One estate manager, for example, recounts being impetuously fired by a new wife when the numbers on the replacement remote control were deemed too small. (He was just as quickly rehired when he returned from the store with a larger remote.) Some have struggled with party-loving playboys hoping to be supplied with drugs.

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Mandarin is a worthy nemesis, an extravagant showman like Tony who can hack into broadcast feeds at will, and claims credit for a string of bombings across the U.S. When Hap (Jon Favreau) is caught in one blast, Tony takes it as a personal affront -- and impetuously calls fire down on his own head.

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