Revenge of the Mandarin Part 1: Field of Honor

Tony Stark has been trying to learn who has been purchasing battle station parts from the Arms Dealer. The search has taken him to Paris where he was attacked by the Espionage Elite who have just learned that Tony Stark and Iron Man are the same person.[1] Although saved by the Black Widow, Tony was severely beaten to the point where his heart has stopped beating. Unable to get help in time, Natasha makes a desperate gamble to keep him alive. Breaking apart her Widdow sting gauntlets she uses them as a make-shift defibrillator to get his heart going again.

Awake again, Tony weakly demands the Widow recover his briefcase of Iron Man armor which was knocked into a nearby lake during the battle. Even though Tony should be taken to the hospital she complies with his wish. As he suits up, he tells her that it is important that he stop what’s going on as he has just discovered that the Mandarin is behind the arm’s purchases and is up to something big. When Natasha asks why he has to do this, he says he just does and flies off, telling her to follow him if she can. As Iron Man takes to the air, he thinks of his long rivalry with the Mandarin, which began many years ago not long after he became Iron Man.[2] He also recounts his last battle with the Mandarin when the villain had gained the power of the mystical Heart of Darkness. Tony thought that the Mandarin died then, but realizes he should have known better.[3] He now wonders if his old enemy has been behind the various attacks on him since his own return from the dead,[4]from the Deathsquad in New York, the Dreadnaughts in Switzerland, and the forced labor camp in Australia.[5] It’s then that Iron Man realizes that he’s greying out and has to avoid flying into a cell phone tower. He tells himself he needs to do better than this in his injured condition.

Meanwhile, back in New York, Pepper Potts and Happy Hogan have reached out to Jim Rhodes for help after finding a bug planted at Stark Solutions. Rhodey uses his equipment to scan the office and finds no other compromises to their security. Happy blames himself for being so easily manipulated by a woman named Doreen, who was actually a spy hired to plant the bug to begin with. That’s when they get a call from the Black Widow who updates them on what’s going on before signing off to contact the Avengers. Everyone is deeply concerned, and even Happy is unconvinced when he tries to tell the others that Tony will be all right.[6] At Avengers Mansion the Vision tells Natasha that all available Avengers will be deployed to assist, stopping just long enough to pick her up.[7][8]

By this time, Iron Man has just entered Russian airspace over Chelyabinsk where he witnesses an invading army of high-tech mercenaries clashing with the Russian military and the nation’s superhero team, the Winter Guard.[9] Although the group seems to be holding their own and are quite skilled, Iron Man flies down to see if there is anything he can assist with. While Vanguard doesn’t trust Iron Man, Steel Guardian welcomes his assistance. He explains that the opposing army attacked without warning and don’t appear to have any affiliation other than wanting to seize power in Russia and has no idea who has sent them. Iron Man knows exactly who is responsible, telling them that this is the work of the Mandarin. Since he is in pretty rough shape, he asks if any of Winter Guard can join him in attacking the Mandarin’s base of operations. Unfortunately, Steel Guardian can’t spare anyone as they are pinned down pushing back the invading foot soldiers. Iron Man understands and continues to track the Mandarin’s location from the unique energy signature that its power source gives off.[10]

Following the signal high into the air past the clouds, Iron Man is shocked to discover a massive flying battle fortress that has been designed to resemble a Chinese dragon. It is massive, stretching a mile long in length and armed to the teeth. Although he is hampered by his injuries, Iron Man evades the volley of artillery fire, and tries to evade the dragon’s whipping tail. However, when he tries to get in through an access hatch he is jolted with electricity. This stuns him long enough for the dragon to sallow him whole. Inside, he finds the entire facility nearly deserted. Suddenly, the Mandarin appears before him and welcomes him to the Dragon of Heaven. He then demonstrates that he has full control of the ship, using his ten power rings to command the ship’s internal components to ambush Iron Man. In his injured state, Tony doesn’t withstand the onslaught for long before he is restrained by electrical cables and pulled to the floor. This amuses the Mandarin who figured the battle was going to be a difficult one.

Recurring Characters

Iron Man, Mandarin, Avengers (Scarlet Witch, Vision, Firestar, Justice), Winter Guard (Darkstar, Vanguard, Steel Guardian, Sibercat, Vostok, Fantasma, Powersurge), Black Widow, Jim Rhodes, Happy Hogan, Pepper Potts

Continuity Notes

1. Tony has been investigating the mystery buyer since Iron Man (vol. 3) #2. His identity was compromised last issue thanks to a bug planted at the Stark Solutions office in issue #6.

