After Iron Man 3's decidedly loose interpretation of the Mandarin, a lot of people are left with the wrong idea about exactly who he is. So I decided to post an article about Iron Man's long time arch villain, and hopefully clear up some confusion.
Mandarin is highly intelligent, charismatic, well connected, and a ruthless tactician. He has become an expert inventor, and has created devices such as a teleporter, force field generator, and mental transference headband. Through years of research, he has also become the foremost expert in Makluan technology, which is otherwise inexplicable by normal Earth science.
The main source of Mandarin's power comes from 10 rings he obtained from an alien starship from the planet Maklu IV. The rings were the ship's power source and each of the rings has a different effect, which I'll go into later. Also, for longtime Marvel fans, the ship Mandarin scavenged the rings from is the very same one that brought Fin Fang Foom, another Makluan, to earth.
In addition to the power he obtains from the ten rings of power, he is also a superhumanly skilled martial artist. He has control over his body's energy flow, or chi, which gives him superhuman powers, even without the rings. Through this control he has demonstrated the ability channel energy through objects, such as a chain, rip up chunks of concrete, move with extreme speed, dodge bullets, punch or kick with enough force to shatter bones and even damage Iron Man's armor, and to survive for years on end with no food, drink, or sleep in a meditative state.
With his rings however, he has even more powers. His ring's powers are as follows;
LEFT HAND:
 |
| Fin Fang Foom, A Makluan |
Ring Finger: Mento-Intensifier. Magnifies the Mandarin’s psychic energy enabling him to mentally control a person. Only effective at short range.
Middle Finger: Electro-Blast. Emits quantities of electrical energy determined by the wearer (Mandarin). Upper limit of output is unknown.
Index Finger: Flame Blast. Emits infrared radiation and can cause air to incandesce by igniting its molecules. Maximum out is unknown.
Thumb: White Light. Emits many different types of energy from the electro-magnetic spectrum. Frequently used as intense visible light and laser beams.
RIGHT HAND:
Pinky: Black Light. Creates area of “absolute blackness” where all light is absorbed. It is believed that this ring accesses the “Darkforce” used by people such as Darkstar and the Shroud.
Ring Finger: Disintegration Beam
: Destroys bonds between atoms and molecules causing an object’s cohesion to fall apart. Needs 20 minutes recharge time between uses.
Middle Finger: Vortex Beam. Causes air to swirl about in a vortex at high speed. Can levitate objects, propel wearer (Mandarin) in flight and be used as a weapon.
Index Finger: Impact Beam. Projects concussive force of approximately 350 lbs. of TNT. Can also cause intense sonic vibrations and create magnetic waves.
Thumb: Matter Rearranger. Can rearrange atoms and/or molecules of substances or speed up/slow down their movements to result in various effects. Cannot actually transmute elements.
If you're like me, you went into Iron Man 3 knowing Mandarin was a big Iron Man villain, but never having read anything about him. After seeing the movie's interpretation of the character, however, I became curious, and started digging. Most of my references come from Iron Man: Director of S.H.I.E.L.D #0 Trade Paperback
Iron Man: Director of S.H.I.E.L.D: Haunted. Both can be purchased from Amazon for a reasonable price, and they are both well worth it. Hope you enjoy the benefits of my obsession with research, and there will be many more Spotlight On articles in the future. I will take requests.
I really never knew he was that cool. That's a lot better than what they did with him in Iron Man 3.
ReplyDelete