Ben Kingsley as Mandarin...Part 2

I love speculating about upcoming Marvel movies. And if/when DC gets around to promoting Man of Steel I'd do the same. But for now, I must comment on the latest and greatest pic from IM3...

So, instead of a Chinese man bent on world domination, Mandarin seems to be a Middle Eastern leader of a terrorist organization.

One of the problems comic-book films have had since 1978 is how faithful they should be to the source material. Through trial and error, it's been realized that you can't just slap spandex on a person or rely on special effects to carry a film. Each film needs to find its sweet spot, where comic fantasy meets reality, and everyone involved in the creation process is behind the project.

In short...every film needs verisimilitude.

I believe Marvel Studios has it. They're the first movie production company in full control of the comic-book films they create, with a good mix of movie makers and comic makers working in sync.

Between Iron Man and Chris Nolan's Batman trilogy, it has been proven to the masses that movies about comic characters can't be pulled directly from the books. They need to be altered and adjusted to reach that sweet spot, which in turn creates an alternate version of the comics in film, making the MMU different from Earth-616.

But there's always going to be nay-sayers. People who complain that Steve Rogers' hair isn't blonde enough, Hawkeye's costume needs more purple, Black Widow needed more screen time, Black Widow had too much screen time, etc... And I admit, I've been one of them - once upon a time.

I have complete faith and trust in Marvel Studios because whatever they do - success or failure - it won't diminish my love for their comic-book universe one little bit.

As for Ben Kingsley's Mandarin, we see him with the rings...which, lets face it, make him Mandarin, but also with a gun. Here's my theory -

At this point, Mandarin has the rings, but we don't know how he got them. He's had them for a while, because he named his organization The Ten Rings.

But he doesn't know how they work yet.

My guess is he'll discover that the rings have powers at the end of this film, which will open things up for the future.

On a side note - even if Marvel Studios decides to never do another Hulk film, I'd love to see Tim Blake Nelson's Leader as a She-Hulk villain...

In Marvel Studios I Trust