[bowener]

After reading some descriptions of the Mandarin's past I think it would have been pretty simple to update the character. He could have been an ultra wealthy businessman from China if they wanted to keep that going. Basically he could have been the Chinese alter ego of Tony Stark. Rich and brilliant, but headed down the villain path to gain power. The alien rings are no longer far fetched given the Avengers Movie was packed with them and living gods.

AIM could have been retained in a similar capacity, only this time playing as the puppet for the Mandarin. The human bomb aspect could have been kept as well, only I would leave it there, no regenerative aspects, except that it is a failed attempt at regenerating human body parts.

However, I believe Marvel/Disney would never go down this path (chinese villain) because they are trying to make money in China. Even if only 5% of the population goes to see the movie, that is still over 50,000,000 tickets sold.