We know it is only a matter of time until Iron Man returns to the land of the living and Brian Michael Bendis has weighed in as to if we’ll see his archenemy The Mandarin as well. This foe is possibly Stan Lee’s greatest contribution to Tony Stark’s enemies, and while he may have outgrown him in recent years, I don’t think The Mandarin would feel the same way if a rematch was on the table. Tony has gone all futurist these days and tangling with The Mandarin, especially after his last appearance, feels out of place. Of course, who knows what Stark will be like when he eventually returns.
The Mandarin has been missing and presumed dead since Matt Fraction’s run, and the rings themselves have become sentient and are under lock and key in one of Tony’s vaults. He also happened to make a master ring to rule them all so in theory, they are useless against him these days.
Add in one living Mandarin, a heist, and all bets are off.
Bendis was recently asked if we might see The Mandarin return, and he said it is possible but we probably shouldn’t hold our breaths:
“I am working on new adversaries for all the books but mandarin sits there haunting me.
Matt’s mandarin one shot is the gold standard and I would need a big bold hook into the character equal or better than that. It may come to me any minute or any day or not at all :)
but our new villains are coming from all sides.
It looks like we’ll have to see Iron Heart and the Infamous Iron Man hold their own against new villains instead of this specific classic for the time beeing. However, Bendis clearly hasn’t ruled out his return.
Coinciding it with Tony’s return after the events of Civil War II seems like a sure fire way to make it happen but we still have some time, so I wouldn’t expect him anytime soon.
Here’s one of my favorite recent moments from The Mandarin to enjoy just how cold and calculating he has come over the years:
Are you sad to hear that we won’t see The Mandarin again in the foreseeable future? Could Bendis just be trolling us all? Share your thoughts below True Believers!
Source: Brian Michael Bendis
Stuart Conover is an author, blogger, and all around geek. When not busy being a father and husband he tries to spend as much time as possible immersed in comic books, science fiction, and horror! Would you like to know more? Follow him on Twitter!
