Trevor Slattery

"My name is Trevor, Trevor Slattery." "What are you? Are you a decoy? You're a double, right?" "What? Like an understudy? No, absolutely not."

- Trevor Slattery and Tony Stark

Trevor Slattery was an actor with drug addictions and legal problems until he was approached by the scientist Aldrich Killian to pose as the Mandarin, the idealized perfect terrorist. Taking responsibility for the widespread accidents caused by Killian's experiments, the Mandarin persona convinced people that he was in command of the infamous terrorist organization known as the Ten Rings, eventually becoming the most feared terrorist in the West. He was captured by Tony Stark and put in Seagate Prison, where he became something of a celebrity. There he became the subject of a documentary by Jackson Norriss, who was really an agent of the real Mandarin, and whose real purpose was to kidnapp Slattery.

Actor
"I know it's a little over the top sometimes. It's not entirely my fault; he has a tend... he's... he's a stage actor. They say his Lear was the toast of Croydon, wherever that is."

- Aldrich Killian about Slattery

Trevor Slattery was a small-time British actor whose biggest claim to fame was the lead role in an unsold 1985 CBS pilot called "Caged Heat" until he was approached by the wealthy scientist Aldrich Killian, the founder of the Advanced Idea Mechanics.

Killian needed to masquerade his failed experiments with the Extremis virus as terrorist attacks. So he needed someone, a feared terrorist who would publicly take responsibility for those attacks.

Killian gave Slattery a plastic surgery so no one could recognize him, and from that day on, Slattery posed as the Mandarin, a terrorist leader affiliated with the Ten Rings organization. Whenever one of Killian's experiments with Extremis would fail, causing explosions and a great number of civilian casualties, the Mandarin would appear on tv and say this was "another lesson" for the American people.

The Mandarin
"I'm gonna offer the choice: do you want an empty life, or a meaningful death?"

- The Mandarin

Between the two performances, Slattery would spend his time in the company of prostitutes, enjoying an endless supply of drugs and alcohol. When Jack Taggert injected himself with Extremis and exploded before the Mann's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, Slattery announced in one video that he was responsible for the explosion. In another video he threatened to kill Thomas Richards, an accountant from the Roxxon Oil Corporation if President Matthew Ellis of the United States failed to call him within 30 seconds. Although the president complied with the request, Slattery ignored the call and, in a mock execution, pretended to shoot the man in the head. When the broadcast was over, Richards stood up and shook hands with Slattery.

Since Tony Stark's friend Happy Hogan was severely injured by Killian's Extremis enhanced henchman Eric Savin during Jack Taggert's fiery blast, Tony challenged the Mandarin to a fight using the news. Killian then accepted the challenge by sending three heavily armed helicopters to destroy Tony's mansion.

When Killian's men captured James Rhodes and stole the Iron Patriot armor, Savin took the armor and boarded Air Force One and kidnapped President Matthew Ellis. Slattery then released another video showing the President in the armor hanging above an oil tanker, threatening to blow up the tank on Christmas Day.

Captured
"Don't hurt the face! I'm an actor." "You got a minute to live, fill it with words." "Just a role. 'The Mandarin', see, it's not real."

- Trevor Slattery and Tony Stark

However, Tony Stark invaded the mansion the supposed Mandarin was residing in. He found his target in the company of two prostitutes, and after pressing him for information, Slattery told him that the whole Mandarin thing was just theatre all along. Slattery told Stark that the whole Mandarin persona was just a role he plays in return for the lavish lifestyle, a speedboat and a copious amount of drugs.

Slattery then gave up what little information he knew of Aldrich Killian's plan, denying what he had divulged immediately after, and then went back to his slovenly habits for a few hours. However, when Eric Savin arrived to the mansion, Slattery lied about what he said to Stark. A few hours later, Stark returned with his military friend, Colonel Rhodes, who had been vainly searching the Middle East for the phantom terrorist, and who accosted him once more on the subject of the Mandarin and Killian. Slattery was apprehended shortly thereafter by local law enforcement officers, and was led drunkenly away through a crowd of onlookers and the press. He enjoyed having the attention from so many people.

