Aldrich Killian
guest starring “The Mandarin”
Iron Man 3 (2013)
What I’m realizing (much to the detriment of this series) is that Marvel focuses on the stories of the heroes (Iron Man, Captain America, Spider-Man), whereas DC focuses on its villains (Joker, Riddler, Clayface, Harley Quinn, Catwoman, Black Adam). Think about it. Aren’t Superman and Batman kind of bland compared to Lex Luthor and Joker? Their bad guys cast a longer shadow. Whereas Marvel goes the other way, their good guys cast a long shadow (so much that they’re recasting an actor who played a hero into a villain). This isn’t just the movies doing it; it’s the comics. Which means when I make these articles, my work is cut out for me. Iron Man 3 is such an example, where the story of the hero is way more important and attended than the antagonist’s. But I’ll do my best.
Characteristics and Powers: We first see the reach of Aldrich Killian’s power when “The Mandarin” attacks Tony’s Malibu home with helicopters and missiles. Quick question: is it really that hard to find out where Tony lives? He’s not keeping his identity secret. People must be able to see Iron Man flying in and out of the same building each time. But I digress. Sending out attack copters is hardly a feat. What makes the difference is Extremis. Do we know what it is? Not really (nanobots? bio-engineered virus?). Do we know how it works? Not really. Do we know what it does? Not really. Do we know its limits? Not really. What we see is healing factor and strength and extreme heating. Like you’re overclocking a body. The problem with overclocking is that A) the product doesn’t last as long and B) it needs more cooling. But the fire-breathing is neat. Nice to see something different. And the fact that he owns AIM is totally swept under the rug.
Relationship to the Hero(es): As far as I can see, Killian’s motivations aren’t different from Edward Nigma in Batman Forever or Syndrome in The Incredibles. He got brushed off by Tony, so now he’s come back for revenge. We call this Disproportionate Retribution or Not Good with Rejection. He wanted Stark as a partner resource to develop Extremis. And Stark didn’t say yay or nay, but he did stand him up. Otherwise, he’s like, nothing to Tony. Although, weirdly, Pepper Potts recognizes him, even after five years of “physical therapy”. But the issue is that there’s a problem with Extremis he can’t figure out (people keep blowing up), and he needs Tony’s help to fix it. But Tony’s in his own world, being selfish. If it wasn’t him being a pre-Iron Man philandering playboy, it’s post-Iron Man, no time for anyone, because saving the world and only I can do it. So Killian takes something that Tony loves (Pepper) and puts her into the Extremis line of fire, forcing Tony to work on it.
Goals/Motivation: Like The Lizard, Killian’s research is with the purpose of healing his own broken body. It looks like he might have spina bifida or scoliosis? In any case, there’s no reason to think that he wants anything other than what Curt Connors did, to help others like him. Until Tony rejects him. Then he intends to sell his product, now refined, as the “next iteration of human evolution” (where have we heard that before?). But Potts rejects him again, because Extremis could be weaponized. Maybe they’re gunshy about people outside the organization after Iron Man 2. But where Justin Hammer wanted to be the charismatic “everybody loves me” mogul, Aldrich is focused on a Xanatos gambit to position his company as a weapons provider for a war that he started. It’s nice to be your own supply and demand.
Relatability: Low. Guy Pearce is the kind of incel douchebag that other nerds hate because it gives them a bad name. He has little personality besides. Not different than any cookie-cutter evil genius with no redeemable human qualities.
Fun Factor: It’s up and down. On one hand, there is no real Ten Rings or army of terrorists at his command. Instead, he’s another techbro baby. I think you’d have to have Killian’s intellect to be able to take over the world from behind the scenes. I don’t really see the applications for Extremis in a war scenario other than creating a bunch of Johnny Storms. The Human Inferno is not going to be able to stop an F-15 or an aircraft carrier.
Fatal Flaw: Killian created a power he couldn’t control. I’m not talking about The Mandarin, although that would have been another way this could have gone, the puppet cutting the strings. Instead, he uses Pepper Potts as a pawn, hoping to force Tony to work on fixing Extremis to save his love. Like if you infected Ronald Reagan with HIV to rearrange his priorities. Secondly, this will make Extremis suitable for purchase by various armies. We just call that quality control where I come from. The flaw is that he didn’t expect Potts to survive Extremis. He expected her, due to her weak non-army build, to snap like a firecracker. Instead, he underestimated who Tony keeps close to him and why.
Method of Defeat: Frustrated with getting pummeled by Tony Stark’s fifty armors, he starts to go supernova. But just before he does, Stark traps him in the seemingly malfunctioning Mark 42. The explosion misfires, and the rig they’re on collapses. But it’s a fake-out. Killian crawls out of the wreckage T-1000 style. But just before he’s about to kill Tony, an Extremis-powered Pepper Potts whacks him with a pole. They fight for a bit before Potts finally kicks a missile at him and explodes it with a repulsor, which apparently kills him.
Final Rating: ★★
