By Darius KADIVAR
Shaun Toub cast as «Mandarin» Comic Book Villian in
upcoming IRON MAN movie
©imdb.com
"The hands of the Mandarin have ten
fingers-- And each one is a mighty weapon in itself." – Character description of the
Mandarin
It seems that Comic Book screen
adaptation’s are Hot in Hollywood lately. The Blockbuster
300 based on Frank Miller’s comic book has drawn an outrage in the
Persian Community lately but the rising interest in Special Effects and the
great leaps in digital wizardry and spectacular stunts have encouraged Hollywood
Studios to invest into nearly any project involving a Comic Book Super Hero.
Hollywood Stars are also jumping on any occasion to be cast as the next super
hero be it Batman, Superman or Spiderman to name a few. Even actors reputated
for more “intellectual” roles seem to be drawn by such Larger than Life
characters. Nicolas Cage for instance recently got noticed for his role in
Ghost Rider
based also on a Marvel
Comic Book Hero and our National Hollywood Celebrity Shohreh Aghdashloo got
noticed in last Summer’s 3rd
Sequel to X-Men series cast as Dr. Kavita Rao.
It seems that another fellow Persian
Compatriot Shaun Toub ( Crash, The Nativity Story) is paving his way to becoming the next
Super Villian The Mandarin in the Upcoming Iron Man starring
Robert Downey Jr in the title role. Iron Man is a
Super hero who is in reality a troubled billionaire by the name of Tony
Stark who creates a life support suit to assist him after a life threatening
accident and who ultimately decides to use its technology to fight evil and
crime. A surprising and exciting choice for Toub who is best known for his
tormented role in Paul Haggis’ Oscar Winning film Crash. After playing aside
fellow actor and compatriot Shohreh Aghdashloo in the Christian Epic The Nativity Story,
Toub has just finished shooting in The
Kite Runner based on the best selling novel by an Afghan
author Khaled Hosseini and directed by Mark Foster director of the excellent
Johnny Depp movie Finding
Neverland.
As a mysterious Villian, The Mandarin,
to be played by Shaun Toub, made his Marvel Comics debut in February 1964 in
Tales of Suspense #50.:
From a
castle deep in the remote vastness of Red China comes the
most mysterious, the most feared oriental of all time! Some claim he has lived
for many centuries-- Others claim he is far more than human! But no one knows
the true power of the evil genius of the East--the dreaded
Mandarin!
Considered as
Tony Stark's (IRON MAN) most mighty foes. The Mandarin, one part mad scientist,
one part mystic sage, the awesome power he possesses matches the evil in his
heart. Wearing his trademark rings, cape and flowing robes (although the outfit
has changed over time), he resembles a kind of ancient Chinese Master. And over
time he has gone from being a master of science-- whose evil genius rivaled
Stark himself --to becoming a mystical shaman intent on destroying technology.
Many consider the Mandarin Tony Stark's arch nemesis and chief adversary. And
although his early and later stories set up the dichotomy, episodes in between
have relegated Mandy to just another villain in Iron Man's rogues' gallery;
impressive, but hardly an arch-enemy.
The Mandarin is a
recurrent Villain in the Marvel
Comic World of Super Heroes ©Marvel
Comics
Stark first
encountered the Mandarin when he was sent by our military command to find out
more about him in the heyday of the Cold War (TOS #50). Dismissed in the West as
little more than a fearsome legend, U.S. Intelligence revealed that he was the
greatest single power in China, back before the United States
even had relations with the sleeping commie giant. In fact, even the most
powerful generals in the communist government groveled in front of him in
fear.
Called the
smartest enemy Iron Man has ever faced, he is a master of science-- He is also
described as " the greatest karate master the world has ever
known.")
A tragedy
shadowed his birth, an ill-omen. His father, a direct descendant of Genghis
Khan, displeased the gods by marrying beneath his station, wedding a high-born
English woman. When the Mandarin was born a large idol fell on his father,
killing him. When his mother heard the news, she died too. As if that wasn't
enough to set Mandy off on the wrong path, he was left to be raised by an aunt,
who only wished to get her hands on the family fortune.
Iron Man Cast Completed by Jeff Bridges, Gwyneth
Paltrow,
and Terrence Howard ©imdb.com
A bitter
woman, she taught him to hate the world as she did. Every bit of gold he had
inherited was spent to teach him the sciences of the world, the arts of warfare
and the subtle crafts of villainy-- But soon the money was gone. When they could
not pay their taxes, they were kicked out of their palace and off of their land.
Though poor, this fallen prince did not starve because he had a destiny to
fulfill. When his aunt finally died, the Mandarin spent "not one second mourning
her." Truly, the blood of Khan flowed in his veins. The Mandarin has no
superhuman powers to speak of, he instead makes use of technology. Over the
years, he would frequently attempt to turn various nations’ weapons against
them. His costume projects a powerful skin-tight force field. He can even split
Iron Man’s magnetic-beam reinforced alloy armor with repeated blows from his
hands. He possesses ten rings of alien origin which grant him vast
powers."
Robert Downey Jr. IS the IRON MAN ©imdb.com & Marvel
Comics
Directed
by
Jon Favreau, Iron Man
is the
first Marvel Studio-produced movie under its alliance with Paramount Pictures
and is currently being shot in California. It is due in Theaters
on May 2nd 2008. Jeff Bridges, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Terrence Howard complete the
cast of this super production.
Shaun Toub with 2007 Oscar Best Actor Awardee
Forest
Whitaker, (The Last King of
Scotland)
©imdb.com
Author’s notes:
Recommended Readings :
-
Shaun
Toub’s Very Good Year by Darius KADIVAR
-
SAW III: BAHAR SOOMEKH’S
HALLOWEEN NIGHTMARE by Darius
KADIVAR
-
In the Arena with Omid
Djalili by Darius KADIVAR
-
ASGAR FOR AN
OSCAR! BY Darius
KADIVAR
-
PERSIAN GOLDEN BOYS IN
HOLLYWOOD BY Darius
KADIVAR
