Mandarin is one of Iron Man's most iconic enemies in the comics. So it was only a matter of time before the MCU would bring him into its fold of villains. When it did so in Iron Man 3 (2013), there was a twist in which Mandarin turned out to be a fake actor named Trevor Slattery.
The real Mandarin only appeared in person in Shang-Chi's solo movie. However, the viewers who don't know the comics might not have realized the MCU had changed his character a lot. From his background story to his family or age, there are a lot of things the MCU movies altered about the intelligent villain.
8 He Doesn't Wear The Rings On His Fingers
One simple, yet significant detail the film changed about Mandarin is the form and location of his rings. In the comics, the ten rings are just that - rings - and Mandarin wears them on his fingers, not around his arm as he does in the film.
If the film's title should be entirely accurate as of such, it would be called Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Bracelets instead since the rings have the form of bracelets this time.
7 He Doesn't Use All Powers Of His Rings
Something the MCU fans might not be aware of is that each ring has an individual power. For example, one can send out lightning, as Thor does. Another can bring in pitch-black darkness and one can mentally control and influence other people.
In the film, Mandarin mostly uses his rings to knock his opponents down or kill them with the force of his blows. However, that's just one of many things his rings can actually do.
6 He Never Fought Iron Man
Despite the importance of Trevor Slattery in Iron Man3, the actual Mandarin never fought Iron Man in the first place. Instead, Tony Stark stood against Slattery, the actor, and then Aldrich Killian who had only a small percentage of powers belonging to the actual Mandarin.
In the comics, though, Mandarin and Iron Man did cross paths multiple times and they weren't friendly meetings. The first time they met, for example, Iron Man's suit nearly ran out of power and Tony barely managed to escape his opponent.
5 He Was Much Older
By the time the story starts, Mandarin has already been around for thousands of years. When he got married and his children were born, he put his rings aside to age at a normal pace but began wearing them again after his wife had been killed.
In the comics, Shang-Chi's father isn't called Mandarin but he's also older than most people, albeit not nearly as old as his film counterpart. When Shang-Chi is born in the comics, his father is about 200 years old and he uses a special elixir to prolong his life. He also meets his end because of it since he wants to use Shang-Chi's blood for his elixir. Shang-Chi refuses and his father ages up rapidly and dies.
4 He Has A Different Son
The MCU makes Mandarin into Shang-Chi's father but his comic book father is called Fu Manchu. Just like Fu Manchu and his son Shang-Chi, the comic book Mandarin also has children, a son. His son's name is Temugin and unlike Shang-Chi, he doesn't turn out to be a good guy.
Instead, he continues fighting to protect the legacy of his father after Mandarin dies. Temugin also goes on to become one of Iron Man's enemies while Shang-Chi and Iron Man worked together in the comics and Stark even made equipment for Shang-Chi.
3 He Woke Up A Dragon
Driven by his wife's loss, Mandarin enters Ta Lo and breaks free the Dweller, an evil giant dragon who feeds on souls. While this is something that appears in the film, Mandarin did have a connection to another huge dragon in the comics.
The dragon's name was Fing Fang Foom and it was an alien that only looked like a dragon. Mandarin awoke the sleeping dragon and Fing Fang Foom originally helped him conquer a large part of China. However, the dragon eventually revealed his true plan and Mandarin, albeit reluctantly, joined forces with Iron Man to stop him.
2 He Has His Evil Team
Mandarin leads his own evil team in the film, the Ten Rings. The terrorist organization has been wreaking havoc for years. He has another team in the comics, though.
Mandarin led a team called the Avatars of the Mandarin.
All of them shared a mutual goal with Mandarin which was to kill Tony Stark and they had special powers. For example, a villain called Foundry was able to fire laser beams from his eyes and turn his hands into weapons.
1 He Was Resurrected
After the prolonged fight in the film, the Dweller kills Mandarin by sucking his soul out - but not before Mandarin gives his ten rings to Shang-Chi. Mandarin died multiple times in the comics but he always came back in the end.
Funnily enough, Shang-Chi's actual father, Fu Manchu, was also resurrected, but he became a zombie and eventually died again soon in the comics. It's unlikely the MCU will follow this path and bring Mandarin back. Instead, the leadership of the Ten Rings went to his daughter Xialing.