‘Iron Man 3′: Mandarin Teaser Image Released

Iron Man 3‘s Mandarin has just been given another teaser image.

In the Marvel universe, Iron Man has always been known to be the “Batman” to the Mandarin’s “Joker.”  In the trailer, the Mandarin (played by Ben Kingsley) even sounds a little like Heath Ledger when he does his voice-over, almost sounding like a series of intentional catch phrases:

“Ladies, children, sheep… Some people call me a terrorist.  I consider myself a teacher.  Lesson number one… Heroes, there is no such thing.”

A GIF image has been released on Marvel Entertainment’s Tumblr account which add a little more to what we might know about the upcoming film.

One part of the image is a ring-filled hand closing into what may be a fist.  Each ring appears to bear a symbol of some different, as Mandarin lore goes, magical invocations.  Mandarin is known to be a wizard, using the “Ten Rings” to fulfill his usually terrible wishes.  These rings are said to be the source of his power.

Another part of the image shows Mandarin throwing his hood back and opening his eyes in some kind of dark-lit room filled with a kind of art.  This could be a scene of him revealing who he is, possibly to Tony Stark (played by Robert Downey Jr.), Iron Man’s alter ego.

Apparently Iron Man 3 has Tony Stark facing some kind of personal issues and can’t seem to control what’s going on, and this could be the Mandarin’s doing, as the aforementioned rings have powers that can cause that to happen.

What do you think the images of Mandarin from Iron Man 3 mean?