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Trevor Slattery is a character portrayed by
Ben Kingsley Sir Ben Kingsley (born Krishna Pandit Bhanji; 31 December 1943) is an English actor. He has received List of awards and nominations received by Ben Kingsley, various accolades throughout Ben Kingsley on screen and stage, his career spanning fi ...
in the
Marvel Cinematic Universe The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is an American media franchise and shared universe centered on List of Marvel Cinematic Universe films, a series of superhero films produced by Marvel Studios. The films are based on characters that appe ...
(MCU). An actor hired to portray the legendary terrorist leader of the Ten Rings dubbed " the Mandarin", he first appeared in the film ''
Iron Man 3 ''Iron Man 3'' is a 2013 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character Iron Man, produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. It is the sequel to ''Iron Man (2008 film), Iron Man'' (2008) an ...
'' (2014) and reprised the role in the Marvel One-Shot ''
All Hail the King ''All Hail the King'' is a 2014 American direct-to-video short film featuring the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) character Trevor Slattery, produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment. It is a follow-up ...
'' (2014) and in the film ''
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings ''Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings'' is a 2021 American superhero film based on Marvel Comics featuring the character Shang-Chi. Produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, it is List of Marvel ...
'' (2021), which features the real leader of the Ten Rings, Wenwu. He will also appear in the upcoming ''
Wonder Man Wonder Man (Simon Williams) is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby, he first appeared in '' The Avengers'' #9 (October 1964). The character, wh ...
'' (2025) series. General response to the character was mixed, with many comic fans criticizing the character and how his reveal affected the film's Mandarin portrayal, while others defended the twist by noting its social commentary and how it avoided the racist caricature of the comics' Mandarin.


Fictional character biography


Posing as the Mandarin

Slattery is a washed-up, drug-addicted actor hired by Aldrich Killian and the think tank
Advanced Idea Mechanics A.I.M. (Advanced Idea Mechanics) is a fictional criminal organization appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, it First appearance, first appeared in ''Strange Tales'' #146 (July 1966). A.I ...
(AIM) to portray the Mandarin, a persona influenced by many modern terrorists and named after a supposed legendary Chinese title. Slattery stars in propaganda videos that are broadcast to the world as a cover for AIM's explosive
Extremis "Extremis" is a six-issue story arc from the comic book series ''Iron Man (comic book), Iron Man'' (vol. 4), published in issues one through six in 2005 and 2006 by Marvel Comics. It was written by Warren Ellis and illustrated by Adi Granov. ' ...
experiments. Slattery lives oblivious to the true meaning of his actions, surrounded by wealth and drugs provided by AIM, until he is discovered by Tony Stark. Slattery is arrested following Stark's defeat of Killian, but was pleased by the publicity he received as he was arrested.


Incarceration

In Seagate Prison, Slattery lives luxuriously, with his own personal "butler" and adoring fans among the other inmates, until he is broken out by Jackson Norriss, a Ten Rings terrorist posing as a documentary filmmaker, who explains that the real "Mandarin" is angered with Slattery's use of the title, and wishes to take it back.


Helping Shang-Chi

Following the events of ''All Hail the King'', Slattery was sentenced to death by the Ten Rings but Xu Wenwu, the real leader of the Ten Rings, made Slattery his "court
jester A jester, also known as joker, court jester, or fool, was a member of the household of a nobleman or a monarch kept to entertain guests at the royal court. Jesters were also travelling performers who entertained common folk at fairs and town ma ...
" within his compound after Slattery entertained him with his
Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...
monologues. While imprisoned, Slattery becomes sober and more refined, and befriends a captured hundun that he names Morris. In 2024, Slattery escapes the compound with the help of Wenwu's children Shang-Chi and Xialing as well as Shang-Chi's friend Katy, and travels with them to Morris' home, Ta Lo. Slattery helps defend the mystical village from the Ten Rings and later the forces of the Dweller-in-Darkness. After the Dweller's defeat, Slattery and Morris are present among the Ta Lo warriors at the funeral ceremony for those who were lost in the battle.


