Iron Man #68
Night of the Rising Sun
Iron Man has traveled to Vietnam to assist Roxanne Gilbert in her search for Marty March, an American soldier who has gone missing in action and is presumed dead.[1] They are doing this on behalf of Marty’s brother, Eddie, a long time friend of Tony Stark. Using his repuslor rays to blast through the brush, they come across the village of An Thoc in flames. Their liaison with the Vietnamese army claims that even though there has been a cease fire in the recent conflict, the enemy continues to bomb villages like this. Iron Man recalls that this was the village where Tony Stark had set off the trip-mine that led to the birth of Iron Man all those years ago.[2]
Seeing the devastation deeply disturbs Roxanne who decides to run off to search for Marty in the jungle. When the Vietnamese soldiers try to stop her, Iron Man stops them and then goes after her. The commanding officer is furious that the Americans went off on their own. However, when the Japanese mutant known as Sunfire arrives on behalf of his government, he is convinced to go after Iron Man since he views Stark Industries as competition for interests back in his homeland.[3]
Meanwhile, the Mandarin — still trapped in the body of the Unicorn[4] — has been forced to retreat to a secondary base below the ocean after being forced out of his castle in China by rival criminal the Yellowclaw.[5] As the Unicron’s body is rapidly dying, the Mandarin has become desperate to return to his own body.[6] That’s when his computers detect a power source in Vietnam that could provide the energy needed to facilitate a mind.
Back in the jungles of Vietnam, Iron Man catches up with Roxanne Gilbert, saving her life from a Bengal tiger that has been stalking her. That’s when they are ambushed by Sunfire who begins attacking Iron Man. Ordered to run for cover, Roxanne finds a village that is still intact but with the residents strangely absent. Iron Man’s battle with Sunfire comes to an abrupt end when the Mandarin locks onto the mutant’s energy source and teleports him away. Recognizing the technology, Iron Man decides to follow its source and rescue Sunfire.[7] Arriving outside of the Mandarin’s undersea hideout, Iron Man is forced to retreat when a missile shatters the plexiglass seals that allow him to breath under water. After Iron Man has been driven away, the Mandarin forces Sunfire to channel his powers through a machine that allows the villain’s mind to transfer back to his proper body.
Meanwhile, Iron Man has fled back to a Stark Industries facility in the Philippines where he makes repairs. He also decides to completely redesign his helmet, adding a nose to the armor so his alter-ego can appear more expressive.[8] He also creates a new neural link that will allow Tony to mentally activate the functions of his armor, making him more efficient in battle. With these upgrades completed, Iron Man heads back out to sea for a rematch with the Mandarin.
Recurring Characters
Iron Man, Mandarin, Unicorn, Sunfire, Roxanne Gilbert
Continuity Notes
Iron Man states here that he made a brief stop to help his fellow Avengers who were also in Vietnam. This story tells readers to check out that month’s issue of Avengers. However, Iron Man’s chronology is a little more complex than that. Between issues he appears in flashbacks in The Order (vol. 2) #1 and Defenders #13 as well as appearing in Avengers #120-125, Captain America #171, and Captain Marvel #31-33.
Iron Man recounts an abridged version of his origins as they were told in Tales of Suspense #39. Per the Sliding Timescale, Tony became Iron Man roughly four years prior to this story.
A footnote here reminds readers that Sunfire was last seen in Avengers #117 and Sub-Mariner #54.
The Mandarin found himself trapped in the Unicorn’s dying body following the events of Iron Man #57-58.
Yellow Claw took control of Mandarin’s hideout as part of the Black Lama’s War of the Super-Villains, which saw various criminals fighting to the death to obtain the Golden Globe of Power. This conflict will be chronicled in Iron Man #69-77.
When the Unicorn’s power was upgraded in Iron Man #4 it came at a price: His lifespan was dramatically shortened.
Iron Man recognizes the Mandarin’s teleportation technology as it was last used on him back in Tales of Suspense #76.
According to Official Index to the Marvel Universe: Iron Man, the addition to a nose to Iron Man’s helmet was due to Stan Lee flip-flopping on if Iron Man should have a nose. It will remain part of the armor until issue #85 when Lee — forgetting it was his idea to begin with — thought it was stupid and had the creative team remove it.
Topical References
This story states that Marty March fought in the Vietnam War, which is stated to have ended not long before this story. References to the Vietnam War that refer to the conflict as being recent or presently happening in Modern Age stories should be considered topical references. Per History of the Marvel Universe #2, instead of the Vietnam War, Marty would have fought in the Sin-Cong Conflict.
Likewise should references to North Vietnam being controlled by the Viet Cong and another terminology related to the Vietnam War used in this story should be considered topical.
That all said, it’s entirely possible that Stark Industries did provide munitions to the American military during the Vietnam War. I go into this possibility in more detail in my summary for Iron Man #60.
