Det finns verkligen en relation mellan de två. Medan man kan överväga omnämnandet av Tio Ringar i Iron Man 1 som ett påskägg för fansen, verkar det som att filmskaparna alltid har medgett att de Ti Ringarna och det verkliga Mandarin finns i detta universum på skärmen.
SPOILERS UNDER
I den nya kortfilmen som finns på Thor 2 DVD lär vi oss att Mandarin existerar och är missnöjda med Trevors tapp på honom.
Från kortfilmen Haila alla kungen :
Jackson Norris: I'm not the one that's going to kill you Mr. Slattery. I'm here to break you out.
Trevor Slattery: That's... nice?
Jackson Norris: Not really. You see, there's somebody who wants to meet you.
Trevor Slattery: Do I know him?
Jackson Norris: No... but you took his name... and now he wants it back.
Vad gäller förhållandet mellan Mandarin och Tio Ringar, förklarar detta utdrag från Marvel wiki lite om deras ömsesidig historia.
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.
och sedan
The Ten Rings is the name of the terrorist organization that abducts Tony Stark in Iron Man. The organization's name and iconography was later appropriated by Aldrich Killian who falsely claimed that he was their leader, The Mandarin, and placed blame on the group for his illegal activities.