Mandarin

"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 Norris and Trevor Slattery

The Mandarin is the leader of the Ten Rings, an international terrorist organization. His identity is currently unknown. Though many believed that the Mandarin was just a fictional character invented by the scientist Aldrich Killian, the Mandarin is quite real.

Biography
The Mandarin's past is shrouded in mystery, but his followers described him as an ancient warrior king that has inspired generations of men since the Middle Ages, perhaps even further back in time. His name was an ancient Chinese war mantle, meaning "adviser to the King".

In unknown circumstances, the Mandarin became the leader of the Ten Rings, an international terrorist organization. When James Rhodes flew around the world in his new battle suit, destroying many terrorist cells of the Ten Rings, the Mandarin sent his men to capture him and his armor. Though they failed in their mission, they managed to scan the War Machine armor, thus obtaining invaluable information.

After Trevor Slattery took his name, the Mandarin ordered Jackson Norris to break him out of prison to meet him in person and "take back his name".