WTF? Fridays...10/25/2013

Okay Marvel - you threw me for a loop once.

And despite my inability to access the JARVIS stuff on the Blu-ray,

(my player is nowhere near our computer, and it's not an Apple)

I've scoured the thing for any info about the Mandarin-joke.

(Granted, I haven't played the commentary yet...I'm busy!)

There's no extra about Kingsley, no special wink-thing, 

...nothing...

until now.

It seems the good Sir has completed a "super-secret Marvel project" - AS MANDARIN!!!

W...T...F...MARVEL STUDIOS?

I'm all for the post-credit things and the One-Shots, 

but why oh why wasn't this put on the damn disc?

Can't you put two One-Shots with the same movie?

Is this even going to be a One-Shot?

The post-credit for Thor 2?

or is this (dare I say it)

an upcoming episode of AoS?

Whatever the case may be, I'm really mad at Marvel for keeping this Mandarin thing from us.

'Cause it still stings...really!

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

...and then there's this...

I admit that I don't know a lot about Mandarin...other than he's from China, has some sort of "connection" to Fing Fang Foom, and has ten rings.

But I knew he has a history with Iron Man, and was very excited to learn that he's in IM3, and is being played by Sir Ben Kingsley.

Yesterday, they released the first official look at Kingley's Mandarin:

Honestly, this doesn't say "Chinese Villain" to me...but I think the films are intent on making him more Middle-Eastern, and that vibe I get.

And now that I see this, I wonder if they're going to actually feature the ten tings - meaning show off their powers - or if they're just going to be ornamental.

Don't forget, we know that A.I.M will appear as well, and I wouldn't be surprised to see Sam Rockwell's Justin Hammer back again too.

In Marvel Studios I Trust

Okay...So Iron Man 3 is filming in China...

My first response to this was "so what?", but then I got to thinking about it.

First of all, this is a Disney supported move all the way. There's no way Marvel Studios could have pulled this off on their own. Maybe...after ten successful films under their belt...but not now.

Second, this is a show of Disney's level of commitment to Marvel Studios. There's no way Disney would approach China to do this unless they had high hopes...as well as high expectations...of the continuing growth of the Marvel Movie Universe.

Third, the villain must be Chinese - otherwise, what's the point? Now, there's been talk that the Mandarin will not be in IM3. I think that's utter B.S., but let's assume the rumor is true. Who does that leave? Well, without taking the time for more "in depth" research (digging into my stacks of OHOTMU comics) there's Fin Fang Foom - an alien dragon that would have to be CGI,



and Radioactive Man - a Chinese physicist that "had an accident".



Looking closer at Radioactive Man, we see he's a Chinese scientist, who could have been looking into the circumstances surrounding Cap's and Hulk's creations (the Super Soldier Serum) for the government when "something happens" that makes him Radioactive Man.

I can see this. What's more, I can see this with Mandarin pulling the strings and appearing in IM4 or even Avengers 2.


Instead of thinking "so what?", I'm now thinking "it's all good".

Why? - because...

In Marvel Studios I Trust