History YMMV / IronMan3

* EvilIsSexy:
** If you ignore the GlowingEyesOfDoom and PowerGlows while [[MyBloodRunsHot her blood runs hot]] (or not, if you're into that sort of thing), there's something pretty [[{{Pun}} hot]] and sexy about Brandt.
** And Killian ''is'' played by Creator/GuyPearce. Imagine Leonard Shelby's shirtless scene in ''Film/{{Memento}}'' but with tattoos of dragons instead of reminders and more muscle.
** Eric Savin is also rather attractive in that policeman's uniform.

* IronWoobie: Tony, [[JustForPun in every sense of the word.]] Special mention must be given to his anxiety attacks that Creator/RobertDowneyJr made look completely real.

* BaseBreakingCharacter: Shares a [[BaseBreakingCharacter/MarvelCinematicUniverse page with the rest of the franchise]].

* BaseBreakingCharacter:
** Harley. Either he's an EnsembleDarkhorse whose chemistry with Tony Stark compliments the movie or is only there to pander to the kids. Though Tony's own apathetic and non-stereotypical treatment of him does make him more well-liked than most TagAlongKid characters, and he received (judging from audience reaction videos) instant recognition and a warm response at [[spoiler: Tony Stark's funeral]] years later despite Ty Simpkins having aged to the point where he barely looks like himself.
** [[spoiler:Trevor Slattery]] also gets this treatment -- he's either one of the funniest characters in the movie, or a disgrace to [[spoiler:the Mandarin's]] character. [[TakeAThirdOption Or both.]] With ''All Hail the King'', fans are a bit kinder to Trevor, knowing that [[spoiler: there actually ''is'' a real Mandarin, and he's not happy]].
*** [[spoiler: Trevor's return in ''Film/ShangChiAndTheLegendOfTheTenRings'' helped win over a few fans that were still on the fence about him, but just as many still hate him for being the reason behind the real Mandarin's RoguesGalleryTransplant from Iron Man.]]
** [[spoiler:Aldrich Killian]] is perhaps one of the most divisive characters, let alone villains, in the entire MCU. Some consider him a boring and derivative villain with an incredibly weak motivation, plus how he infamously [[spoiler: reveals that the Trevor Slattery "Mandarin" is a figment, and Killian himself is the BigBad.]] Inversely, there's some who believe he's one of the smartest, suavest takes on the "CorruptCorporateExecutive" type of villain that appears throughout the MCU, love TheReveal about the Mandarin and his role in it, and appreciate [[spoiler:Guy Pearce]]'s performance.

** [[spoiler:Aldrich Killian]] is perhaps one of the most divisive characters, let alone villains, in the entire MCU. Some consider him a boring and derivative villain with an incredibly weak motivation, plus how he infamously [[spoiler: reveals that the Trevor Slattery "Mandarin" is a figment, and Killian himself is the BigBad.]] Inversely, there's some who believe he's one of the smartest, suavest takes on the "CorruptCorporateExecutive" type of villain that appears throughout the MCU, love TheReveal about the Mandarin and his role in it, and appreciate Guy Pearce's performance.

