Marvel fans debate which characters deserve Mandarin-style mulligans

In the time the Marvel Cinematic Universe has existed, its villains have been a bit hit and miss. While Loki shines, Taskmaster has been flat. Sometimes though, retcons are given to glorious results, such as the case with The Mandarin.

If you recall, the character was first introduced in Iron Man 3 and played by prolific actor Ben Kingsley. Much to fans’ chagrin, it was a hoax, and what we thought was the all-powerful Mandarin was a hoax. Then came Tony Leung Chiu-wai’s turn as the iconic villain in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, and he stole the show. Now fans are clamoring to see more characters get their mulligans.

For one, the best (or worst, depending on how you look at it) example of this comes from the recent Thor: Love and Thunder movie. The films villain was played by Christian Bale and, for them, to have an actor of this caliber play Gorr. To only use him for a little bit and have the final fight be something which did not live up to his character’s origins is a bit of a slap in the face.

Another goes back further in the timeline to Avengers: Age of Ultron. For them, the Ultron of the story does not sync with the character of the comics. It is a shame, too, as in their view Spader has a great villainous voice, and making the character too human and giving him some warmth killed the charm of seeing the long-running comic book antagonist brought to life on our film screens.

Other comments in the chain include people saying some villains which are quippy in the comics, but not being so in the MCU means they should be resurrected and given their due to be perfect for the franchise. Someone else mentions Dwayne Johnson’s Black Adam as a joke but also serious example of what should be altered in their view. Another expresses issues with some of the gender swaps which have occurred and, for one, the very first recasting is apparently something we all suffer with still today.

The next MCU entry is Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. It is one of the films which makes up the current The Multiverse Saga and, given the availability of earlier actors in Spider-Man: No Way Home, anything is possible right now.