Who Shall Stop… Ultimo? Confrontation Part Two

Defeated by the Mandarin, Iron Man is sent hurtling into the void of space. As the hero speeds to his doom, the Mandarin has revived Ultimo in order to liberate his castle from rival terrorist the Yellow Claw. However, Yellow Claw refuses to go down without a fight and orders his minions to prepare for battle.

Meanwhile, Iron Man’s ascent is detected by a missile defense command. Mistaken for an enemy missile he is fired upon. Luckily, the hero revives quickly enough to destroy the missiles with his repulsar rays. Recognizing them as old Stark Industry designs, Tony is glad that his company will no longer be making such destructive weapons anymore.[1]

Back in China, the Mandarin orders Ultimo to attack his former headquarters. However, the massive android is suddenly attacked by the Japanese mutant known as Sunfire who wants revenge against the Mandarin for his previous capture.[2] Even though the mutant is still recovering from his captivity, he valiantly battles against Ultimo. This battle is observed by Yellow Claw who recounts why he and the Mandarin are at war with each other to begin with. Earlier, the Claw was visited by the Black Lama who has been offering the powerful Golden Globe of Power to a super-villain who proves himself superior to all others. This has led to villains from all over fighting each other to the death. Seeking to claim the Golden Globe for himself, Yellow Claw began targeting the Mandarin.

While in Vietnam, Roxanne Gilbert has found the Marty March, who she has been searching for on behalf of his brother, Eddie.[3] As they flee an air raid, she explains how she came to bring him back home to America. Surprisingly, Marty has no intention of going back with her. When she asks why, he brings her to a nearby cave which hides a secret underground city. In New York, Happy Hogan has come to Stark Industries to see his wife Pepper Potts and present a solution to their recent marital problems.[4] Since Pepper refuses to quit her job as Tony’s secretary, he has decided to work with her, literally, by applying for a job as head of security for Stark Industries. This news delights Pepper, and the couple finally make up after fighting for weeks.[4]

Meanwhile, the battle between the Mandarin and Yellow Claw rages on. When the Mandarin gets back inside his former fortress he faces off against a horde of mutated creatures and robots created by Yellow Claw and his minions. Fighting through these horrors, he faces off what appears to be the Yellow Claw himself. When his power rings are damaged in the battle, the Mandarin strikes the Yellow Claw with a powerful blow, revealing that he was actually fighting a robot duplicate of the villain that then explodes. Yellow Claw then appears on a television screen to gloat over the mortally wounded Mandarin and watches as his foe seemingly collapses dead on the floor. With the Mandarin dead, Yellow Claw orders his minion, Loc Do to clean up the body. Loc Do does as he is told, but secretly pockets the Mandarin’s rings intending to use them against his master once Yellow Claw has long forgotten about the weapons.[5]

That’s when Iron Man finally arrives on the scene and helps Sunfire with his battle against Ultimo. By putting aside their differences, the pair work together and cause Ultimo to collapse a mountain on itself, ending its threat. With the immediate battle over, Sunfire decides to depart, thanking Iron Man for saving his life. Iron Man bids the Japanese mutant farewell before heading toward the Mandarin’s castle and the inevitable conflict with Yellow Claw.

Recurring Characters

Iron Man, Sunfire, Mandarin, Ultimo, Yellow Claw, Happy Hogan, Pepper Potts, Roxanne Gilbert, Marty March, Loc Do

Continuity Notes

1. Tony Stark decided to move away from creating munitions and focus his company on green technologies and non-violent innovations back in Iron Man #48.

2. The Mandarin had captured Sunfire in Iron Man #68-69 to free his mind which was trapped in the body of the dying Unicorn. For more on that situation see Iron Man #57-58.

3. Roxanne was charged with trying to find Eddie’s brother back in Iron Man #66.

4. 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.

5. Although the Mandarin’s physical body is killed here, he will return again in Iron Man #98-100. It’s reveals that his mind was transferred into his power rings and when Loc Do tries to utilize their power later the Mandarin’s consciousness takes over his body.

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.