** [[spoiler:[[CorruptCorporateExecutive Dr. Aldrich Killian]] is the CEO of [[Characters/MCUAim A.I.M.]] and the creator of the Extremis compound. To perfect the compound, Killian preys on wounded combat veterans to experiment on, leading to several violently exploding. To cover up these failures, Killian turns these veterans into unwitting suicide bombers in public places, then blames the attacks and resulting deaths on the Ten Rings and an actor pretending to be the Mandarin. Desiring the [[Characters/MCUJamesRhodes War Machine]] armor, Killian's forces--as detailed in the film's ''Prelude'' comic--lure Rhodey to Hong Kong, where they almost release a virus and detonate a nuclear reactor in the city; Killian later secures the armor by capturing Rhodey and torturing him until the suit releases him. Along the way, Killian also murders his comrade Dr. Maya Hansen and forcibly injects Pepper Potts with Extremis, risking her detonation. Killian's master plan is to publicly assassinate President Ellis so the corrupt Vice President Rodriguez can take control, at which point Killian can [[WarForFunAndProfit propagate an endless War on Terror for limitless profits]], all because [[DisproportionateRetribution Tony Stark rejected his partnership offer back in 1999]].]]
** [[{{Novelization}} Junior Novel]], by Michael Siglain: [[spoiler:[[AdaptationalVillainy The Mandarin]] and [[Characters/{{MCUAim}} Aldrich Killian]] are written as an equally-culpable duo of mastermind villains who want to control UsefulNotes/TheWarOnTerror. The Mandarin is a long-time terrorist who has plagued the world for years, while Killian is an EvilGenius so offended by [[Characters/MCUTonyStark Tony Stark]] rejecting his business proposal that he teams with the Mandarin to upstage Tony. Developing the highly-volatile injection Extremis, they [[PlayingWithSyringes test the Extremis]] on wounded sports stars and war veterans, keeping them unaware of the lethality of the concoction; the survival rate for the Extremis experiments is one in twelve, and one single instance results in 6 test subjects spontaneously exploding. The Mandarin and Killian take advantage of the faulty Extremis experiments to stage "terror attacks", regularly killing multiple people by tricking Extremis users into "going hot" and blowing themselves up. After wiping out an air base, taking several soldiers hostage, and torturing [[Characters/MCUJamesRhodes Rhodey]] to gain the Iron Patriot armor, the Mandarin and Killian initiate the final stage of their plan: to down Air Force One and kill everyone onboard, then burn the President alive on television to turn Christmas Day into a new 9/11. Killian also executes Maya Hansen when she tries to stop him, and threatens to inject Pepper Potts with Extremis while Tony watches. ]]

** Aldrich Killian is perhaps one of the most divisive characters, let alone villains, in the entire MCU. Some consider him a boring and derivative villain with an incredibly weak motivation, plus how he infamously [[spoiler: reveals that the Trevor Slattery "Mandarin" is a figment, and Killian himself is the BigBad.]] Inversely, there's some who believe he's one of the smartest, suavest takes on the "CorruptCorporateExecutive" type of villain that appears throughout the MCU, love TheReveal about the Mandarin and his role in it, and appreciate Guy Pearce's performance.

** [[{{Novelization}} Junior Novel]], by Michael Siglain: [[AdaptationalVillainy The Mandarin]] and [[Characters/{{MCUAim}} Aldrich Killian]] are written as an equally-culpable duo of mastermind villains who want to control UsefulNotes/TheWarOnTerror. The Mandarin is a long-time terrorist who has plagued the world for years, while Killian is an EvilGenius so offended by [[Characters/MCUTonyStark Tony Stark]] rejecting his business proposal that he teams with the Mandarin to upstage Tony. Developing the highly-volatile injection Extremis, they [[PlayingWithSyringes test the Extremis]] on wounded sports stars and war veterans, keeping them unaware of the lethality of the concoction; the survival rate for the Extremis experiments is one in twelve, and one single instance results in 6 test subjects spontaneously exploding. The Mandarin and Killian take advantage of the faulty Extremis experiments to stage "terror attacks", regularly killing multiple people by tricking Extremis users into "going hot" and blowing themselves up. After wiping out an air base, taking several soldiers hostage, and torturing [[Characters/MCUJamesRhodes Rhodey]] to gain the Iron Patriot armor, the Mandarin and Killian initiate the final stage of their plan: to down Air Force One and kill everyone onboard, then burn the President alive on television to turn Christmas Day into a new 9/11. Killian also executes Maya Hansen when she tries to stop him, and threatens to inject Pepper Potts with Extremis while Tony watches.

* CharacterPerceptionEvolution: While Aldrich Killian never had any fans to begin with, his character was seen as a mediocre villain who served Tony's arc well, with his declaration as [[spoiler:the Mandarin being overshadowed by Trevor Slattery.]] After the releases of ''Film/AllHailTheKing'' and ''Film/ShangChiAndTheLegendOfTheTenRings'' helped better establish the Mandarin [[spoiler:and somewhat redeem Slattery]], the flaws in Killian's character were brought front and center and he is now grouped with [[Film/ThorTheDarkWorld Malekith]] and [[Film/BlackWidow2021 Dreykov]] as one of the most hated villains in the MCU.

