Iron Man 3 Iron Man 3: More than Meets the Eye...

Masters of Evil might be possible. Thanos isn't the film of Avengers 2, or at least it doesn't seem that way by how Whedon mentions it. So who could the villain/s be? Masters is a possible idea.

 

The thing about the Mandarin that I dont think people realize yet is... [blackout]even though he might of been a figure head for Killian for the public view, there is still a very real threat of the Ten Rings terrorist organization that has done real damage to the world as we saw in IM1. It's almost an Ultimate Mandarin take as they have done recently where the name "Mandarin" isn't a person but a corporation.[/blackout]

 

Plus the idea of you kill or take away one terrorist leader and 5 more step up to take his place. Who knows who will take the name "Mandarin" and run with it as a successor and go even further with destruction.

 

I understand and agree with you.

But at the same time, it wasn't a [blackout]sudden reveal for the sake of it, it was done to push the true villain in to another level. Killian screaming out "IM THE MANDARIN" is not really so much him saying he is that character, but he is the focus of the true evil that has been taking over the airwaves lately and the bombings.[/blackout]

Another way of showing how maybe it was a waste in some aspects with Kingsley, but the character's identity still lives on as something more important than one man.

 

Okay guys, take a seat, because I am just going to tell you my theory, and it's going to be long..

 

I have a rocking chair ready to go, good sir.

 

Spoiler

For all intents and purposes, Killian is the Mandarin. To an extent. I believe that The Mandarin was created by the extremis virus. Killian showed what it can do, and how it can hijack someone's mind. Aldrich Killian is Aldrich Killian, trevor, is the physical representation of what the Mandarin is. Now, as we saw through out the movie, Killian went more crazy, and crazy. Why? He already took Extremis, why is it taking so long for him to go crazy? The Mandarin, if you will, is a title he created, and gave to the entity that is doing his work, that entity, very well may be his altered point of view, created after taking Extremis..he went crazy. Creating ALMOST like a super ego type thing. This idea, that he created, is what the mandarin is. So yeah, Killian's mind IS the Mandarin,. However, I think it goes deeper than that. I think Killian lost control of his own mind, and this mandarin ego in his mind took over. Tony Is unstable, the extremis soldiers are unstable, Killian wanted tony's mind. He talked about how extremis allows you to basically hijack the mind. Now, while someone may be free to think, I think that Killian had access to the minds of the extremis soldiers. This movie, to me, was like the origin of the mandarin. We don't really know who or what he is, cause it's more than just aldrich killian, it's an image, a symbol, a persona created by his psyche due to extremis to take credit for what he did. I think he needed tony's mind, to complete extremis SO he can get complete control of his mind again, but at the end, I think he just accepts it. He lost control, this psyche completely takes over "I AM the mandarin" I think it was hinted, because extremis can hijack minds, and after that, Killian was becoming more and more unstable..so I think that this mandarin psyche created by himself was taking over.

Now here is the deal with Trevor, what I think. He is a drunk, pretty decent actor for a drunk. He said Killian "fixed him" "gave him more drugs" and gave him "surgery" Keep note, that Trevor didn't know ANYTHING..he's an actor working for this guy, but he doesn't know anything? Or he doesn't remember anything because he was being controlled?...I think he may have given him extremis. I think Killian had control over trevor. So when we saw Trevor on TV, saying you'll never see me coming, all that...it really was the mandarin, not an actor. The Mandarin, this crazy psych created by Killian thanks to extremis, was using Trevor, literally as a vessel. The Mandarin was inside trevor and was actually using him. I think that The Mandarin (this...free altered personality, if you will, subconsciously created by Killian's psyche in response to extremis) was using trevor to hide in plain site. I think the hint there, was Trevor saying what Killian did to him, via surgery. That, and Killian saying that extremis allows you to hijack minds, and the fact that Killian was getting more unstable, leads me to think that Killian is unstable. So Trevor wasn't just acting, he was being controlled by The Mandarin. This leaves a plot hole, how could he know/think he was acting then? It could be because he thought so because he had full control of his mind again...I don't know.

That's what I think the mandarin is. An altered version of Killian's personality subconsciously created after taking extremis..a sort of biological AI, who created/called itself the Mandarin, Killian/mandarin hired trevor to use and hide..Killian, still doesn't have full control of his mind...that's why he's after tony, so he can fix extremis, and be free to think completely and have full control..however, at the end of the movie, I think he just cracks, and Killian accepts that the mandarin is in his head, and the Mandarin FULLY takse over.."I am the Mandarin".

Now for the movie...it was Stark's memory. The whole movie, he told to bruce banner. We saw it how stark remembered it. Stark was at peace at the end, if you will, he has a complete character arc, now take into consideration what he said at the end to pepper. That he was onto extremis, he almost had it figured out, and he said he'll fix pepper, and fix himself, and he talks about extremis how he was almost able to figure it out.. bookmark Now hear me out. Stark..as far as we know, is good. He's stable, right? He's sane, no more anxiety? Well, WHY is he looking for help then? If that was all his memory, and it ended on a good note, WHY does he need help? that leaves a possibility, that maybe..JUST maybe, he doesn't remember it EXACTLY as it happened, because 1. It's a memory, and 2. He may still be unstable for some whatever reason, maybe something is repressed.. Back to the bookmark. He hinted there that maybe at some point in between the end of the story, and the end credit scene, maybe he did perfect extremis? Well guess what, since The Mandarin has access to anything extremis, he had access to tony' mind. However, MAYBE he couldn't hijack it because tony's mind and psyche is so strong. Maybe the mandarin altered his thoughts naturally a bit trying to hack his memory, and as a result, Tony is a bit unstable, but doesn't really know why, when it really it is because his mind fought off Mandarin, altering his memory a little bit. It all goes back to Killian talking about mind hijacking, and the fact that after that point in the movie, Killian kept loosing control..SORT of like what was happening to tony. Maybe that's how it get's figured out, that the mandarin is more than a person, and he doesn't die with a phsyical body, he could essentially be a floating consciousness or something.

