The vice president will become a puppet leader, following Killian's orders in exchange for Extremis to cure a little girl's disability. They trace Killian to an impounded damaged oil tanker where Killian intends to kill Ellis on live television. Remotely controlling his Iron Man armor, Tony saves some surviving passengers and crew but cannot stop Killian from abducting Ellis and destroying Air Force One. Stark escapes and reunites with Rhodes, discovering that Killian intends to attack President Ellis aboard Air Force One. Killian has also manipulated American intelligence agencies regarding the Mandarin's location, luring James Rhodes-the former War Machine, now re-branded as the Iron Patriot-into a trap to steal the armor. Killian kills Hansen when she has a change of heart about the plan. After capturing Stark, Killian reveals he is the real Mandarin he has kidnapped Potts and subjected her to Extremis to gain Stark's aid in fixing Extremis' flaws and thereby saving Potts. The Mandarin is actually a creation of Killian, who appropriated Hansen's Extremis research as a cure for his own disability and expanded the program to include injured war veterans. Inside he discovers the Mandarin is actually a British actor named Trevor Slattery, who claims he is oblivious to the actions carried out in his name. With Harley's help, Stark traces the Mandarin to Miami and infiltrates his headquarters using improvised weapons. Stark witnesses Extremis firsthand when Mandarin agents Ellen Brandt and Eric Savin attack him. After veterans started exploding, their deaths were used to cover up Extremis' flaws by manufacturing a terrorist plot. He discovers the "bombings" were triggered by soldiers subjected to Extremis, which at this stage of development can cause certain subjects to explosively reject it. Teaming with Harley, a precocious 10-year-old boy, Stark investigates the remains of a local explosion bearing the hallmarks of a Mandarin attack. Stark's experimental armor lacks sufficient power to return to California, and the world believes him dead. pilots to rural Tennessee, following a flight plan from Stark's investigation into the Mandarin. Tony escapes in the Mark 42 suit, which his artificial intelligence J.A.R.V.I.S. Maya, who came to warn Tony, survives the attack along with Pepper. When Stark Industries security chief Happy Hogan is badly injured in one such attack, Stark overcomes his stupor and issues a televised threat to the Mandarin, who responds by destroying Stark's home with helicopter gunships. A string of bombings by terrorist the Mandarin has left intelligence agencies bewildered by a lack of forensic evidence. Restless, he has built several dozen Iron Man suits, creating friction with his girlfriend Pepper Potts. Years later, Tony's experiences during the alien invasion of New York are giving him panic attacks.
Two people in this sequence that are of note are the Doctor Ho Yensin who saved his life in the first film and an undentified asian man who may in fact be the real Mandarin (someone most people missed as the film centers on AIM and Maya Hansen). Disabled scientist Aldrich Killian offers them a place in his company Advanced Idea Mechanics, but Stark rejects the offer, humiliating Killian. Tony Stark recalls a New Years Eve party in 1999 with scientist Maya Hansen, inventor of Extremis-an experimental regenerative treatment intended to allow recovery from crippling injuries.