Iron Man #180
This Ancient Enemy
The Mandarin has just learned that Iron Man interfered in his latest scheme. Using his power rings, he punishes the Radioactive Man, whom he hired to collect devices he was trying to smuggle into China.[1]
Meanwhile, in Hong Kong, Jim Rhodes has gone to a doctor to treat the splitting headaches he has been suffering recently.[2] The doctor treats him with acupuncture which seems to do the trick. Jim thanks the doc for all his help because he has places to be.
Back in the United States, Tony Stark tries to get into one of his apartments so that his friend, Gertl Anders, has somewhere safe to give birth to her child. They are stopped by the doorman who tells Tony that he has been evicted because the rent hasn’t been paid for months. Gert gets very upset that Tony hasn’t come through on his promises to look after her and she runs off.[3]
At that moment, in Hong Kong, Jim decides to kill some time before his flight the next day. Taking a rickshaw ride he is shocked when a massive holographic image of Iron Man appears in the sky. Slipping into an alley, Jim changes into Iron Man and follows the projection knowing that he’s likely flying into a trap. Observing things remotely, the Mandarin is pleased that his old enemy has taken the bait. However, as Iron Man crosses over into mainland China, missiles are launched at him by the military. Fearing that they might be nuclear, Iron Man tries to evade them but discovers that they are are locked onto him. He figures there must be something in his armor to disarm the weapons, but has no idea how to access them.
Meanwhile, back in New York, Tony Stark continues searching for Gretl. He stops at a local soup kitchen, but nobody has seen her recently. The cook offers him a hot meal and warns Tony to find shelter because a huge winter storm is coming.
Back in China, Iron Man manages to evade the missiles by diving into the water, where they explode harmlessly. As he continues to follow the hologram to the Mandarin’s hideout. There, the Radioactive Man tries to attack his tormentor from behind. Unfortunately for him, the Mandarin was aware of this and uses his mind control ring to cause Radioactive Man to experience extreme pain. By this time, Iron Man has arrive outside the Mandarin’s hideout and is pulled inside by a tractor beam.[4]
When Iron Man confronts the Mandarin, he insults the Mandarin by not being surprised to find the Mandarin in China. This is because the Mandarin has no love for his government and they have none for him. Incapacitating Iron Man with his power rings, the Mandarin explains that he is going to cause crop failure across China in order to trigger another world war in order to lay claim to whatever’s left. Zapping Iron Man with his mind control ring, the Mandarin makes him remove his helmet and is surprised to see a Black man and not Tony Stark, the man he suspected of being Iron Man. Amused, the Mandarin then hands Jim a samurai sword and orders him to cut his own neck.
Recurring Characters
Iron Man, Mandarin, Radioactive Man, Tony Stark, Gertl Anders
Continuity Notes
Here, the Mandarin boasts about his birthright. Since Tales of Suspense #50, the Mandarin has claimed to be the descendant of Genghis Khan. However, Invincible Iron Man Annual #1 reveals that he was the bastard son of Caucasian prostitute forced to work in a Chinese opium den.
The cause of Jim’s headache is because the cybernetic connection to Iron Man’s armor was calibrated for Tony Stark’s mind, not Jim’s as explained in Iron Man #187. He will later be cured of his headaches in issue #195.
Tony’s life has been off the rails since Obadiah Stane made a point to ruin his life. This pushed Tony into drinking again in Iron Man #167. Stane then succeeded in a hostile take over in issue #173. Tony later discovered last issue that his assets were frozen.
Iron Man likens this hideout to the one belonging to the Daughters of Ishtar. Jim encountered the group on two occasions in Iron Man #173 and 176.
Topical References
Here, Jim states he was paid $11,000 for his job in Hong Kong. Adjusting for inflation this would be nearly $30,000 in 2022 money.
This story is written from the perspective that Hong Kong was an independent state from mainland China, as was the case when this story was published in 1984. Hong Kong used to be a British colony but was relinquished back to China in 1997. As such, any references to this should be considered topical.
When Iron Man flies into Chinese airspace and missiles are launched at him, he worries that he has caused an international incident. Again, this is a reference to the fact that, at the time this story was written, Hong Kong was still a British colony. Modern readers could assume that Iron Man didn’t cross an international border, but was shot at because he was an unidentified object in Chinese airspace.
The cook at the soup kitchen states that the blizzard that’s coming is the largest in the last 40 years. At the time this story was written, the New York City area was struck by a strong blizzard in 1983. This was during one of the strongest incidents of El Niño in the 20th Century. Indeed, the last time a massive blizzard hit the area was back in 1947. However, thanks to climate change blizzards are actually more common in New York happening every 5-6 years. At any rate, the length of time between major blizzards here should be considered topical.
In this story, the Mandarin specifically states that he is going to wipe out all the rice patties in China. As if that is the only component of Chinese agriculture. This isn’t topical so much as it’s wrong and coming from a place of ignorance on the part of the writer. If only Denny O’Neil could have predicted some asshole like me smugly looking up agriculture in China on Wikipedia 40 years after the fact.