Now for the masters...Captain America 2 is referred to as Avengers 1.5. It seems like we may get some sort of masters in Avengers 2...now I am putting two and two together, but Masters of evil..zemo..captain america..zemo..a hunch says Zemo will probably be in Cap 2. We'd assume Zemo is the head of HYRDRA. In the comics, AIM is a branch of HYDRA. Well, who's to say it's NOT in the movies? Now, as someone said earlier, Tony Figures out that the title, The Mandarin, means advisor to the king. Why would it call itself that? Does that hint, that Mandarin is working for/with somebody?? Assuming Zemo is the head of Hydra, he probably has power, and A LOT of money. How did Killian suddenly get money to fully fund advanced idea mechanics? Maybe Zemo funded it. Maybe zemo funded it as a branch to HYRDRA, who the world thinks is gone.. zemo being the head of Hydra, funds Killians work, as a branch of Hydra. Obviously Killian then went crazy when the Mandarin took over. But That's how I see it, if Advisor to the King is hinting at anything, it could very well hint that he worked with Zemo...which would in turn, lead me to think that zemo funded his work, and since AIM is a branch of Hydra in the comics, something similar must be going on here.

Now regardless, Trevor worked with terrorist, so he's gettin his ass locked up. I'm sure at the end of Captain America, Zemo, who is probably a world wide threat, gets reprimanded, and locked up..i'm gunna say Trevor is there as well. Remember the leader hints in TIH? Maybe he's there as well. NOW, trevor is trevor, sure, but the mandarin has access to trevors mind because Killian may have given him extremis..so boom, for all intents and purposes once again, trevor is THE mandarin.

and then we get the class breakout story in avengers 2

and that's where I am at. Have fun guys

 

Some really great insights! Awesome read, jaqua99.

I think I can only give a fair judgement of Iron Man 3 after the completion of Phase 2.

I personally loved it. I cannot wait to see where it goes from here.

 

thanks haha. I mean, sure it may be over the top, but it really may not? Because it totally seems like something they would do. It's not too confusing, just sort of lets us know...OMG one other thing popped into my head!

Spoiler

This..mind control tech..if true...could be why bucky is brainwashed in captain america the winter solder...we really may be onto something here guys lol

 

I agree with Proxy on the stuff he bolded and agreed on, i also have a problem with the floating consciousness stuff.

But something I feel is important is AIM. There is a reason we were introduced to AIM in Iron Man 3 i feel. What their tech can produce, what we were given to see by Killian in his demonstrations...that stuff works really into your theory of Winter Soldier.

 

This Master = Masters of Evil thing is ridiculous guys. I swear it feels like people try to connect everything to the MoE, no matter how much of a stretch it is.

That aside, the things that stood out to me were:

-Brain Slot
-AIM
-Tony's decision

 

I also love how they tie in Tony's PTSD into this film.

If you think about it, both Thor and Cap come from backgrounds that bred them for war. Natasha and Barton are super secret spies. Bruce is use to the idea of being in the middle of combat.

Tony was the only one that stood out from the group when it came to war style combat and tragedy (Death of Culson), so him experiencing PSTD is something that not only makes a lot of sense, but is played very importantly and very well by Downey.

 

the floating consciousness stuff, may have been worded poorly. All I meant, was that this Mandarin persona could hack into/mind control anyone who has extremis, thus falling back on the "anyone can be mandarin" thing. I don't mean literally a floating consciousness, I mean that if Aldrich was going to die, The mandarin could maybe put his consciousness in someone else's body.

It's a comic book movie, I could see it happening, and I feel that just maybe, he attempted to hack into tony's but failed...IF tony took extremis

 

I'm not really sure what more was at work in this episode.

Other than AIM coming back and seeing like an evil mad science think tank that could menace heroes later on.

What was within the story that will affect Phase 2?

I mean maybe the President? We were actually introduced to a the MCU President here. The vice president was a traitor. Could the President be dirty as well?

 

i agree with the master thing though. I mean, I really do think that whoever is head of hydra right now, funded Killians work. Based on whedon's words, I am guessing we may see some form of the masters. So I am just trying to tie ironman 3 to that...that's just a bit of extra fun, but I DO think that Killian was sort of working for/with whoever is the head of Hyrda.

The main things I really think are that are definite, in my opinion, are the mandarin thing, and stark's fuzzy memory generally

 

I don't know, I mean, I just really feel that there was more to the killian mandarin thing than we seem to think, I mean, the whole movie wasn't a story, it was a memory, told in a therapy environment...I think there may be some significance. I mean, the brain hacking thing Killian talking about, and stark telling a series of events as he remembers..I dunno, something fishy I feel may be going on.

All the masters may be reaching a little bit, or it may not be. But as far as tony's mental state goes, and the mandarin/killian go...I feel there is more to it than we think

 

I doubt we get any sense of the role of the President in Thor, if anything maybe we could see if he holds the role in Cap 2.