Iron Man #273
The Dragon Seed Saga Part II: Here There be Dragons
In Hong Kong, wealthy businessman Wu Pong is finishing up business for the day. When his secretary enters the room with the reports he requested, he tells her that he won’t be needing them after all. Suddenly, Wu Pong transforms into a massive dragon and smashes out his office window and begins flying toward mainland China. In other parts of Asia six other people suddenly transform into dragons and take to the air. This is all being telepathically monitored by Chen Hsu, who has summoned his people to come to his as the moment of their ascension is at hand.[1]
In the Valley of the Dragon, the real Iron Man has come to battle Fin Fang Foom and rescue his friend Jim Rhodes. Due to Tony’s health issues, Jim had absconded a suit of Iron Man armor in order to fight the Mandarin on behalf of the Chinese government, so they would allow Tony access to a doctor that could save his life.[2] However, Tony is not physically there as he is piloting an autonomous suit of armor controlled by an encephalo-control unit. From his hotel room in Beijing, Tony sends the suits commands. Although he is able to hold his own against the massive dragon, the satellite uplink connecting him to his armor has a slight delay, throwing him slightly off his game.
Seeing Tony struggle, Jim tries to get up but he is still weak from his earlier clash with Fin Fang Foom. He is confronted by the Mandarin, who has noticed that this second Iron Man is not as good as he should be and has dismissed him as another impostor to the title. Jim tells the Mandarin not to write the other Iron Man off yet as the battle is not over yet.
Moments later, Tony wires some downed powerlines into his armor for a power boost and strikes Fin Fang Foom with a repulsor blast strong enough to topple the monster. That’s when the Mandarin steps in to fight Iron Man directly, using his rings of power to transform a mountain into a massive creature to fight as his proxy. As this is happening, Li Wang — Tony’s government liaison — comes knocking at his hotel room door, distracting Tony momentarily, causing the rock monster to bury his remote armor under tons of rock. When Tony eventually frees himself from the rubble Fin Fang Foom has fully recovered.
Back in New York, the Black Widow arrives at Avengers Mansion seeking allies to help her stop a Russian sleeper agent called Oktober from carrying out their mission. She observes Captain America and She-Hulk in training and contemplates recruiting them to her cause. However, she ultimately decides that there is only one true choice for the task at hand.[3]
At that same moment, Tony Stark realizes that he cannot fight Fin Fang Foom effectively through his remote control armor and suddenly flees the scene. The Mandarin gloats over Iron Man’s sudden cowardice and Jim Rhodes can hardly believe what he is seeing. Moments later, the dragons summoned by Chen Hsu arrive at the scene.
Recurring Characters
Iron Man (Stark), Iron Man (Rhodes), Mandarin, Dragon Lords (Fin Fang Foom, Chen Hsu, Wu Pong), Avengers (Captain America, Black Widow, She-Hulk)
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.
Supplement Material
This issue features a pin-up of Iron Man