Marvel One-Shot: Der Mandarin

Really interesting! A really intriguing Marvel one-shot!

As the final official Marvel One-Shot, All Hail the King captures the quintessential idea of these shorts. Picking up after the actions of Iron Man 3, ex-Mandarin actor Trevor Slattery (Ben Kingsley) finds himself locked in prison for his terrorist acts. Now a notorious criminal, Slattery develops a following and enjoys his time galavanting with the other inmates. Though he feels safe within this prison, a seemingly ordinary interview puts that to the test. Quick and humorous, but also meaningful, this is how the One-Shots should have felt. Kingsley is consistently enjoyable in the role of Slattery and his nuance elevates what could have been a nuisance of a character. All Hail the King stands as the MCU's best One-Shot by telling a fast, fun, and necessary story, which expands on the ever-growing mythos.

I give it a deserving 9.5*

Ben Kingsley returns in this wonderful One-Shot, and he doesn't disappoint. The 'twist' in Iron Man 3 had the fandom divided, some people liking Trevor Slattery and the others hating him, but this One-Shot gives the answer to how the hate was misdirected after all. Before I go let me tell you this wasn't a work of appeasement, or Marvel tracking back their footsteps, though they tease it a little when Trevor says, "Once an actor plays a part for too long he becomes the character...", or something. On the contrary the One-Shot establishes the Ten-Rings connection from the first Iron Man and shows that there is yet more depth to uncover in Iron Man's own side story. TLDR: It's an awesome ride for MCU and Iron Man movie fans, though if you are just a regular movie goer, chances are that you won't get what all the fuss is about.

Loved every second of it! We got to know what happened to the fake mandarin and to Justin Hammer! While we have seen again after this the fake mandarin I hope we get to see Justin Hammer again in the future, maybe he could have escaped prison with the blip.

First off, let me just say, that anybody who at the very least disliked the Mandarin twist in Iron Man 3, watch this right now. Not only does it remedy that, but this short is actually confirmed to be canon by Feige.

Let's start out with the star of this short, Kingsley's Trevor Slattery. I loved his performance in Iron Man 3 because as the "Mandarin" and as Slattery. He nailed both roles of harrowing villain and bumbling buffoon. And I'm glad he hasn't changed now that he's in Seagate Prison.

Thankfully, it is revealed that the Mandarin actually does exist as Killian took it from legend to make Slattery into him. Kingsley can actually play the real Mandarin too, because in Iron Man 3, Slattery said that Killian's men gave him plastic surgery, most likely to make him look like the rumored Mandarin, so that's good news.

I also loved the Justin Hammer cameo. Sam Rockwell is an underrated actor (watch Moon), and I like his character in Iron Man 2.

+ Mandarin lives!...and can still be played by Kingsley! + Kingsley's Slattery + Hammer cameo

Final Score: 9.3/10