Iron Man Digs the Mandarin

... And the ComicCon geek-bits just keep on pouring in. The most recent news comes from actor/director Jon Favreau, who's been admirably and enthusiastically fan-friendly since landing the Iron Man directorial gig. And the news is this:

In his inaugural big-screen adventure, Iron Man (aka Tony Stark) will be battling ... Mandarin (see pic). According to the Marvel Directory, Mandarin is a former Chinese politician who once discovered an alien spacecraft full of magical rings that enabled him to become a super-mega-evil dude who frequently got beat up by Iron Man. OK, so he's not as slick as The Joker or Dr. Octopus, but hey, at least Favreau's sticking to the source material. Apparently Madarin WAS one of Tony Stark's most frequent nemeses, so I say it's a good choice -- even if I wouldn't know "Mandarin" if I tripped over him in a dark hallway. (OK, if he was wearing that outfit, I'd recognize him.)

Paramount's Iron Man is scheduled for release in May of 2008 (against Bond #22). We'll let you know when we hear some casting news.

(Thanks to Marvel Directory for the pic as well as the Mandarin lesson.)