*** SPOILERS FOR IRON MAN 3 AHEAD (BUT SERIOUSLY, IT’S OUT ON DVD NOW, THERE’S NO EXCUSE!  ***

Whilst IRON MAN 3 did gang-busters at the box office, a lot of fans lashed out at the seemingly bastardisation of long-time Iron Man villain The Mandarin. Set up as a truly fantastic villain, Ben Kingsley’s portrayal of the character was simply a ruse used to further the story between Tony Stark and Guy Pearce’s Aldrich Killian. Marvel’s Louis D’Esposito has been speaking to IGN about the backlash that the film has received in some quarters.

D’Esposito said, “We thought there would be a little bit of a backlash, but the twist was so wonderful and Ben Kingsley is such a great actor that we thought that would overcome. And I think the box office said that we were right in making that decision. We don’t want to piss off our fans, but it’s impossible to please everyone. We thought it was a great twist, we thought it was great storytelling, and that’s why we did it.”

Whilst D’Esposito makes a valid point – the movie did take a shit-ton of money – that was likely down to the fact that it featured Iron Man and that the fact that most people were unaware of the whole twist before they purchased their tickets.

In terms of what the studio was after, they were successful in getting themselves a whole bunch of dollars. As for the comic-book fans of Iron Man, a lot of those were left feeling kicked in the nuts. 

IRON MAN 3 is now out on DVD and Blu-ray.

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