The Dragon Seed Saga Part IV: Dragon Doom!

In China’s Valley of the Dragon, Jim Rhodes — decked out in a suit of Iron Man armor — has recovered from his recent clash with the Mandarin and the Dragon Lords. Hearing the sound of battle over the next ridge he heads over to see what’s going on. He is surprised to see that Tony Stark has returned in his own suit of Iron Man armor and is now fighting against the Dragon Lords alone.

This time, Tony is fighting the battle in person and at first he is able to hold his own against the army of dragons. However, their numbers slowly begin overwhelming him. When Jim tries to join the fight and lend a hand, he is grabbed by Fin Fang Foom who tosses him away. Rhodes crashes into the Mandarin’s palace and finds the tyrant sitting silently on his throne contemplating how the Dragon Lords have betrayed him and his perceived destiny.[1] Suddenly, the Mandarin gets up off his throne and walks outside to watch the battle. When Jim tries to reach out to him, the villain quickly turns and blasts him with the ten rings of power. Reflecting on how Chen Hsu manipulated him and then tried to steal his power, the Mandarin decides to turn against the Dragon Lords and joins Iron Man in his battle against them.

This new development is being observed by Chinese officials in Beijing, leading to fears about what might happen if Iron Man and the Mandarin turn their power against their government. However, the leader of the country continues to watch the battle in silence, deciding to wait and see how things turn out.

Back at the scene of the battle, Chen Hsu decides it is time to join the battle personally. He gloats that the Mandarin will never be able to channel the full power of the rings and, as such, cannot stop the Dragon Lords. Hearing this make Iron Man realize that power is the key to everything. He tries to convince the Mandarin to hand over the rings to him. However, when the tyrant refuses to remove the powerful weapons from his fingers, Iron Man is forced to improvise. Forcing the Mandarin to lock fingers with him, Iron Man channels his armor’s power supply through the ten rings of power. This causes a massive surge of energy that engulfs the entire Valley of the Dragon. The energy signature is so powerful it sets off alarms at Fantastic Four headquarters, sets off Peter Parker’s spider-sense, and draws the attention of both Thor and the Man-Thing.

Once the maelstrom subsides, the only apparent survivors are Tony Stark and Jim Rhodes. Jim recalls seeing the Dragon Lords dissolve into nothingness.[2] With no sign of the Mandarin, he is presumed dead and with the danger over the two head for home.

Six weeks later, Iron Man returns to Stak Enterprises in California alone. When Jim checks to see how he is doing, Stark is incredibly bitter over what happened in China and tells Rhodes to leave him alone.

While somewhere along the Chinese countryside, an elderly woman and her granddaughter have found the Mandarin alive but in a coma with his hands amputated. They have been nursing him back to health and although his wounds are healing he still remains in a deep slumber.[3]

Recurring Characters

Iron Man (Stark), Iron Man (Rhodes), Mandarin, Dragon Lords (Chen Hsu, Chi Chan, Fin Fang Foom, Wu Pong), Mister Fantastic, Thing, Peter Parker. Mary Jane Watson, Thor, Man-Thing

Continuity Notes

1. It was revealed last issue that the Dragon Lords allowed the Mandarin to obtain his power rings as part of a centuries long plot to take over the world. Once Chen Hsu and his followers got what they wanted they tried to take the rings back but the Mandarin resisted them. Chen Hsu has been stringing the Mandarin along since Iron Man #260.

2. As of the time of this writing (August, 2022) all of the Dragon Lords except Chen Hsu, Fin Fang Foom remain among the dead. Foom’s spirit will become trapped in a dragon statue and will be freed in Iron Man (vol. 3) #15-18. While a man who resembles Chen Hsu is seen in Marvel Team-Up (vol. 3) #7 and 10. How Chen Hsu survived is unexplained. While Official Index to the Marvel Universe: Iron Man does not acknowledge Chen Hsu survival, I believe that omission was a mistake.

3. The Mandarin will remain in his coma until he wakes up again in Iron Man #306. There is an anomalous appearance in Super Soldiers #7, per both the Marvel Chronology Project and the Official Marvel Index: Iron Man. I have presented an argument that that appearance actually takes place before the events of Iron Man #270 here.

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 of the World Trade Center are depicted as part of the New York City skyline in this story. This should be considered a topical reference as these building were destroyed in a terrorist attack on September 11, 2001 and have subsequently been replaced with the Freedom Tower.

Moments Unseen

Tony Stark has just learned from Su Yin that there is presently nothing she can do for his damaged nervous system. She explains that the government ordered her to string Tony along to make sure he would help with their problem with the Mandarin and Fin Fang Foom. Now with no reason to keep it a secret any longer, she tells him the hard truth. Tony’s condition is incurable and that he will continue to grow weaker over time until his body eventually fail him and he will die.

Learning that he is living on borrowed time, Tony makes one last desperate attempt to win over Su Yin. He pleads with her to leave with him to America and spend his final moments by her side, saying he doesn’t care that she’s already married. She reminds him that she has a duty to her husband and cannot leave him. After she storms out of the room, Jim Rhodes comes in and asks what’s going on. Tony explains the situation and his decision to make one last effort to try and win her over.

In possibly the most cringiest moment I’ve ever read, Tony takes a car to Su Yin’s house to meet with her husband. He discovers that he is paralyzed from the waist down, the result of a serious car accident while he was out celebrating his engagement to Su Yin. Although he was near death, Su Yin stayed by her fianceé’s side and nursed him back to health. Even after learning of his disability, she married him anyway and has stuck by her husband for five years, being honorable to their marriage if it is only in name. Surprisingly, Su Yin’s husband is eager to free his wife from their marriage, seeing his disability as a burden to her. When he says that Su Yin doesn’t need to be bound to someone with a disability, this gets through to Tony but not in the way Su Yin’s husband expected.

As he leaves the house, Tony runs into Su Yin, he explains that he has come to say goodbye to her and that he is returning to America. He asks her — especially after he is dead and gone — that he has always loved her. With that, Tony gets into his limo and drives off.

Recurring Characters

Tony Stark, Su Yin, Jim Rhodes