Who else may appear in Iron Man 3?

I've already gone over which villain(s) may appear in IM3, but knowing now that Thanos is waiting in the wings for The Avengers 2 or 3 and that more and more heroes must be introduced between now and then, I've started wondering which heroes may show up next.

We'll start with those that may appear given the fact that IM3 is filming partly in China...

1) Shang-Chi

The Master of Kung-Fu could very well appear as an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s China division. I'm not sure he could do much against Thanos, but then again I wasn't sure Black Widow would do anything against Loki and the Chitauri, so anything's possible...

2) Iron Fist


Daniel Rand, in addition to being a martial artist, was at one point a businessman - having inherited his father's corporation. He could be another S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, but could also be a potential business partner of Stark's. Plus - there are some who're convinced Thor fought Luke Cage to get to Mjolnir in Thor...

3) Doctor Strange


This one's interesting because there's been talk recently of Marvel Studios making a Dr. Strange film. In the comics, the brilliant neurosurgeon gets into a car accident that damages his hands enough to never perform surgery again. He travels to Tibet to find The Ancient One to cure his hands and winds up becoming the next Sorcerer Supreme. I'm not sure if China's filming restrictions include using their country in place of Tibet, but having The Ancient One's temple in China in the film wouldn't be too far out of left field. In fact, I could easily see Sir Ben Kingsly portray The Ancient One instead of Mandarin.

My only issue here is that one of the defining characteristics of Dr. Strange is that he travels half the world to find The Ancient One after his accident. This tells us his level of arrogance, desperation and the lengths he's willing to go to get his medical skills back. Having Stephen in China already as one of the doctors Tony visits (to undergo the medical procedures necessary for the possible Extremis storyline) defeats the journey Strange must endure.

Of course, in Batman Begins Bruce Wayne is already in China when he's told about the League of Shadows, and he does endure the journey up the mountain to show his level of dedication, so I could be wrong...