Battle: Tooth and Yellow Claw, Confrontation Part 3

Competing for the Black Lama’s Golden Globe of Power, the Yellow Claw has succeeded in killing his rival, the Mandarin. Having secured the Mandarin’s castle as his own, he has Loc Do — his minion — dispose of the Mandarin’s body while he plans his next move. Little does Yellow Claw know that Loc Do pocketed the Mandarin’s ten power rings and is plotting to make himself the new Mandarin.[1]

That’s when Iron Man comes crashing in through the wall. The hero is surprised to hear the Mandarin has been killed, but this won’t stop him for trying to bring the Yellow Claw to justice for his past crimes.[2]

As usual, the Yellow Claw avoids physical combat by unleashing a cybernetic blob. When the Avenger destroys the creature with electricity, Yellow Claw then unleashes an army of mini-robots armed with powerful blasters that are also rigged to explode on contact. Swarmed by the robots, Iron Man is immobilized when they rip out some of his armor’s wiring. Iron Man is then launched from the castle in a craft primed to explode. Luckily, the hero manages to repair his armor and escape. His survival comes as a surprise to the Yellow Claw who had written the hero off as dead.

Meanwhile, in Vietnam, Roxanne Gilbert’s search for Marty March has ended with quite the surprise. March has refused to return with her to America because he now lives in a secret city constructed beneath the war torn country. Things suddenly take a turn when the leader of this underground community, Kuon Set, decides that Marty is to be put to death because he knows too much about their Dragonfire defense system.

Back at the Mandarin’s castle, Iron Man faces himself facing off against another one of Yellow Claw’s genetically engineered creatures. This time it is a gigantic insect that sprays nuclear fire and has acidic blood. As Iron Man crushes this latest monstrosity, the Black Lama has arrived to oversee the battle. However, when Iron Man tries to blast the Lama with his repulsor rays, the blasts go right through the Black Lama. In response, the mysterious entity increases in size and swats Iron Man away. However, Iron Man’s blasts have struck some volatile machinery that threatens to destroy the entire castle. As both Yellow Claw and Iron Man flee the explosion, the Black Lama teleports away. Yellow Claw manages to escape in his ship, but not before sky-writing a warning to Iron Man that this is only the beginning.

With the battle over, Iron Man returns to a Stark Industries facility in Manila for repairs and a hot shower. He is soon visited by Happy Hogan and Pepper Potts who tell Tony that Happy wants to return to his old job as head of security. Tony is glad to hear the couple has worked out their differences and hires Happy on the spot, promising to double whatever he was asking to be paid.[3] With Pepper and Happy both back and his heart on the mend, Tony feels the best he has in such a long time.

Recurring Characters

Iron Man, Black Lama, Yellow Claw, Happy Hogan, Pepper Potts, Roxanne Gilbert, Marty March, Loc Do, Kuon Set

Continuity Notes

1. Although the Mandarin was physically killed last issue, he will return in Iron Man #98-100. It is revealed that his mind was transferred into his power rings and will take over Loc Do’s body when he tries to master their power.

2. Iron Man specifically mentions Yellow Claw’s recent dust-up with Captain America. This happened in Captain America #164-167.

3. 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.

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.