Iron Man (vol. 3) #32
The Sons of Yinsen, Part 2: Gods & Monsters
Iron Man has finally caught up with the Sons of Yinsen. They are a secret society and religious order that worships the work of Ho Yinsen, the man who gave his life so Iron Man could live. They have come out of hiding because they have discovered that Wong-Chu, the man who imprisoned Tony and Ho Yinsen all those years ago is still alive.[1] Little do they know that Wong-Chu knows they are coming and is ready for them.
Learning all of this is a lot to take in all at once. He is surprised to hear that Ho Yinsen was developing the armor technology that created the first Iron Man suit before they even met. Sun Tao, the leader of the Sons of Yinsen, corrects him saying that Yinsen wrote his journals after Tony escaped from Wong-Chu. As it turned, the elderly scientist didn’t die from his gunshot wounds right away. He lived long enough for Sun Tao to find him and collect his journals. These journals contained all of Ho Yinsen’s knowledge and is now considered a religious text by his followers. It was through this journal that the Sons of Yinsen built their armor and flying city. However, this isn’t the only thing they created, they have also built a hidden city they have named New Timbetpal, named after the home land of Ho Yinsen.
Stark is completely blown away by the highly advanced city, he is even more speechless when the people throw a huge welcoming celebration. They treat Tony with reverence because they see him as the chosen on of the man they view as a god. However, there are signs that this apparent utopia might not be so perfect. When Tony tries talking to a young girl, Sun Tao tells her that she will not answer him back because she is under a vow of silence. When Stark asks if that is a bit extreme, Sun Tao defense it as their way. He then takes Tony out to see the armies of New Timbetpal and they all bow to him with the same reverence as the peasants. Tony thinks this is too much and insists that he isn’t that big of a deal. Sun Tao disagrees, saying that — to his people — he is. That’s when Tony realizes that he should have called Rumiko, who he figures is probably waiting by the phone.
Tony would lose that bet, instead Rumiko is out clubbing with her best friend Solomon. He is surprised by the complete change in Ru’s mood since the last time he saw her. When he asks why she isn’t at home waiting for Tony to call, she explains that while they have made it, it’s time for him to wait on her for a change.[2] Rumiko dances the night away and eventually gets home in the wee hours of the morning. Once in her apartment, she drops her front and rushes to the phone to check for messages. She is disappointed when there are none from Tony Stark.
This is because Tony Stark is busy working with the Sons of Yinsen on a plan to take down Wong-Chu. Learning how Wong-Chu survived an explosion, Tony admits that he could have done a better job at making sure he was dead. Sun Tao tells Tony not to blame himself, as Wong-Chu has managed to elude them for years. They pull up a picture of Wong-Chu today. Although it is of poor quality, what’s clear is that he has put on an unhealthy amount of weight. He has created his own domain in the most desolate region of Southeast Asian jungles. There he makes a living off human misery by dealing in drugs, weapons, and the sale of children. The people who live in that region have suffered greatly as a result. Sun Tao wants to mete out justice, as the Sons of Yinsen intend to capture Wong-Chu and turn him over to the International War Crimes Tribunal to pay for his crimes. Pulling up satellite photos of Wong-Chu’s fortress, they then begin planning their invasion.
Soon the invasion is on, with Iron Man joining the Sons of Yinsen in battle. Tony is taken aback by how they have combined martial arts with Iron Man technology. Having personalized cloaking devices also give them the ability to be unseen until it is too late. As they fight their way through Wong-Chu’s forces, Iron Man saves the life of a little girl. He is shocked to see that she has a tattoo on her face, a mark that all of Wong-Chu’s slaves carriers. This horrifies him and when the little girl gives him her stuffed animal, Iron Man carries it into battle. They push their way into the throne room of Wong-Chu.
Sitting in a throne made of bones, Wong-Chu finds the invasion of his domain amusing. He orders them all to surrender, threatening to kill a bunch of innocent villagers if they don’t. While Sun Tao tells his followers not to listen, Tony doesn’t want blood on his hands. He strips off his armor and surrenders. Since he is the “chosen one”, the rest of the Sons of Yinsen follow. Wong-Chu is unsurprised to discover that Tony Stark is secretly Iron Man, since he always suspected. He then has his men execute the villagers anyway.
With his enemies all at his mercy, Wong-Chu tells Tony that the Sons of Yinsen haven’t been fully honest with him. What they didn’t tell him is that Ho Yinsen is still alive and he too is a prisoner of Wong-Chu.
Recurring Characters
Iron Man, Wong-Chu, the Sons of Yinsen (Sun Tao), (in flashback) Ho Yinsen
Continuity Notes
While on overseas for a military contract, Tony Stark was caught in an explosion and taken prisoner by Wong-Chu. The terrorist forced Tony and Yinsen to build weapons for him. Instead, the built the first suit of Iron Man armor. Yinsen seemingly died giving Tony time to charge up his new armor and Wong-Chu seemingly perished in an explosion fighting Iron Man. All this happened back in Tales of Suspense #39. Tony first encountered the Sons of Yinsen in Iron Man (vol. 3) #½ and learned that both Wong-Chu and Ho Yinsen survived last issue. How isn’t explained until Iron Man Annual 2000.
Tony and Rumiko have been having trouble since Iron Man (vol. 3) #26 because Tony couldn’t bring himself to express his feelings for her. That all changed last issue when he finally opened up and admitted that he was in love with her.
Tony figures that his earlier attempt at erase all knowledge of Iron Man’s secret identity didn’t work on Wong-Chu. He seems to forget that those who discover it again also remember that they used to know it as well. See Iron Man Annual 1998 for more.
Topical References
At the night club, Rumiko is dancing to “The Thong Song” by Sisqo. That song was at the height of its popularity at the time this story was published. It’s use here should be considered topical.
When Solomon jokes about the sudden change in attitude, she calls him “The Big Apple’s answer to George Went”. George Went is a comedian who was best known for his role as Norm on the sitcom Cheers which ran from 1982 to 1993. He was still fairly well known at the time of this writing. This should be considered a topical reference as you could substitute Went with a more contemporary comedian.
Rumiko is depicted as having a phone with a built in answering machine. This technology has been rendered obsolete by voice mail and as such, it’s depiction here should be considered topical.
When comparing the martial arts skills of the Sons of Yinsen, Tony remarks that they could put Jackie Chan to shame. Chan is an actor best known for his martial arts skills. Chan was experiencing an explosion in ppularity in the United States around the time this comic was originally published. The reference here should be considered topical as one could easily replace his name with a more contemporary martial artist.
Tony figures that Wong-Chu didn’t need to be Columbo to figure out Tony’s secret identity. Columbo started as crime drama that ran for seven seasons from 1968 to 1978. It has had two revival seasons in 1989 and 1990, followed but a number of made-for-TV movies between 1990 and 2003. Using the phrase “Columbo” was used as short hand for a brilliant detective much in the same way one does when referring to Sherlock Holms. That said, this should be considered a topical reference as this is a reference that could be replaced with a more contemporary analogue.
