Overview
The Mandarin is a supervillain in the Marvel Universe. He is the primary nemesis of Iron Man. He is a scientific genius. He is a superhumanly skilled martial artist. He possesses 10 alien rings, each with a different power.
Mandarin was another villain inspired by the pulp villain Fu Manchu.
His real name was never revealed, Mandarin being a term for a type of bureaucrat in China.
In most adaptations, the Mandarin is shown as an enemy of Iron Man and wearing his ten rings on his fingers, in 2021, the film Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings was released, in this film, the Mandarin is Xu Wenwu, leader of the Ten Rings organization, his rings became bracelets on his arms (inspired by the iron rings used in some Chinese martial arts) and he is the father of Shang-Chi, replacing Fu Manchu/Zheng Zu, this influenced in his appearances in the games Marvel Super War, Marvel Puzzle Quest, Marvel Strike Force and Marvel Future Fight.
The name Wenwu is an allusion to Mandarin, Wen and Wu is a concept Chinese philosophy and administration.
History
The Mandarin's father was a very wealthy and influential man in China. Soon after he was born, his parents both died and he was sent to live with his aunt. She had a very bitter view of the world, which she passed along to him. He used his inheritance to fund his education, enhancing his natural aptitude for science. He became a high ranking official in the government, but then lost his position and his wealth when China embraced Communism. Hoping to regain his power, he explored a forbidden part of China called the Valley Of Spirits. It was there that he found a wrecked spaceship and the remains of Axonn-Karr, an intelligent, dragon-like alien from the planet Maklu-4. Within the ship he found 10 rings. He studied the rings and the technology of the ship, and soon mastered them. He used this technology to take over the valley and he plots world domination from there to this day.
The Mandarin claims to be descended from Genghis Khan.
Physical Appearance
The Mandarin is a Chinese man with a long mustache and a goatee. He has a gold ring with a different colored jewel on each finger.
The Wenwu version has a blue and black outfit and its arms bear iron rings.
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