User blog comment:LoveWaffle/We Didn't See It Coming - Iron Man 3 and the Future of the MCU/@comment-5977347-20130513205536/@comment-3317214-20130518023634

Authorial intent is not crap. Yeah, you'll want to ignore it when analysing the film, in favour of things that are actually in the movie, but it's not crap. It provides great insight into the vision behind the work. But the difference here is, that it is actually in the movie. The authorial intent, is right there in your face. You're just choosing to ignore it.

Well, the "Mandarin" and Killian both wanted to escalate the War on Terror. And they both wanted to get rid of the President. They're not that different.