Aldrich Killian (Earth-199999)

Aldrich Killian was an American scientist, businessman, and founder of Advanced Idea Mechanics, or A.I.M. In 2012 he used Maya Hansen's Extremis formula to manipulate a series of amputee military veterans and cause them to overdose and explode themselves in public places. Killian used actor Trevor Slattery to create a public terrorist persona known as the Mandarin, who was supposedly punishing the United States for its past ills, with the aim of fueling the war on terror and profiting financially. His plan was thwarted by the combined efforts of Iron Man, James Rhodes, and Pepper Potts, and he was killed on Christmas Eve 2012.

Biography

Origin

On New Year's Eve 1999 at a science conference in Bern, Switzerland, the young and excitable Aldrich Killian approached the charismatic CEO of Stark Industries, Tony Stark, about possibly working together with A.I.M. Stark lied and agreed to meet Killian on the roof of the building in five minutes—after waiting for over half an hour, Killian realized Stark wasn't coming and grew spiteful. Over the next 13 years, Killian became infatuated with Stark's assistant Pepper Potts (who became CEO of Stark Industries in 2010) and formed an alliance with geneticist Maya Hansen, inventor of genetic-manipulation formula Extremis, theoretically capable of curing or reversing many human ailments or injuries, notably regrowing lost limbs. The drug was prone to "glitches," however, notably causing the user to violently explode when the body rejected it. When used "properly," Extremis also granted its user intense thermal powers. Killian used Extremis extensively on himself, "repairing" various external imperfections.

Extremis and the Mandarin

By 2012, Killian had created a legion of Extremis-powered soldiers. He devised a plan to artificially fuel the war on terror, profiting off of it by selling off his army. He hired actor Trevor Slattery to portray a terrorist leader known as the Mandarin in publicly televised messages, threatening to punish the United States for its historical wrongdoing—Slattery himself had no knowledge of any actual harm the project was causing. The Mandarin's supposed attacks were carried out by detonating overdosed Extremis soldiers in public places, leaving no evidence of an explosive device or perpetrator. As part of this plan, Killian and Hansen sought to perfect Extremis, and knew that Tony Stark possessed the ingenuity necessary to do so. In December 2012, Killian approached Pepper Potts about Stark Industries forming an alliance with A.I.M., presenting Extremis as simply a means to improve the human race. Potts recognized its dangerous potential however, and turned him down.

Soon after, a "Mandarin" bombing in Los Angeles (caused by the death of Jack Taggart), severely injured Happy Hogan, causing his friend Tony Stark to publicly threaten the Mandarin and invite him to come to his home address. Killian sent his lead henchman, Eric Savin, with three attack helicopters to bombard Stark's Malibu home, obliterating it and ostensibly killing him. Killian learned that, moments before the attack, Maya Hansen had approached Stark, apparently to warn him. Hansen and Pepper Potts had escaped the attack and hidden out in a hotel; Killian tracked them down and kidnapped Potts. Hansen explained that she simply wanted Stark on the team to perfect Extremis. Killian had Potts detained inside his Norco tanker and began administering Extremis unto her. Soon, the still-living Stark resurfaced by infiltrating Killian's derelict-mansion hideout in Miami (sans Iron Man suit). Savin managed to capture him and he was tied to an upright bed frame in Hansen's makeshift laboratory. Killian and Hansen tried to convince him to join their project, using Potts as leverage, but he refused. Amid his pleas and the cruelty being inflicted on Potts, Hansen had a change of heart, and threatened to inject herself with a lethal dose of Extremis unless Killian released Stark. Killian called her bluff and shot her in the chest, killing her.

Showdown with Iron Man

Around this time, one of Killian's underlings captured James Rhodes in the Iron Patriot suit, and Killian managed to force him out of it with his heat powers and claim the suit for A.I.M. Killian initiated the final stage of his ultimate plan, to capture and broadcast the murder of President Matthew Ellis on behalf of the Mandarin. At some point, Killian had negotiated with Vice President Rodriguez and attained his cooperation in exchange for regrowing his daughter's lost leg. Savin took the Iron Patriot suit to the in-flight Air Force One and sent it back out to fly Ellis to the Norco (Stark's own Iron Man suit went up shortly afterward and killed Savin). Killian had Ellis strung up in the Iron Patriot suit by each limb, dramatically hanging over the Norco to symbolize his wrongdoing in the Norco oil spill of 2010. All of this was of course an act to maintain the Mandarin façade, while in reality killing Ellis would give Killian an ally in the presidency (Rodriguez) and an excuse for more war. Killian's plan was thwarted by Stark, Rhodes, and a legion of Iron Man suits controlled by Stark's A.I., J.A.R.V.I.S. Rhodes secured the Iron Patriot suit and the president, flying Ellis to safety, while Stark focused on rescuing Potts. Killian's thermal powers proved to be a hard counter to Stark's metallic armor, and it was Potts' own Extremis exposure that made the difference. Armed with increased aggression and power, Potts used an Iron Man gauntlet to detonate a potent explosive mere feet away from Killian, killing him instantly. Stark would soon find a way to reverse the effects of Extremis in Potts' system, returning her perfectly to normal. Following his death, Killian's plot was exposed, and Trevor Slattery and Vice President Rodriguez were arrested. The fate of A.I.M. itself in the aftermath of these events is unclear.