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| Counter-clockwise from left: Ming the Merciless by Hal Foster, Flash Gordon, March 15 1936; Dr. Julius No as played by Joseph Wiseman, Dr. No, 1962; The Mandarin by Don Heck, Tales of Suspense #50, February 1964. |
So here's a snapshot of an unusual and short-lived trend in animated adaptions. You had these villainous characters across three franchises who were inspired by the original "insidious Oriental," pulp villain Dr. Fu Manchu: Ming the Merciless in Flash Gordon, Dr. Julius No in James Bond, and the Mandarin in Marvel Comics' Iron Man. All were fairly major antagonists - two were essentially the heroes' arch-villains. You couldn't leave them out of an animated adaption, but their original portrayals were maybe not so audience-friendly in more enlightened times. What do you do?
Apparently, you make them green.
