SPOILERS FOR BOTH IRON MAN 3 AND ALL HAIL THE KING. READ AT YOUR OWN RISK...
Let me start this article of by quickly giving my thoughts of Iron Man 3:
The first half of the film was fantastic. I thought Ben Kingsley was very intimidating as the Mandarin, and I loved the idea of tying the series up in a bow. It would have made the perfect trilogy: Iron Man finally comes face to face with the leader of The Ten Rings (Mandarin) and battles them for the final time, Iron Man faces an enemy from his past (Killian), Stark ties the knot with Pepper, ETC. And need I add that Iron Man (2008) is one of my top 5 comic book films of all time and my favorite Marvel Studios film? It would be the perfect end to a trilogy and Robert Downey Jr could finally go through with only starring in Avengers films and Marvel could spotlight other franchises. But the entire movie fell a part the moment Trevor Slattery got done taking a shit. A great villain was ruined, Killian was revealed to be the "real" Mandarin, the "real" Mandarin was not beat by Iron Man but easily by PEPPER FRICKIN' POTS, The Ten Rings story hasn't been wrapped up and now Iron Man 4 is a must. Pretty sloppy on Marvel's part.
Now let's delve into the review.
The good: Feelings of Iron Man 3 aside, Ben Kingsley is great as Trevor Slattery (hey, it wasn't his fault Iron Man 3 was a mess). I found his scenes to be quite funny and entertaining. Slattery is a egotistical idiot and it is hilarious. Slattery is all the reasons I love watching Steven Colbert. Also, we finally figure out what Justin Hammer is up to in prison, and don't expect anything less than fun.
And I saved the best of the good for last. The Ten Rings arc is continued. Not only that, but the Mandarin is alive and very real (and THANK GOD it's not Aldrich Killian). Apparently, the real Mandarin is insulted, to say the least, of Slattery's portrayal of himself and of AIM's framing of The Ten Rings. Could we possibly see the two organizations at war? MODOK vs the Mandarin? OK, now I'm just dreaming but I love the short backstory they gave to the Mandarin. Something tells me that by the time Captain America: The Winter Soldier hits theatres, Mandarin will have Slattery's head on a platter.
The Bad:
There are some things that need to be cleared up. Aldrich Killian isn't the leader of the Ten Rings, so that's one question answered. But if he isn't the real Mandarin either than what the whole twist at the end of Iron Man 3's climax is a giant plot hole. What was the meaning of Killian's tattoos and "I am the Mandarin" speech? What is his and AIM's connection to the Ten Rings? This is still a very sloppy mess that Marvel has only partially cleaned up. Iron Man 3 should have been the perfect end to the Iron Man trilogy, but now they have to somehow convince RDJ to return for Iron Man 4, which keeps Marvel from exploring new characters and franchises, especially since Captain America 3 and Thor 3 are now awaiting the greenlight.
Rating-85% out of a possible 100. This short is definitely the first step in the right direction. Hopefully Iron Man 4 will end the series correctly, wrapping up the Ten Rings/Mandarin storyline, as well as stitching up the plot hole left by the reveal that Aldrich Killian is the "real" Mandarin. I look forward to the final battle between Iron Man and The Ten Rings.