Concept and creation

While writing the screenplay for ''
Iron Man 3 ''Iron Man 3'' is a 2013 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character Iron Man, produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. It is the sequel to ''Iron Man (2008 film), Iron Man'' (2008) an ...
'',
Shane Black Shane Black (born December 16, 1961) is an American screenwriter, film director, and actor, known for his distinctive style of Action film, action and action comedy films. He is the original creator of the ''Lethal Weapon (franchise), Lethal Wea ...
and Drew Pearce wanted to thematically reflect "the idea for Tony /nowiki>Stark/nowiki> of false faces and the idea of the dual personality of Tony as an out superhero who is basically using his self-definition through the false face of Iron Man." Pearce pitched, "what if the
Mandarin Mandarin or The Mandarin may refer to: Language * Mandarin Chinese, branch of Chinese originally spoken in northern parts of the country ** Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Mandarin, the official language of China ** Taiwanese Mandarin, Stand ...
is an actor?" to Black, and the character was developed from there.
Ben Kingsley Sir Ben Kingsley (born Krishna Pandit Bhanji; 31 December 1943) is an English actor. He has received List of awards and nominations received by Ben Kingsley, various accolades throughout Ben Kingsley on screen and stage, his career spanning fi ...
entered negotiations for the role in April 2012, and had joined the cast of ''Iron Man 3'' by September, when he stated, "Quite soon I'll be with everybody and we'll be discussing the look and the feel and the direction of the character. It's very early days yet, but I'm so thrilled to be on board." The idea for a Marvel One-Shot centered on Slattery was conceived on the ''Iron Man 3'' set by Pearce and producer Stephen Broussard.
Marvel Studios Marvel Studios, LLC, formerly known as Marvel Films, is an American film and television production company. Marvel Studios is the creator of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), a media franchise and shared universe of films and television ser ...
and consultant
Joss Whedon Joseph Hill "Joss" Whedon ( ; born June 23, 1964) is an American screenwriter, director, producer, comic book writer, and composer. He is best known as the creator of several television series: the supernatural drama ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer' ...
were positive about the short, reliant on Kingsley's involvement. In October 2013, Kingsley said he was working on a secret project with Marvel involving "many members of the crew that were involved in ''Iron Man 3''." This was later revealed to be the short, written and directed by Pearce. Though some of the dialogue is written in response to critics of ''Iron Man 3''s Mandarin portrayal, the story was written simply as an extension of the Ten Rings and Mandarin storyline featured throughout the ''Iron Man'' films. Pearce wrote the short to be ambiguous enough that the storyline could be further explored in future films or television series.


Characterization

For his performance as Slattery as the Mandarin, Kingsley "wanted a voice that would disconcert a Western audience. I wanted a voice that would sound far more homegrown and familiar—a familiarity like a teacher's voice or a preacher's voice. The rhythms and tones of an earnest, almost benign, teacher—trying to educate people for their own good." Black explained that part of altering the character from the comics was to avoid the
Fu Manchu Dr. Fu Manchu ( zh, t=傅滿洲/福滿洲, p=Fú Mǎnzhōu) is a supervillain who was introduced in a series of novels by the English author Sax Rohmer beginning shortly before World War I and continuing for another forty years. The character f ...
stereotype, and instead say that he "draws a cloak around him of Chinese symbols and dragons because it represents his obsessions with
Sun Tzu Sun Tzu (; zh, t=孫子, s=孙子, first= t, p=Sūnzǐ) may have been a Chinese General, military general, strategist, philosopher, and writer who lived during the Eastern Zhou period (771–256 BC). Sun Tzu is traditionally credited as the au ...
in various ancient arts of warfare that he studied." The videos where the Mandarin gives historical background to the "attacks" show how he was created by "a
think tank A think tank, or public policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, technology, and culture. Most think tanks are non-governme ...
of people trying to create a modern terrorist", and so "represents every terrorist in a way," from South American insurgency tactics to the videos of
Osama bin Laden Osama bin Laden (10 March 19572 May 2011) was a militant leader who was the founder and first general emir of al-Qaeda. Ideologically a pan-Islamist, Bin Laden participated in the Afghan ''mujahideen'' against the Soviet Union, and support ...
. Colonel Kurtz from ''
Apocalypse Now ''Apocalypse Now'' is a 1979 American psychological epic war film produced and directed by Francis Ford Coppola. The screenplay, co-written by Coppola, John Milius, and Michael Herr, is loosely inspired by the 1899 novella '' Heart of Darkn ...
'' was also an influence for the Mandarin.


