First things first, this editorial features in-depth discussion on Iron Man 3 so if you haven’t yet seen it turn back now. Don’t say I didn’t tell you so because SPOILERS FOLLOW…

Ok now that you’ve made it through, let’s talk Kevin Feige and Iron Man 3. So anyone who had seen one trailer, poster, T.V. spot or any semblance of marketing out of the third Iron Man campaign who be sure to tell you that Sir Ben Kingsley plays the villain, The Mandarin. Anyone who has seen the film however knows full-well that the Mandarin is actually a scapegoat, a performance, a fake. He’s the personification of our American fears of others, specifically when it comes to his eccentric Middle Eastern style of dress but when the camera’s stop rolling he’s actually just Trevor, a fickle English actor getting the role of a lifetime.

When this fact was revealed, I did a double-take. Was this some fake-out or a body-double? No, it was just plain old Trevor. I felt cheated. I had been waiting for my Ben Kingsley villainy and he’s nothing more than a hack thespian?! It took me a good twenty minutes to come to terms with the fact that Kingsley was not in fact the villain, even though I was under the impression from the first production announcement out of the Marvel camp that he would be.

Not only did Marvel head exec Kevin Feige, he rep Kingsley as the villain, he even talked up his performance as one of the fear-inducing dread:

“On his last take of his first full day as the Mandarin, when they yelled ‘Cut!’ the entire crew burst into applause, spearheaded by Mr. Downey himself…It was pretty amazing to see that. That’s what you get when you hire Sir Ben Kingsley. He’s so excited about his part and so into this character, and frankly just scaring the heck out of everybody…They’re like, ‘You’ve broken us out of our skeptical malaise!’

The more I began to dissect that gotcha! moment, the more I respected the long con on Feige’s part. In this information age, nothing is secret and nothing is sacred. There’s set photos snapped from iPhones, spoiler alerts that saturate online forums before the movie even gets close to theaters and trailers themselves have become more SparkNotes than intrigue builders. What Fiege has done is dupped us all into expecting something and pulling the carpet from under us. Did it work though? Yes and no.

On the one hand, he got me. He got my brother. He got probably most of the theater I was in. As far as subverting expectations, well done sir. He has managed to proof that Marvel and Co. are not strictly subject to the overflowing rumor mill and are willing to play their own crafty hand to mislead and deceive expectant audiences and impart a degree of surprise.

On the other hand, I feel like this bit of maneuvering is just a little confusing. Now that we know that Kingsley is just a goof in a silly robe isn’t it ridiculous that he’ll be plastered all over the posters and Blu-Ray covers? Guy Pearce put on a great performance as the true villain, Killian, and yet he won’t really be getting any cred nor will we see posters of Iron Man punching Killian in his fiery face (which I would personally love to see). It was a big risk and potentially could have alienated audiences but, IMO, it was a risk that paid off for the most part.

The question going forward is where will we see Feige-led deception next? Is the misleading something we can expect more of in the future or was this a one-and-done gambit? Honestly, I say keep the surprises coming. I like when you make me go – ‘Huh?’

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