The real Mandarin fights Iron Man in new Marvel fan art. Following Iron Man 3 pulling a fake version of the iconic comic book villain which was met with intense backlash, the MCU is making up that misstep and is debuting the real iteration of the character. Set to debut in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, he will be played by Tony Leung and will also be known as Wenwu.

Known as the is the leader of the terrorist group Ten Rings which Obadiah Stane commissioned to kidnap and kill Tony Stark Iron Man, Marvel Studios is further exploring the character through the Destin Cretton and Simu Liu blockbuster. Aside from being a crime lord that has a long history, Wenwu also happens to be the father of Shang-Chi setting up a father and son conflict that will play out in the upcoming film. The first look on the character has recently been released through Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings' first teaser.

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This birthed the idea for a new Marvel fan-art shared on Reddit by used /GuavaOrganic7065 which imagines Iron Man fighting the real version of the Mandarin. Using a frame from Avengers: Endgame, the hero is seen coming face-to-face with WenWu who's wearing the Ten Rings. Check out the image below:

Not long after Iron Man 3 released, Marvel Studios attempted to backpedal with their fake Mandarin reveal with the Marvel One-Shot, All Hail The King where it's revealed that the real version of the villain does exist. However, this hasn't been touched upon until now through Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. As seen in the film's teaser, Wenwu appears to be in existence since ancient times. It's uncertain how he's able to live this long, but it's possible that his actual Ten Rings which the terrorist organization is named from gives him immortality. If he's been in the MCU for a long time, it's curious why he never actually showed himself. In Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, he reveals that he's allowed his son to live his life in the last 10 years so that he can come home and have no regrets when he finally becomes his successor. Unfortunately for him, Shang-Chi outright refuses to be part of his criminal organization.

As arch-enemies in the comic books, it is quite disappointing that Iron Man and the real Mandarin won't face each other in the MCU anymore given Tony's death in Endgame. However, considering his familial connection with Shang-Chi, their upcoming face-off will be uniquely interesting and something that hasn't really been done in the universe. If Marvel does want to still take advantage of the Mandarin's rivalry with Iron Man in print, perhaps they can do an updated version of it through Ironheart who's poised to be the Avengers' successor.

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Source: u/GuavaOrganic7065