Iron Man #272
The Dragon Seed Saga Part I
Centuries Ago
An alien ship makes a crash landing in what is now modern day China. The captain of the ship removes the ten power rings that are now worn by the Mandarin and left on the ship should they ever need to escape the planet. The reptilian aliens then emerge from their craft. They are almost instantly attacked by a Chinese warrior who kills one of their crew. The remaining aliens then flee into a mountainous region that legends would later refer to as the Valley of the Dragon. There they would begin plotting a scheme that would me centuries in the making….[1]
Now
Chen Hsu — one of these aliens hiding in human form — reflects on the past and looks forward to their ultimate plan finally coming to fruition. Contacting Fin Fang Foom telepathically, he orders the massive dragon to eliminate Iron Man — actually Jim Rhodes — so they can move forward with their ultimate goal.
Meanwhile, Tony Stark is at the University of the Long March in Beijing where he is undergoing more tests run by Doctor Su Yin to determine how to fix his damaged nervous system.[2] After this latest battery of tests, Tony puts on the circuit mesh bodysuit that allows him to move around. Doctor Yin tells Tony that she still doesn’t know if she can cure him without going over the results and tells him to keep his hopes up. Tony takes this opportunity to try and express his growing attractions to Su Yin, but when he touches her hand she pulls away. Tony refuses to give up until he gets what he wants. However, Su Yin rejects his advances and an offer to go out to dinner but reluctantly agrees to go out to dinner with him. After sending Su Yin home in a car, Tony learns from Li Wang — his government liaison in China — that Iron Man hasn’t been heard from since the day before.
Later, Su Yin returns to her home to find that her husband is not in his wheelchair, a sign that he is with his therapist. When she asks him how he is progressing with his disability, her husband angrily tells her not to patronize him because he is not getting any results.
Back in the United States, the Black Widow visits with the Russian ambassador to learn more about Oktober, a Cold War sleeper agent that may be active in the United States.[3] With the United States and Russia currently at peace, the ambassador warns Natasha not to go public with her concerns as it will sour relations between the two countries. He tells her not to worry about it and to go home as this does not concern her. The Widow refuses to do anything of the sort and leaves to find allies to help her in her mission to stop Oktober.
By this time, Tony Stark has returned to his hotel room to find Chinese officials waiting for him. Their leader is upset that Iron Man has failed to stop the Mandarin and Fin Fang Foom, even showing surveillance photos that show the defeated her. Quick thinking, Tony states that there is more than one Iron Man and tells the Chinese that he can send another to assist in stopping the massive dragon. He then convinces them to leave him in private to examine the photos and come up with the best strategy. Surprisingly this works, but it was all a ploy that allows Tony time to set up the enchephalo-link hidden in his briefcase and remotely access his autonomous suit of Iron Man armor back in California. The satellite uplink causes a small delay, but it works and soon the Iron Man suit fits itself with jet thrusters and heads out for China.[4]
It arrives at the scene of the battle just Fin Fang Foom is moving in for the kill. Hearing the sound of jet engines, the Mandarin looks off into the horizon and sees the second Iron Man arriving on the scene and can sense that it is his true enemy. Fin Fang Foom turns to face this new opponent and promises the Mandarin that he will be destroyed.
Recurring Characters
Iron Man (Stark), Iron Man (Rhodes), Mandarin, Chen Hsu, Fin Fang Foom, Su Yin, Black Widow
Continuity Notes
There is a lot going on in this opening prologue that is fleshed out in other stories:
The dragon-esque aliens have been identified as members of the Makluan race. Their race was first named in the Alien Appendix in Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe: Deluxe Edition #15. They come from the alien world of Kakaranthara (also referred to as Maklu-4).
After the rings of power were left aboard the ship they were found centuries later by the Mandarin, as seen in Tales of Suspense #62. The Makluan who was killed upon the Makluans’ arrival on the planet was identified as Axon-Karr in that same issue.
Iron Man #274 reveals that the Makluan crew came to Earth as they had grown bored with the peaceful world their home planet had begun. Thirsting for a violent world to conquer they came to Earth and spent the past few centuries biding their time for the right opportunity to invade.
TL;DR: Tony was shot in through the spine in Iron Man #242 leaving him disabled from the waist down. He cured himself with an experimental bio-chip in issue #248. This chip was used by the Marrs twins as a backdoor to override Stark’s nervous system with an artificial one that allowed them to take control of his body. Iron Man uncovered and foiled this plot over the course of Iron Man #258-266. Tony’s condition will persist until Iron Man #290.
It’s later revealed that the Black Widow is actually the sleeper agent she is looking for. See Iron Man #276-277.
On display are various suits of Iron Man armor that Tony has created over the years. They are:
Tony’s space armor (Model 5), first seen in Iron Man #142.
The stealth armor (Model 7), first used in Iron Man #152.
The Silver Centurion armor (Model 8) which first appeared in Iron Man #200.
The other suits are all unidentified prototypes.
Topical References
The leader of the Chinese officials in this story is depicted as Deng Xiaoping. At the time this story was published he was the Paramount Leader of China. He resigned from the post in 1992 and later died in 1997. His appearance here should be considered topical.
The original twin towers are depicted as part of the New York City skyline in this story. This should be considered a topical reference as they were destroyed in a terrorist attack on September 11, 2001. They have since been replaced by the Freedom Tower.
When the Black Widow meets with Russian ambassador, they the dissolution of the USSR and peace made between the United States and Russia as though it recently happened. That was the case when this comic was first published in 1991. However, this should be considered a topical reference. As such modern readers should view the geopolitical situation in this story as recent de-escalation between the US and Russia over an unrelated matter that exists in the fiction as opposed to a real life event.