Aldrich Killian

"This time tomorrow, I’ll have the West’s most powerful leader in one hand, and the world’s most feared terrorist in the other. I’ll own the War on Terror."

- Aldrich Killian

Aldrich Killian was the founder and CEO of the Advanced Idea Mechanics. When Tony Stark refused to join him in his research, Killian participated in the development of the Extremis virus thereby amassing a group of Extremis-enhanced soldiers under his command. To mask his illegal activities as terrorist attacks he created the idealized terrorist persona known as the "Mandarin" (portrayed by the British actor Trevor Slattery) to serve as his proxy, unaware that the Mandarin truly existed. He also conspired with Vice President Rodriguez in an attempt to take control over both sides of the, thus manipulating them for his own profit.

Early Life
"You know what my old man used to say to me? One of his favorite of many sayings, 'The early bird gets the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese.'"

- Aldrich Killian to Tony Stark

Aldrich Killian grew up with a number of physical disabilities that he was never able to accept, and spent most of his life trying to overcome them in any way he can. His tenacity and blind determination in fighting for a better life were seen by some as irritating, as he often came across as obnoxious. He couldn’t accept the cards he was dealt, and being as intelligent as he was, he had a real drive to change himself and become a different person.

Extremis
"How can I be pissed at you, Tony? I'm here to thank you. You gave me the greatest gift that anybody's ever given me. Desperation. If you think back to Switzerland, you said you'd meet me on the rooftop, right? Well for the first twenty minutes, I actually thought you'd show up. And the next hour, I...well I considered taking that one step shortcut to the lobby, if you know what I mean."

- Aldrich Killian

On New Year's Eve 1999 in Bern, Switzerland, Aldrich Killian initially asked for Tony Stark's support for his project under Advanced Idea Mechanics, only to be shunned and ignored by the latter. Tony lied and said he would meet him on the roof of the building, but he never came. On the roof Aldrich felt a feeling of power. After his realization that Tony had ignored his proposition, Killian decided to work on his own in creating an expansive business for himself.

Over the years, through his privately-funded organization A.I.M., Aldrich Killian created a team to further research and develop the Extremis virus, which imparts unusual levels of strength and resiliency to human subjects.

Manipulating the War on Terror
"...I had a thought that would guide me for years to come. Anonymity, Tony. Thanks to you, it's been my mantra ever since, right? You simply rule from behind the scenes. Because the second you give evil a face, a, a, a Mandarin, you hand the people a target."

- Aldrich Killian to Tony Stark

After curing himself of his disability through Maya Hansen's research of the Extremis virus, he conducted many illegal experiments, of which several resulted in the explosions of his test subjects. Killian decided to masquerade his failed experiments as terrorist attacks but he needed someone to fulfill the role of a supposed leader; a feared terrorist who would publicly take responsibility for said "attacks".

After researching the history of the Ten Rings, one of the most feared terrorist groups in the world, and how they were historically affiliated with the man called the "Mandarin", Killian decided to give that name to his own fake terrorist. He found the failed British actor Trevor Slattery and paid him in money and drugs to play the Mandarin. Whenever one of Killian's experiments with Extremis would fail, causing explosions and a great number of civilian casualties, Killian's men would hack American TV signals and relay TV broadcasts of the "Mandarin". Surrounded with the iconography of the Ten Rings, the "Mandarin" would constantly declare that these supposed "attacks" were "another lesson" for the American people. However, neither Killian nor Slattery knew that the Mandarin was real.

By masking his illegal activities, Killian was able to conduct his experiments while perpetuating a new "War on Terror" that he could monopolize and control. When Tony Stark publicly threatened the Mandarin, Killian answered by sending his men to attack Stark's house. Upon discovering that Maya Hansen attempted to save Tony Stark due to him holding the knowledge of perfecting Extremis, Killian decided to kidnap Pepper Potts as leverage. Having Pepper Potts as his hostage, he injected her with the Extremis virus to further motivate and antagonize Stark to work for him. With Stark's continued refusal to help him, Killian decided to leave him in captivity while keeping Pepper as his personal "trophy".

