— MILD SPOILERS —
After battling a former friend, a Russian with a grudge and a slew of alien invaders, for the first time Tony Stark and his metallic alter-ego will face off familiar against villains for another bout.
According to Latino Review (and some leaked crew clothing) everything points to that in Iron Man 3, Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) will once again cross paths with The Ten Rings, the terrorist organization that held him captive in the character’s original superhero outing.
With everything we’ve learned about Iron Man 3 so far, the return of The Ten Rings organization makes perfect sense, as with the arrival of Ben Kingsley’s Mandarin he will no doubt bring with him the repurposed alien technology that makes him such a formidable foe.
These rings which Mandarin wears on his fingers bestow him with (among other) powers “ice blast,” “flame blast” and “matter rearranger.” It was long speculated since the original Iron Man that the organization would somehow tie into Stark’s arch-nemesis making an appearance and now with Iron Man 3 it appears to have come to fruition.
It will also be interesting to see if Faran Tahir’s Raza, the former (?) leader of the crew who held Stark captive will also return to the threequel following his temporary paralysis at the hands of Obadiah Stane.
Joining Mandarin in antagonistic duties will be Guy Pearce’s Aldrich Killian, the creator of the Extremis virus and the nanotechnology that will reportedly play a significant role in the arc of this film. Although, it’s reported that Pearce’s role will be a limited one.
Things, ironically, appear to be coming full circle for Tony Stark in the upcoming film.
Directed by Shane Black, Iron Man 3 will hit theaters May 3, 2013.