Reception

The reveal of Trevor Slattery in ''Iron Man 3'', after only his terrorist Mandarin persona had been marketed, was met with mixed responses, as many fans of the comics opposed the changes made to the original character. Matt Singer of ''
Business Insider ''Business Insider'' (stylized in all caps: BUSINESS INSIDER; known from 2021 to 2023 as INSIDER) is a New York City–based multinational financial and business news website founded in 2007. Since 2015, a majority stake in ''Business Inside ...
'' defended the twist, saying, "They are not upset with the movie because it's bad—that would be a legitimate complaint—they're upset because it's good, but not in the same way that the original comic books were good." Singer felt that the film "rather brilliantly evades that minefield f the comics' racist caricatureby using it as the fuel for satire; revealing the Kingsley Mandarin's mish-mosh of Orientalist imagery as a construction designed to play into ignorant people's fears. Black suggests we should be far more worried about the well-dressed, amoral CEO than the vaguely defined "Other" of so many bad pieces of pop culture....Part of what I liked about ''Iron Man 3'' was that it did something different. Where some readers saw a slap in the face, I saw a refreshing change." Devin Faraci at ''Birth.Movies.Death.'' found the character more "satisfying" than a more faithful version of the character could have been, stating, "the reveal of the truth behind The Mandarin would be worthless if it was handled poorly. Thankfully Black has cast Sir Ben Kingsley in the role, and he demolishes the part. As The Mandarin he's a heart of darkness, a stylized amalgamation of four decades' worth of demagogues and terrorists. As Trevor Slattery ... he's a comic dream, a dissolute mess into which Kingsley just hilariously collapses. It's a brilliant performance". Joey Esposito, writing for ''
IGN ''IGN'' is an American video gaming and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa district and is headed by its former e ...
'', was "totally shocked" by the fan backlash to the character, feeling that the update was an improvement by avoiding "the traditional portrayal of the character thatbeing the perpetuation of a stereotype that has no place in modern society." Esposito thought that even the film's initial depiction of the Mandarin was "ridiculous and silly", and that the Slattery reveal "redeemed" that part of the film for him. In response to the fan controversy, Pearce said, "I'm unbelievably proud of what we did, and also the fact that we actually snuck a surprise into a big summer movie, which is, on a logistical level alone, really hard to do, now. I was surprised at the small but vocal group's venom about he character change but...I could see how that surprise might be a bit of a shock. And I'm sorry that it pissed people off, but I'm also like, it's kind of our job to push the boundaries and surprise and hopefully delight." Black, also responding to the controversy, said, "What was of use about the Mandarin's portrayal in this movie, to me, is that it offers up a way that you can sort of show how people are complicit in being frightened ... hopefully, by the end you're like, 'Yeah, we were really frightened of the Mandarin, but in the end he really wasn't that bad after all.' In fact, the whole thing was just a product of this anonymous, behind-the-scenes guy" rather than the "available and obvious target", "a message that's more interesting for the modern world". Reviewing ''All Hail the King'', Cliff Wheatley, also at ''IGN'', described the short as "a return to the loveable personality of the hapless Trevor ... that should satisfy both lovers and haters" of the character. He added that "Kingsley once again shines in the role of Slattery, aloof and ignorant, but more than happy to slide back into Mandarin mode if it will please his adoring fans." Faraci felt that the character "was used the perfect amount in ''Iron Man Three'', and giving him more screen time here, in a side project, feels the right way to return to him. Kingsley is having a blast, delivering plenty of wonderful jokes and sinking right into the clueless, egocentric character who represents all of our worst stereotypes of actors."


Accolades

Ben Kingsley won for Best Supporting Actor at the 40th Saturn Awards and was nominated for Choice Movie: Villain at the 2013 Teen Choice Awards.


See also

* Characters of the Marvel Cinematic Universe


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Slattery, Trevor Fictional actors Fictional characters from the 21st century Fictional drug addicts Fictional English people Fictional impostors Fictional jesters Fictional people from Liverpool Fictional prisoners and detainees in the United States Film characters introduced in 2013 Iron Man (film series) Iron Man characters Male film villains Marvel Cinematic Universe original characters Race-related controversies in film Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings