User blog comment:TheOne1000/Mandarin Twist/@comment-1895174-20131028180307

Aldrich Killian is not the Mandarin. He's not simply Mallen, either, but there isn't one character you can point to as the inspiration for his character. Like Ivan Vanko before him, Killian's an amalgam of different villains. There may be shades of the Mandarin in there, I'd say he's more Mallen mixed with the Scientist Supreme of AIM. The former for his abilities and relevance to the Extremis storyline, the latter for his personality and position at the company.

And it's that last bit that you seriously overlooked in your analysis. Unlike previous Iron Man films (and most superhero films in general), the main antagonist of Iron Man 3 is an organization, AIM, not an individual. Killian's position as the AIM's CEO is his most important function in the movie, and you don't mention the organization once. So that's one huge strike against Aldrich Killian as the Mandarin - The Mandarin never ran AIM.

I'm sorry to say this, but the people who cling to Aldrich Killian as the Mandarin are the people who just can't deal with how the Mandarin was treated in the movie. But dare I say that Shane Black transforming a character based on horribly outdated racial stereotypes into a joke is a masterstroke, a moment of genius. But I've already shared my opinion on that.