Craig would be an excellent Midnighter. He is actually, surprisingly blonde without his costume.

April 20, 2013 2:56 pm Has anyone ever wondered if it is the Devil that has goat eyes?

April 8, 2013 11:36 pm Thirded!

April 1, 2013 11:07 am A nice thought, but I read some interview somewhere in which a Marvel Entertainment bigwig mentioned that the past mission mentioned by Hawkeye and Black Widow in Avengers had never been told and that they may want to tell it at some point. In other words, it would be a Hawkeye AND Black Widow movie, so you need Jeremy Renner in your list. =P

March 23, 2013 6:08 am Agreed!

March 16, 2013 6:16 pm Yeah, I'll only read Sonic comics when they start calling Dr. Robotnik...."Dr. Robotnik" again instead of this Dr. Eggman stuff. I don't really care if it was originally Eggman in Japan or whatnot. I don't remember any "Dr. Eggman" in my games or cartoons.

March 14, 2013 9:25 pm Why, oh why, oh why, oh why do they KEEP casting wrestlers....Did we learn nothing from Sabertooth?

March 13, 2013 4:26 pm Was cringing at Carrey's casting, but am now ultra excited for his performance. He really seems to know how to play it.

February 18, 2013 2:10 pm @sitara119 I'm guessing you are making the comparison in a humorous fashion, but are we as a community seriously at the "compare something to Hitler in the very first reply to Post comment" mark? I mean 4chan this is not...and hopefully will maintain some lack of hyperbolic hoopla.