Incarceration
"There's somebody who wants to meet you." "Do I know him?" "No. You took his name and now he wants it back." "Ahh. No, sorry, I still don't get it."

- Jackson Norriss and Trevor Slattery

After Tony Stark managed to discover Aldrich Killian's plan, Slattery was incarcerated at Seagate Prison. Inside, he finally found the fame and notoriety he had always sought, gathering a strong and supportive fan-base amongst many of the inmates, although other prisoners didn't respect him, as he wasn't even a real criminal. However, inmates such as Herman, whom Slattery appointed as his personal butler, protected and followed his orders as if he were a celebrity.

Meanwhile, the real Mandarin, the leader of the Ten Rings, ordered his followers to kidnap Slattery and bring the actor to his presence.

Jackson Norriss, a member of the Ten Rings, infiltrated Seagate Prison disguised as documentary maker to interview Slattery. To maintain his cover, Norriss did a lot of research about Slattery's life and interviewed him many times, talking about the role of Aldrich Killian as his employer, the logistics of Killian's plan in creating an amalgam warlord.

On the last day of his interview, Norriss wanted to wrap out his film asking about the real Trevor Slattery, bringing him documents about his past, such as a photograph with his mother when he was a kid, and his role as a main character in a rejected TV pilot.

When Norriss asked about the possibility that the Ten Rings or the Mandarin himself could be angered by his portrayal, Slattery was surprised to learn that the terrorists were real, as he previously thought that they were another aspect of the role A.I.M. created for him.

While relating the history of the Mandarin, Norriss retrieved a handgun he had concealed inside his videocamera, immediately killing the guards. Herman, another inmate of the prison and Slattery's butler, who accompanied him during the interview, attacked Norriss, surviving his initial shot and fighting until Norriss was able to stab Herman in the neck.

Slattery picked one of the guns from the corpse of a guard, and was able to aim Norriss with it before being disarmed. After regaining control of the situation, Norriss revealed that he was sent to break Slattery out of prison and take him to the presence of the Mandarin.

Persona
"You know who I am. You don't know where I am. And you'll never see me coming."

- Mandarin

The Mandarin persona was devoted to studying the works of Sun Tzu and insurgency tactics. He surrounds himself with dragons and symbols of warlords and Chinese iconography because he wants to represent the prototypical terrorist who is out there doing field work, supervising atrocities for the intelligence community who went nuts in the field. He became a devotee of war tactics, and surrounded himself with a group of people over which he presides, and the only thing that unifies them is their hatred of America. In his attempt to rid the world of its oppressors by replacing them, the Mandarin considers himself a twisted version of absolute good.

The real Trevor Slattery is easy-going and wishes to avoid confrontation. He considers himself a very talented actor and loves the approval of his audience. At times, he seems cowardly, but self-preservation can bring out his bravery. Slattery enjoys being the center of attention, but views himself as innocent in the A.I.M. scheme.

Relationships

 * Unnamed Mother
 * A.I.M. - Allies
 * Aldrich Killian - Employer
 * Eric Savin
 * Iron Man - Enemy
 * Iron Patriot - Enemy
 * Ten Rings - Enemies
 * Mandarin
 * Jackson Norriss
 * Herman - Fan and Butler
 * Fletcher Heggs - Fan
 * White Power Dave - Enemy

Trivia

 * Kevin Feige has said that the Mandarin was considered for the main villain during the writing stages of  Iron Man. He also said that they avoided making him too similar to his comic book counterpart as they did not want him to be a Fu Manchu-esque stereotype.  Eventually the idea of adding the Mandarin as a villain in any of the Marvel Cinematic Universe films was almost completely removed because Jon Favreau thought that the Mandarin wouldn't feel as realistic as the films were meant to be. He felt only in a sequel, with an altered tone, would the fantasy of the Mandarin's rings be appropriate.
 * Slattery has a tattoo of Captain America's Shield on his neck. It has been noted that in place of the star is an "A", the symbol for anarchy. Kevin Feige has said that the Mandarin uses "symbolism of various cultures and iconography that he perverts for his own end." A popular theory is that he is attempting to twist the ideals the shield represents. This fits in with the speech that he gives in the trailer.
 * The ring on Slattery's right pinkie is the same one Raza wears in Iron Man.