Final Battle
"No more false faces. You said you wanted the Mandarin, you're looking right at him. It was always me, Tony, right from the start. I am the Mandarin!"

- Aldrich Killian to Tony Stark

After his men abducted President Matthew Ellis, Killian planned to orchestrate a live feed showing the murder of Ellis, only for Tony Stark and James Rhodes to interrupt and attack their base with the help of Stark's J.A.R.V.I.S.-controlled Iron Man suits. In the ensuing battle, Stark finally found Pepper Potts, only for her to be trapped under debris. Before he was able to rescue her, an angry Killian attacked him with Stark distracting Killian to rescue Pepper.

While Pepper seemingly died after falling to her apparent death, Killian approached Tony Stark for a one-on-one battle. The two engaged in a brutal fight with Stark switching between various Iron Man suits as Killian destroyed each one after another. Since Stark was unable to attach any more extra armor onto himself, J.A.R.V.I.S. sent the Mark 42 prototype to aid him in his battle. Stark then kinetically attached the armor onto Killian to stall his movements. After commanding the suit to pin Killian against the wall, Tony Stark then activated the Mark 42's self-destruct function, seemingly blowing Killian up in the process.

However, thanks to his Extremis powers, Killian survived the explosion, and after the complex in which the two were fighting was demolished, he confronted the battered Stark. Advancing towards him, Killian was proud for his crimes and asserted to be "Mandarin" himself, elaborating that the two should stop wearing "false faces". Just before he was able to attack Stark, Pepper attacked him from behind, having survived her fall with the help of her new-found Extremis abilities. Just before Killian was able to retaliate, Pepper ripped a repulsor arm from the Mark X suit, attaching it to herself and utilizing its capabilities to finally kill Killian for good.

Powers and Abilities
Thanks to the Extremis virus, Killian displays various superhuman abilities, such as being able to regrow entire body parts, strength, enhanced healing factor, a touch able to melt Iron Man's armor, and at one point channels the heat produced by Extremis to spit fire at James Rhodes. Killian was highly-skilled in martial arts, in which he was able to effectively tear through many Iron Man suits with ease and even best Tony Stark in melee combat.

Relationships

 * A.I.M. - Allies
 * Maya Hansen † - Co-worker turned Enemy and Victim
 * Eric Savin †
 * Ellen Brandt †
 * Sweat Shop Agent
 * Tony Stark/Iron Man - Enemy
 * James Rhodes/Iron Patriot - Enemy
 * Matthew Ellis - Enemy
 * Pepper Potts - Old Friend and Former Employee, turned Enemy and Killer
 * Trevor Slattery - Ally and Pawn

Trivia

 * In the comics, Killian was one of the scientists who developed the Extremis virus, sending it to a terrorist group and committing suicide later on. Aldrich Killian's character in the movie is a amalgamation of the characters Aldrich Killian, Mallen and the modern version of Mandarin. This depiction of Killian was described by Shane Black as the Marvel Cinematic Universe's version of the Mandarin. However, that statement was proved false with the release of Marvel One-Shot: All Hail the King.
 * In the non-canonical Iron Man 3 video game it is revealed that Killian's consciousness had been 'downloaded' by A.I.M. prior to his physical death and uploaded into a new, enhanced form: M.O.D.O.K..
 * In the  video game Killian works alongside the Mandarin and Loki against Iron Man and Captain America.

Behind the Scenes

 * Kevin Feige revealed in an interview that early drafts of Iron Man depicted the Mandarin as a younger individual (a contemporary to Tony Stark) who would have business dealings with Stark Industries. Though this idea was eventually omitted to further push Obadiah Stane as the main antagonist of the film as opposed to the Mandarin, some of the traits for the character were incorporated into Aldrich Killian in Iron Man 3.