Image/Marvel Comics
Recently, the famous Ten Rings of the Mandarin finally appeared in the trailer for Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, though they look vastly different from their comic book counterparts!
In the comics, each of the Ten Rings possesses unique abilities, with the common trait of allowing the user to teleport. After the Mandarin's death, influenced by an alien signal, the Ten Rings developed individual personalities and decided to split up to find suitable 'new' Mandarins to carry out their goal of 'destroying Tony Stark'.
▼ The malicious interactions between the Ten Rings.
As products of extremely advanced alien magic and technology, even Iron Man couldn't fully analyze these rings. After developing personalities, they could communicate freely on a plane called the 'Ring of Rings,' unconstrained by the material world. Now, let's take a look at who these ten 'Mandarins,' chosen by the rings and filled with hatred for Iron Man, truly are!
Mandarin One / Lord Remaker
Unnamed, Lord Remaker was originally a Chinese warlord who, after the Mandarin's death, controlled his stronghold, 'Mandarin City,' a small island off the coast of China. It wasn't until Iron Man decided to rebuild the area into the futuristic city of 'Troy' that the Remaker Ring found him and transformed him into 'Mandarin One.' While attempting to destroy Troy's central command tower with a bomb, he encountered Mandarins Five and Seven, but Seven decided to join Iron Man in stopping the bomb threat. Although the bomb ultimately exploded, Lord Remaker was forced to retreat, only to be assassinated by 'Mandarin Four' and have his ring stolen when he thought he was safe.
The 'Remaker' is worn on the right thumb and possesses the ability to molecularly restructure matter, essentially 'transmuting' objects. It can even transform air into deadly poison or solidify it to trap targets.
Mandarin Two / Sixty
His real name is Colin Sixty, a clone created by A.I.M., with the number in his name being his designation. After being sold by A.I.M. to Cortex Corporation, he developed a vendetta against Iron Man, leading to his selection by the Influence Ring as Mandarin Two. He later allied with five other Mandarins through the rings, traveling to Svartalfheim to seize the four remaining rings held by Mandarin Four. After the failed attempt, he returned to the Mandarins' base, 'Sinister London,' and used a large number of 'Subterraneans' to produce numerous super-powered rings, intending to sell them on the black market to those seeking superpowers. He ultimately engaged in a major battle with Iron Man's AI army, the 'Trojan Guard,' and several allies, being defeated by Iron Patriot and having his ring recovered.
The 'Influence' is worn on the right index finger and can emit various shockwaves or energy beams, and even sonic attacks.
Mandarin Three / Alec Eiffel
Without a specific codename, Alec is a French fascist, deeply despised by Mandarin Seven / Red Peril, which motivated her to join Iron Man's side in battle. He enjoys bullying the weak and those he considers inferior races. After acquiring the Spin Ring, he formed an alliance with five other Mandarins, using the rings' teleportation ability to travel to Svartalfheim to seize rings, but returned empty-handed. He was ultimately soundly beaten by Red Peril during the battle in Sinister London.
The 'Spin' is worn on the right middle finger, with the ability to manipulate air, forming high-speed wind vortices to lift objects or as a means of attack. Additionally, the wearer gains super speed comparable to Quicksilver.
Mandarin Four / Malekith the Accursed
Lord of the Dark Elves, King of Svartalfheim among the Nine Realms of Marvel's Norse mythology, and the villain in the film Thor: The Dark World. The Spectral Ring originally came to Svartalfheim and attempted to corrupt Malekith into wearing it, but he, being familiar with magic, countered it. He then gained information about the other 'Mandarins' and began hunting them. After assassinating One and Nine and severing Seven's hands, Iron Man finally discovered the identity of the ring hunter and personally infiltrated Svartalfheim to try and reclaim the four rings. As iron is a weakness for elves, Tony gained the upper hand, but the remaining six Mandarins also teleported to Svartalfheim to kill Malekith. Seeing that the tide had turned, Malekith reluctantly signed a magical contract with Iron Man, relinquishing all the rings to prevent further destruction to his kingdom.
The 'Spectral' is worn on the right ring finger and has the ability to fire a disintegration beam, capable of completely destroying the molecular structure of objects, but requires a 20-minute recharge time after each use before it can be fired again.
Mandarin Five / The Exile
His real name is Victor Kohl, originally an ordinary citizen, the most useless son in his family. It wasn't until the major event 'Infinity' caused Inhumans to emerge globally that his family was among those transformed, but he was not. The Nightbringer Ring found Victor while he was heavily intoxicated, leading him to begin destroying Inhuman chrysalis storage facilities. During a battle with the arriving Iron Man, he accidentally destroyed his father's chrysalis, killing him. After teleporting to safety using the ring's power, he suddenly began to transform into an Inhuman, and upon waking, met Medusa, the Inhuman Queen, who informed him of his father's death and permanently exiled him. Under the ring's influence, he blamed everything on Iron Man, first attacking Troy alongside Lord Remaker, and then joining the ranks of the other five Mandarins. He was ultimately killed in the battle of Sinister London by Arno Stark, who was piloting a giant Iron Man suit.
The 'Nightbringer' is worn on the right pinky finger and allows the user to emit 'black light' similar to DC Comics' Green Lantern, constructing various objects for combat or enveloping an area in darkness.
Mandarin Six / The Mole Man
His real name is Harvey Elder, a classic Fantastic Four villain, King of the Subterranean Kingdom, who has always tried to conquer the Earth with his vast army. He was chosen by the Daimonic Ring to assist the other Mandarins in destroying Iron Man. He transformed the ruins of 'Sinister London,' an underground city built by the X-Men villain Mister Sinister, into the Mandarins' new base, serving as a preparation hub for destroying Iron Man. He attempted to use the ring to create numerous weapons to destroy surface cities, but was stopped by the Fantastic Four during testing. In the final battle, seeing the other Mandarins being defeated, the Mole Man decisively abandoned the ring and led his Subterranean army back to the underground kingdom.
The 'Daimonic' is worn on the left thumb and can manipulate various force fields, emitting powerful beams, gravity fields, magnetic fields, or creating illusions with light.
Mandarin Seven / Red Peril
Her real name is Abigail Burns, an extreme left-wing journalist who firmly believes the world must break free from capitalism, and thus strongly dislikes Iron Man, yet she greatly approved of his vision for the futuristic city of 'Troy.' After being chosen by the Incandescence Ring, she began to extensively destroy everything Iron Man had built, but opposed Lord Remaker's methods of harming innocents. Therefore, during the Troy crisis, she chose to fight alongside Iron Man against Mandarins One and Five, but after discovering One's corpse, her hands were also severed by Malekith. Upon waking, she refused Iron Man's offer of prosthetics. Finally, persuaded by the Stark brothers, she donned an Iron Man suit with similar functions to the Incandescence Ring, and used her journalistic skills to locate the Mandarins' base, wearing the 'Master Ring' created by Iron Man through reverse engineering to weaken other ring-bearers. After the event, she received a replica Incandescence Ring from Tony's brother Arno and became a superhero with it.
The 'Incandescence' is worn on the left index finger and can draw and emit flames from the heart of a star, use electromagnetic pulses, and even fly via flame propulsion.
Mandarin Eight / The Liar
His real name is Marcus Kumar, Iron Man's assistant and the fiancé of his close friend Pepper Potts (in the comics, Iron Man and Pepper were never a