User blog comment:LoveWaffle/We Didn't See It Coming - Iron Man 3 and the Future of the MCU/@comment-5977347-20130513205536/@comment-3317214-20130517155429

''Not really, no. Authorial intent is crap. It all comes down to what's actually in the movie, and what's in the movie is the Mandarin solely being a character AIM manufactured.''

Not really, no. What's actually in the movie is what the author intended. He wasn't making excuses or anything when he said that. And you can't say it's not in the movie. The guy literally says "You wanted the Mandarin? You're looking right at him."

''Killian was, but the Mandarin wasn't. The Mandarin was the leader of the Ten Rings, an Islamist terrorist organization, and had a strong anti-American rhetoric. Killian wasn't either of those, he was just an opportunist.''

No, you're talking about the reasoning behind the goals, rather than the goals themselves.