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Edited by Mrph1 on Jul 29th 2024 at 3:09:00 PM
I don't think reading Killian as a stand in for BIG OIL (TM) in a 9/11 truther scenario works.
That conspiracy is all about how the 9/11 attacks were supposedly a false flag operation, done to make Americans gung-ho about invading the Middle East, 'cause oil execs wanted at their sweet, sweet crude. But Killian didn't set out to fake a terrorist attack, nor did he stand to gain anything from the U.S. invading ... wherever it is they thought the Mandarin lived.
Until the assault on Tony's house, everyone killed by "the Mandarin" actually died of accidental causes. And when Killian places the blame on a fictional terrorist, he doesn't particularly care whether that mobilizes the U.S. military or not, just so long as it distracts them from investigating his shoddy merchandise.
Killian isn't BIG OIL or some other arm of the military-industrial complex. He's an auto manufacturer who rushes new vehicles onto the market without working out their safety features, but who, even as car crash fatalities mount up daily, never receives a fraction of the notoriety or scrutiny as some foreign sounding guy who likes to rant about destroying America.
At least Obadiah got into a Mini-Mecha to take on Tony. One that was actually pretty true to the Iron Monger suit from the original comics.
Edited by M84 on May 10th 2021 at 5:47:55 PM
Disgusted, but not surprisedA normal guy, but ON FIRE! That's totally special
Also, hamming up per se isn't something positive, in my humble opinion. The actor has to make it work.
And Killian's "I AM THE MANDARIN!" just felt cringy to me.
Oh Obadiah holds up pretty well. He was a good Starter Villain for the MCU.
Edited by Forenperser on May 10th 2021 at 11:48:49 AM
Certified: 48.0% West Asian, 6.5% South Asian, 15.8% North/West European, 15.7% English, 7.4% Balkan, 6.6% ScandinavianHuh now that I think about it, we never did escalate that far from Stane did we?
Iron Man 1 started with Tony facing off against a corrupt corporate executive and 3 ends with him facing off against another corrupt corporate executive.
Only Vanko somewhat breaks it but only somewhat since he still allies with another corrupt corporate executive.
Edited by slimcoder on May 10th 2021 at 2:53:15 AM
"I am Alpharius. This is a lie."I'd say that Stane is a pretty boring antagonist on paper, much more so than Killian, and is only memorable because of Jeff Bridges's performance and his film being less controversial.
Edited by windleopard on May 10th 2021 at 2:56:28 AM
That right there, that image showcases how completely lacking in appearance he is.
No style, no memorability, no nothing. There is nothing you can describe this guy as.
Stane gets a pass cause he's the first guy but this is Iron Man 3, plus all the multiple prior movies already. There is no excuse for Killian to look so profoundly uninteresting.
Edited by slimcoder on May 10th 2021 at 3:00:19 AM
"I am Alpharius. This is a lie."Killian is boring and bland, but I have more hatred for Malekith purely because of what an utter waste of Christopher Eccleston he was. He's a great actor and he was stuck with this absolute Nothing of a character... the disgrace of it all...
When we're done, there won't be anything left.![]()
Oh yeah he was effectively the primary villain of Jason Aaron's Thor run.
But he was only actually dealt with in War of the Realms event at the 7th year of Aaron's run, where previously he effectively ran rough shed on everyone, accomplishing all his plans and building his evil army with little struggle.
"I am Alpharius. This is a lie."I've not read many comics with Malekith as a villain but the few that I have read did show him to be really cool, IMO.
Then again, wasn't part of the reason they changed Malekith's personality in the MCU because they were worried he'd be too similar to Loki? Not sure how they figured that—he didn't seem that much like Loki in the comics I saw—but that's what I remember reading somewhere.
When we're done, there won't be anything left."... this Dark Elf, Malekith, wakes up from hypersleep."
"Oh, what's his deal?"
"Well, there's this Convergence thing happening where all the Nine Realms align so he wants to use the Aether to plunge them all into darkness."
"Why?"
"Because he's evil."
"Why is he evil?"
"He's not very nice."
"How come, though?"
"He's the bad guy."

Killian isn't great shakes and pales compared to Fake Mandarin when he's putting on the biz but I think he's got enough charisma of his own with cool enough powers that he's not the worst marvel offering.
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