All Hail The King

All Hail the King is the fifth in a series of Marvel One-Shots. It was attached to Thor: The Dark World physical media release on February 14th 2014 and takes place after the events of Iron Man 3.

An interviewer by the name of Jackson Norriss has been attempting to interview Trevor Slattery, an actor who convinced the world he was a terrorist known as The Mandarin, at Seagate Penitentiary. Trevor has generally been oblivious to his interview attempts and has gotten caught up in his newfound fame, using it as a method of exerting control over the other prisoners.

Jackson Norriss reveals what he knows about Trevor so far; That he is an actor, his first acting role was October 12th 1964 in Shakespeare's Tempest, his mother died in 1986 while he was filming a TV pilot called 'Caged Heat'. 

While Trevor remains oblivious of the events, Jackson Norriss remarks on how Trevor's portrayal of the Mandarin might have angered people - potentially a commentary on how the twist in Iron Man 3 had a mixed reception in real life also. Jackson Norriss continues by revealing that his portrayal has angered the terrorist organization known as the Ten Rings.

Jackson Norriss reveals that he is a follower of the Ten Rings, arming himself with a gun and a baton concealed in his camera equipment. After killing everyone else in the room, it is revealed that Jackson is at Seagate Penitentiary to break out Trevor and take him to the real Mandarin for execution. In a post-credit scene Justin Hammer is shown in Seagate Prison commenting on Trevor.

All Hail the King is designed as a self-stated apology from Iron Man 3 director Shane Black to the fans; "Marvel saw so many negative things they made a whole other movie just to apologize called Hail to the King. In which they said, 'No, no, the Mandarin is still alive. That wasn’t him. There’s a real Mandarin.' The only reason they made that was an apology to fans who were so angry."

In that sense, All Hail the King does attempt to build on the mystery of the Ten Rings, implying it is sort of a religious terrorist organization with Jackson remarking on Trevor being an insult to his faith. It's also implied that the inclusion of The Mandarin in Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings may have been influenced by the backlash that Iron Man 3 recieved. Let's hope Marvel deliver on the Mandarin this time around...