The third installment of Marvel’s Iron Man movie franchise is coming to theaters May 3, 2013. This time, however, it comes with a villain that isn’t simply another version of Iron Man with a couple more guns and gadgets. Ask any comic book enthusiast and they will tell you the same: DC makes creative and intriguing villains with lame heroes, and Marvel has inspiring protagonists with often contrived villains. Iron Man 3, however, could possibly be digging up a gem among the rubble with Tony Stark’s arch nemesis, the Mandarin, who will be played by Ben Kingsley. The Mandarin, also known as Gene Khan, was raised by his abusive aunt who spent the entirety of his deceased parents’ fortune tutoring the Mandarin in combat and science. After being banished from China due to his large debt, the Mandarin discovered 10 rings from a broken down spaceship in the “Valley of Spirits.” Throughout the course of many Iron Man Graphic novels the Mandarin attempts to use these rings to achieve world domination. The Mandarin’s ten different powers allow him to defy the boundaries of the physical world in order to become Iron Man’s deadliest foe. The director of Iron Man 1 and 2; Jon Favreau, has confirmed via twitter that although he isn’t directing this threequel, he will be making an appearance as Iron Man’s trusty assistant, Happy Hogan. Along with the return of Favreau, Iron Man 3 will see the introduction of many other big names including Guy Pearce playing Aldrich Killian, Rebecca Hall as Maya Hansen, and James Badge Dale as Eric Savin, and of course we will see returning stars Gwyneth Paltrow as Pepper Potts and the wonderfully arrogant Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark. Between the introduction of such a dynamic villain, the hints toward Tony Stark’s failing mental health, and the epic destruction of Stark’s beach-side house in the first official trailer it will be interesting to see what surprises director Shane Black and writer Drew Pearce have in store for us on release day.