2. Tony recounts his encounter with the Mandarin from Tales of Suspense #50. Here he states the Mandarin was the son of a wealthy family that was high up in the Chinese government. Tony is basing this on the Mandarin’s own accounts, however this turns out to be a lie. As revealed in Invincible Iron Man Annual #1 it is revealed that the Mandarin was the bastard son of a Caucasian prostitute that worked out of a Chinese opium den and was reviled by the locals due to his mixed race. His obsession with Imperial China and the ways of old are based on delusions based on Chinese nationalism that he has always been an outside from.

3. Iron Man last fought the Mandarin alongside Force Works during the Hands of the Mandarin crossover which took place in Force Works #6-10, Iron Man #310-312, War Machine #8, and Marvel Comics Presents #169-172. The Mandarin didn’t simply die at the end. Instead, the Heart of Darkness trapped him in the form of a janitor with only a glint of memory regarding his past.

4. Tony mentions his own return from the dead, which is quite complicated in and of itself: Led to believe he was a sleeper agent for Kang the Conqueror, Tony sacrificed his life to save his friends in Avengers #395. He was replaced by his younger self who was pulled forward in time in Avengers: Timeslide #1. The young Tony Stark sacrificed his life along with the Avengers and Fantastic Four in Onslaught: Marvel Universe #1. Franklin Richards then transported them all to a pocket universe where a now adult Tony Stark lived a reimagined version of his past starting in Iron Man (vol. 2) #1. He and the others were eventually returned to their proper reality in Heroes Reborn: The Return #1-4. It’s later explained in Avengers Annual 2001 that Tony was resurrected and merged with his younger self, thus re-establishing the status quo. Confusing, no?

5. The Deathsquad attacked Tony in Iron Man (vol. 3) #1, he fought the Dreadnaughts in issues #2-3, and exposed the forced labor camp in issue #6. With the exception of the Deathsquad, these were all the Mandarin’s operations. We’ll later learn in Iron Man Annual 1999 that the Deathsquad was actually hired by Count Nefaria.

6. Here Jim Rhodes wishes he still had his War Machine armor. He lost his War Machine armor during a trip through time in War Machine #15-17. Although he started wearing a suit of Eidolon Warwear, he sacrificed it to protect Tony Stark’s Iron Man technology in Tales of the Marvel Universe #1. The original War Machine armor will turn up again in the possession of Sunset Bain in Iron Man (vol. 3) #11.

7. The Vision mentions off hand how Natasha was the leader of the Avengers at the time the feel during the Onslaught crisis. She took over as leader when Captain America stepped down in Captain America #401 to focus on his solo-career. She remained in charge until Onslaught: Marvel Universe #1.

8. Also mentioned here is how the Vision’s body is undergoing repairs. He was seriously damaged during a battle with Morgan le Fay in Avengers (vol. 3) #3. While his body is undergoing repairs he has existed as a holographic projection limited to the confines of Avengers Mansion. Vizh will be completely repaired by Avengers (vol. 3) #12.

9. Iron Man has a lot of things to say about Winter Guard that are some deep cuts if you don’t know the characters. Here are the details:

   • About the team itself, he refers to them as “newly Christened”, meaning they were just named Winter Guard just prior to this story. The team has gone by various different names over the years, starting with the Soviet Super-Soldiers in Incredible Hulk #258, the Supreme Soviets in Captain America #352, the People’s Protectorate in Avengers #319. Hulk: Winter Guard #1 goes on to explain that the Winter Guard came from a merging of the People’s Protectorate and Siberforce, a mutant group that was formed in X-Factor Annual #1.

   • Iron Man recognizes Steel Guardian as the former Red Guardian, noting that the identity has been Russia’s answer to Captain America since World War II. At the time of this story, Steel Guardian is Josef Petkus who has been the fourth known Red Guardian since Captain America #352. He success Aleksey Lebedev the Red Guardian of World War II (first seen Namor the Sub-Mariner Annual #1), Alexi Shostakov the first known Modern Age Red Guardian (first seen Avengers #43), and his direct predacessor Tania Belinskaya (first seen in Defenders #35).

   • Iron Man muses that Darkstar has gained more control of her mutant powers since the last time they met. The last time they met was during the Hulk’s pardon back in Incredible Hulk #279. The last time they fought together was in Iron Man #112, however.

   • When commenting on Powersurge, Iron Man recounts that he was simply known as Surge during their last encounter. This was in Avengers #326-328.

10. Iron Man recounts how the power source came from Victoria Snow’s company PowerSource, Inc. We learned this in Iron Man (vol. 3) #7.

Translations

• Page 13, Panel 1: Russian “Bozhe Moi” = “Dear God”