** [[CorruptCorporateExecutive Dr. Aldrich Killian]] is the CEO of [[Characters/MCUAim A.I.M.]] and the creator of the Extremis compound. To perfect the compound, Killian preys on wounded combat veterans to experiment on, leading to several violently exploding. To cover up these failures, Killian turns these veterans into unwitting suicide bombers in public places, then blames the attacks and resulting deaths on the Ten Rings and an actor pretending to be the Mandarin. Desiring the [[Characters/MCUJamesRhodes War Machine]] armor, Killian's forces--as detailed in the film's ''Prelude'' comic--lure Rhodey to Hong Kong, where they almost release a virus and detonate a nuclear reactor in the city; Killian later secures the armor by capturing Rhodey and torturing him until the suit releases him. Along the way, Killian also murders his comrade Dr. Maya Hansen and forcibly injects Pepper Potts with Extremis, risking her detonation. Killian's master plan is to publicly assassinate President Ellis so the corrupt Vice President Rodriguez can take control, at which point Killian can [[WarForFunAndProfit propagate an endless War on Terror for limitless profits]], all because [[DisproportionateRetribution Tony Stark rejected his partnership offer back in 1999]].

** [[{{Novelization}} Junior Novel]], by Michael Siglain: [[AdaptationalVillainy The Mandarin]] and [[DiabolicalMastermind Aldrich Killian]] are written as an equally-culpable duo of mastermind villains who want to control UsefulNotes/TheWarOnTerror. The Mandarin is a long-time terrorist who has plagued the world for years, while Killian is an EvilGenius so offended by [[Characters/MCUTonyStark Tony Stark]] rejecting his business proposal that he teams with the Mandarin to upstage Tony. Developing the highly-volatile injection Extremis, they [[PlayingWithSyringes test the Extremis]] on wounded sports stars and war veterans, keeping them unaware of the lethality of the concoction; the survival rate for the Extremis experiments is one in twelve, and one single instance results in 6 test subjects spontaneously exploding. The Mandarin and Killian take advantage of the faulty Extremis experiments to stage "terror attacks", regularly killing multiple people by tricking Extremis users into "going hot" and blowing themselves up. After wiping out an air base, taking several soldiers hostage, and torturing [[Characters/MCUJamesRhodes Rhodey]] to gain the Iron Patriot armor, the Mandarin and Killian initiate the final stage of their plan: to down Air Force One and kill everyone onboard, then burn the President alive on television to turn Christmas Day into a new 9/11. Killian also executes Maya Hansen when she tries to stop him, and threatens to inject Pepper Potts with Extremis while Tony watches.

* CompleteMonster: [[CorruptCorporateExecutive Dr. Aldrich Killian]] is the CEO of [[Characters/MCUAim A.I.M.]] and the creator of the Extremis compound. To perfect the compound, Killian preys on wounded combat veterans to experiment on, leading to several violently exploding. To cover up these failures, Killian turns these veterans into unwitting suicide bombers in public places, then blames the attacks and resulting deaths on the Ten Rings and an actor pretending to be the Mandarin. Desiring the [[Characters/MCUJamesRhodes War Machine]] armor, Killian's forces--as detailed in the film's ''Prelude'' comic--lure Rhodey to Hong Kong, where they almost release a virus and detonate a nuclear reactor in the city; Killian later secures the armor by capturing Rhodey and torturing him until the suit releases him. Along the way, Killian also murders his comrade Dr. Maya Hansen and forcibly injects Pepper Potts with Extremis, risking her detonation. Killian's master plan is to publicly assassinate President Ellis so the corrupt Vice President Rodriguez can take control, at which point Killian can [[WarForFunAndProfit propagate an endless War on Terror for limitless profits]], all because [[DisproportionateRetribution Tony Stark rejected his partnership offer back in 1999]].

*** Aldrich Killian is perhaps one of the most divisive characters, let alone villains, in the entire MCU. Some consider him a boring and derivative villain with an incredibly weak motivation, plus how he infamously [[spoiler: reveals that the Trevor Slattery "Mandarin" is a figment, and Killian himself is the BigBad.]] Inversely, there's some who believe he's one of the smartest, suavest takes on the "CorruptCorporateExecutive" type of villain that appears throughout the MCU, love TheReveal about the Mandarin and his role in it, and appreciate Guy Pearce's performance.

* TheScrappy: Aldrich Killian is one of the most hated characters, let alone villains, in the entire MCU. Not only is he a boring and derivative villain with an incredibly weak motivation (to the point its reveal got him mocking comparisons with Syndrome from ''WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles''), but he also infamously [[spoiler: stole the film's BigBad role from the eagerly anticipated Mandarin and added nothing meaningful whatsoever to Tony's story or character growth, especially since in the comics his only role was to commit suicide before ever making a physical appearance, and never being mentioned again after that arc. Even people who liked the plot twist felt that he was a rather underwhelming villain.]]