| “ | "It's a show people want and I gave them a good one. It's not the Mandarin they'll remember, it's the name, Trevor Slattery." | „ |
| ~ Trevor Slattery to Jackson Norriss |
Trevor Slattery is a recurring character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, serving as a major antagonist in the 2013 Marvel film Iron Man 3, the main protagonist of the 2014 short film All Hail the King and a supporting character in the 2021 Marvel film Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.
He is a drug-addicted actor who was hired by Aldrich Killian to impersonate the infamous Mandarin of the Ten Rings in order to cover Killian's true plot. However, due to his ruse, Slattery is later captured by Jackson Norriss under the real Mandarin's orders. He was never intentionally wicked, as Killian deceitfully made him think he was filming something fictional for BBC. He eventually joined up with Shang-Chi and his allies to stop the Dweller-in-Darkness.
He was portrayed by Sir Ben Kingsley, who also voiced Prince Frederick in Freddie as F.R.O.7 and Bagheera in Disney's The Jungle Book (2016 film).
Biography[]
Iron Man 3[]
Being a washed-up actor, Trevor Slattery was hired by Aldrich Killian of A.I.M. to pose as the Mandarin as part of Killian's true plan to cover his failed Extremis experiments. To that end, Slattery (posing himself as the Mandarin) publicly announces his responsibility behind a Extremis attack every time one of Killian's experiments failed and caused a great number of casualties. When Tony Stark's friend Happy Hogan was caught in an Extremis attack that left him injured while Slattery took responsibility for the attack, an angered Stark vows to track down Slattery and make him pay for his crimes.
However, unknown to Stark, Killian took the opportunity to kidnap U.S. President Matthew Ellis (thanks to Vice President Rodriguez, who is in league with Killian, just as Stark arrived to confront Slattery in his mansion. However, Stark soon learn that Killian is the true mastermind behind the attacks and that he paid Slattery to pose as the Mandarin to cover his involvement the entire time in exchange for the fame and lavish lifestyle that Slattery desired.
Following the death of Killian and his Extremis soldiers, a drunken Slattery is last seen being arrested for his involvement with Killian. Despite his arrest, Slattery is astounded to see the press awaiting his arrival, feeling very satisfied that he finally got the fame he craved for all his life.
All Hail the King[]
Slattery was sent to Seagate Prison for his crimes, but he finds it to be quite comfortable living there as he is idolized by many inmates for his actions, even getting an inmate named Herman to serve as his bodyguard and butler. A news reporter named Jackson Norriss comes by for a documentary on Slattery's life. To that end, Slattery explained to Norriss of how he lost his mother during the 1960s and his role as a main character in a rejected TV pilot that aired on CBS.
While relating the history of the Mandarin to Slattery and Herman, Norriss retrieved a handgun he had concealed inside his camera and used it to kill the guards, much to both Slattery and Herman's shock. Norriss then revealed himself to be a Ten Rings operative, as he was assigned by the real Mandarin to take in Slattery for impersonating him. Herman tried to save Slattery by attacking Norriss, but the latter kills Herman by stabbing him in the neck, much to Slattery's shock.
An angry Slattery picked one of the dead guards' guns, intending to kill Norriss to avenge Herman's death. Unfortunately, Norriss disarms Slattery and delivers him to the real "Mandarin" as ordered.
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings[]
Slattery was set to be executed by the Ten Rings for his portrayal of the Mandarin, which had offended the true leader of the Ten Rings-- Xu Wenwu. However, an impromptu performance of Macbeth entertained his captors well enough to spare his life. Wenwu opted to keep Slattery in his custody for routine performances as a court jester. While imprisoned, he found a Hundun who was abducted from Ta Lo by Wenwu back in 1996; Slattery subsequently befriended and adopted a Dijiang as a pet he named Morris.
In April 2024, Slattery would meet Wenwu's children: Xu Shang-Chi and Xu Xialing, along with their friend Katy Chen, who were also captured and incarcerated by the Ten Rings. Slattery and Morris would later be led to liberation by their new friends when they broke into the garage to steal Razor Fist's car.
Once they reached the moving forest maze that protected Ta Lo, Slattery acted as an interpreter to Morris' instructions on how to traverse the maze to enter the hidden city. They succeeded and traversed the waterfall that separated Ta Lo from Earth, they then went to the village to warn the villagers.
As Shang-Chi and his allies were welcomed into Ta Lo and preparing for the upcoming battle, Slattery played with the kids. When Ta Lo was invaded by the Ten Rings, Slattery laid low and tried to avoid fighting, but when Xu Wenwu unwittingly unleashed the Dweller-in-Darkness. In order to prevent Soul Eaters from taking his soul, Slattery laid low and played dead, and instructed Morris to do the same.
In the aftermath of the battle, Slattery participated in the ceremony to mourn the casualties shooting out lanterns in the sky, Slattery later decided to stay in Ta Lo to be with Morris.
Abilities[]
- Expert Actor: Slattery is shown to be an exceptional actor when needed, able to pull off a convincing portrayal of a terrorist that had the whole world convinced and later was able to impress the Ten Rings enough to keep him alive.
- Bilingualism: Slattery is fluent in his native English, and can understand Dijiang language, as shown when he served as Morris' translator while the latter guided his party to Ta Lo.
Quotes[]
| “ | "Anyway, the producer told me he worked for the BBC. But, an ironic twist, it turns out he in fact was a terrorist. And I wasn't playing a character at all but what I now recognize to be a rather unflattering portrait of your father." | „ |
| ~ Trevor Slattery to Shang-Chi |
| “ | "What is that?!" "You could see Morris?" "Morris?" "Oh-ho, ho ho! Morris, they could see you! You're real! All this time, I thought I was hallucinating him! Oh, this is such fab news!" "Where's his face?" "Oh, shhhh! He's a bit sensitive about that." |
„ |
| ~ Katy Chen and Trevor Slattery on Morris |
Gallery[]
