Iron Man #69
Confrontation Part One
After making upgrades to his armor, Iron Man heads back into the Pacific to rescue Sunfire from the Mandarin. Inside the undersea base, the Mandarin has succeeded in using Sunfire’s mutant energies to restore his mind back to his own body after his mind was transferred into the Unicorn’s lifeless form.[1] Now that he has his own body back, the Mandarin reclaims his ten power rings and begins planning to get revenge against the Yellow Claw, who forced him from his own hideout as part of a power struggle between the two international terrorists.[2] That’s when Iron Man arrives to rescue Sunfire. The two eternal foes battle against one another, Iron Man proving capable of fighting off the effects of the Mandarin’s power rings. However, when the villain’s flame ring covers Iron Man in napalm, the hero is forced to leave the base to douse the flames. As the battle rages outside, the Mandarin’s underwater base begins to flood and sink deeper into the ocean, threatening to drown the captive Sunfire.
Back at Stark Industries Long Island facility, Eddie March arrives to see Tony Stark. Tony’s secretary Pepper Potts tells Eddie that Tony had traveled to Saigon to help search for Eddie’s missing brother, Marty. Eddie is happy to hear that Tony and Roxanne Gilbert are out looking for his long lost brother.[3] After Eddie leaves, Happy comes in with a surprise for Pepper that he says will resolve their current marital problems. When she looks at the sheet of paper he’s handed her, she is shocked by what it is written on it.[4]
Meanwhile, back in Vietnam, Roxanne Gilbert continues her search for Eddie’s brother. Although the recent conflict is over, she still sees evidence of airstrikes in the region that are in direct contravention of the cease fire. While running for cover during one of these bombings, she runs into a one-armed African-American man who turns out to be none other than Marty March.
While back out at sea, Iron Man breaks off from his battle with the Mandarin to rescue Sunfire from the flooding base. Although the Japanese mutant is knocked out in the rescue effort, Iron Man manages to get him to safety. However, this leaves him open to the Mandarin who uses his martial arts skills to knock out the Avenger. Then, using his power rings, reverses Iron Man’s gravity so he will float high into the air where he will suffocate in the airless void. Mandarin then heads back to China to get revenge against Yellow Claw. There, the Yellow Claw has secured himself in the Mandarin’s castle where he intends to utilize the Mandarin’s own weapons in their war against one another.[5] That’s when the Mandarin’s minion, Loc Do warns him of activity outside. Looking outside, Yellow Claw witnesses as the Mandarin uses his rings to reactivate his giant android, Ultimo.[6]
While all this is happening, an unconscious Iron Man leaves Earth’s atmosphere and into the cold void of space.
Recurring Characters
Iron Man, Mandarin, Sunfire, Yellow Claw, Ultimo, Eddie March, Happy Hogan, Pepper Potts, Roxanne Gilbert, Marty March, Loc Do
Continuity Notes
The whole Mandarin/Unicorn thing is a complicated tale. The details:
The first thing to know is that when the Unicorn’s powers were upgraded in Iron Man #3 it came at the expense of a shortened lifespan.
He sought out the Mandarin for a cure. While the Mandarin was able to stop his body from decaying, it left the Unicorn a mindless slave. During a subsequent battle with Iron Man, a freak accident caused the Mandarin’s mind to become trapped inside the Unicorn’s body. See Iron Man #57-58.
Here, the Mandarin states that the Unicorn is now dead. This turns out to be incorrect. He will turn up alive again in Iron Man #113-115. It is revealed that he body was recovered and revived by the Titanium Man.
The Yellow Claw’s conflict with the Mandarin is the Black Lama’s so-called “War of the Super-Villains” where the mystery man has various villains fight to the death over control of the Golden Globe of Power. This will be detailed in Iron Man #70-77.
Eddie March talks about how he has recently been confined to a wheelchair. March is a former boxer who had to retire due to blood clots that had formed in his brain. More recently, he stepped in to help Iron Man in his battle against Doctor Spectrum which caused him serious injuries. The surgery that ended up saving his life left Eddie in a wheelchair. See Iron Man #21-22 and 64-66. Eddie will not be confined to a wheelchair forever, as he will be mobile again when he resurfaces in Iron Man #103-107.
Pepper just recently started working for Stark again. Pepper previously worked for Stark from Tales of Suspense #45 to 89 when she married Happy Hogan and quit. Tony hired her in issue #57. Happy has been upset that Pepper is working and trying to pressure her into quitting since issue #59. Next issue reveals that Happy has decided to start working for Stark again so the couple can still spend time together while working.
Yellow Claw mentions his recent clash with Captain America. That happened in Captain America #164-167.
The Mandarin states here that he moved Ultimo back to China after the android was last defeated in South America. That was back in Avengers Annual #1. (This story misattributes it to Avengers Annual #2)
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.