A new image has shown up online via Marvel from Iron Man 3, which doesn’t just give us another look at Ben Kingsley as the villainous Mandarin, but also shows us him wearing the 10 rings of power. The Marvel website also offers plenty of info on the rings, suggesting they’ll be causing Tony Stark all manner of trouble.
Here’s the info: Discovered by the Mandarin in China’s “Valley of Spirits,” the Ten Rings of Power are actually the product of the dragon-like race Axonn-Karr (or Makluans) from the planet Maklu-IV. The Axonn-Karr utilized them mainly as the power source for their interstellar craft’s engines. The rings’ functions currently cannot be explained by modern Earth science.
‘The Mandarin learned how to utilize the rings for own personal use and make them respond to his personal commands. Over the years, the Mandarin’s mind has actually come to inhabit the rings so that now no one else can make use of them. The Mandarin can also now control the rings over large distances.
The functions of each of his original set of rings are as follows:
LEFT HAND:
Pinky: Ice Blast. Freezes the air in its path and can lower an object’s temperature to almost absolute zero.
Ring Finger: Mento-Intensifier. Magnifies the Mandarin’s psychic energy enabling him to mentally control a person. Only effective at short range.
Middle Finger: Electro-Blast. Emits quantities of electrical energy determined by the wearer (Mandarin). Upper limit of output is unknown.
Index Finger: Flame Blast. Emits infrared radiation and can cause air to incandesce by igniting its molecules. Maximum out is unknown.
Thumb: White Light. Emits many different types of energy from the electro-magnetic spectrum. Frequently used as intense visible light and laser beams.
RIGHT HAND:
Pinky: Black Light. Creates area of “absolute blackness” where all light is absorbed. It is believed that this ring accesses the “Darkforce” used by people such as Darkstar and the Shroud.
Ring Finger: Disintegration Beam: Destroys bonds between atoms and molecules causing an object’s cohesion to fall apart. Needs 20 minutes recharge time between uses.
Middle Finger: Vortex Beam. Causes air to swirl about in a vortex at high speed. Can levitate objects, propel wearer (Mandarin) in flight and be used as a weapon.
Index Finger: Impact Beam. Projects concussive force of approximately 350 lbs. of TNT. Can also cause intense sonic vibrations and create magnetic waves.
Thumb: Matter Rearranger. Can rearrange atoms and/or molecules of substances or speed up/slow down their movements to result in various effects. Cannot actually transmute elements.
Quite how Iron Man is going to compete with all that is anyone’s guess, but he should have Iron Patriot to help him. The movie hits cinemas April 25th, 2013.