Book of the Ten Rings, Chapter Three

The Eastern European Ayisha Ashirov makes her way up to the North Pole for her battle to the death with Iron Man. To shield herself from the cold she wears a polar bear skin. Her trek is witnessed by a crew man aboard the Prometheus, an Arctic research vessel. As she pushes along the frozen terrain she thinks about how she was painfully truned into a cyborg by old Starktech battlesuit. Unable to end her life, she went to Tony Stark and pleaded for him to take her life. He refused, so he savagely attacked his friend, Pepper Potts, to stoke enough hatred in his heart to end her life.[1]

Iron Man has just zeroed in on her position and is rocketing to her location. Over radio, he tells Happy Hogan to go be by Pepper, who is still recovering in the hospital. Hap insists on staying, saying Pepper has been really distant with her since waking up from her coma. Tony knows that this is because Ayisha’s attack killed the baby that she and Hap were struggling to conceive, but sas nothing about this. After getting a weather update from Friday, his AI assistant, Tony cuts off communication with Happy.

Switching to infrared, and follows her footprints to where it appears she is laying down in the snow. However, it is the recently killed carcass of a polar bear laid out to lure Iron Man into an ambushed. He demands to know why she attacked Pepper, and Ayisha reiterates that she needed to push him to take her life. As they fight, Tony reveals to Ayisha that Pepper was pregnant and her attack killed the baby. The fact that it wasn’t his doesn’t matter, as it could have been his. Ayisha believes that this is all the justification he needs to end her life now.

However, the battle is cut short as a submarine raises out of the ice. From it comes Temugin, who uses the Ten Rings of Power, he knocks the two combatants out and take them prisoner.

When Tony wakes up he discovers that he has been stripped of his armor and his mechanical heart recharged. A servant tells him that he has been out for three hours and that her master would like to speak with him. In the next room, he meets with Temugin and learns that he is the son of the Mandarin and that he has inherited his father’s legacy.[2] He insists that he has to finish his father’s goals of destroying Iron Man as it is now his destiny. He intends to complete this task so he can go back to his monastery and resume his own life. When Tony refuses and tries to convince Temugin that they don’t need to fight, he insists on doing so. In order to encourage Stark to do so, he reveals Ayisha is also their prisoner and that his followers will take her apart to see what makes her tick. When Tony asks Temugin what he wants, he tells Tony that he wants Stark to give him his best fight.

Tony suits up as Iron Man and meets Temugin in a battle arena. The son of the Mandarin surprises Tony when he takes off the Ten Rings of Power. While killing Iron Man is the destiny he inherited, he will forge it his own way. As such, the young man is confident in his martial arts skills and mastery of his chi that he can defeat Iron Man in battle without them. This is no idle boast as Temugin can move so fast that Iron Man cannot get a bead on him. His blows are so powerful that the not only compromise his armor, but cause internal injuries as well.

While Iron Man is getting the shit beat out of him, Ayesha breaks free from her cryogenic suspension. She then slaughters her way through Temguin’s guards. She reaches the ammunition stores and sets off an explosion that destroys the entire Arctic base. However, Ayisha is able to save Tony from the blast. When the Prometheus passes by a second time, she tosses Tony’s unconscious body onto the ship so they can treat his injuries and bring him back to civilization.[3]

Recurring Characters

Iron Man, Pepper Potts, Happy Hogan, Friday, Ayisha Ashirov, Mandarin, Po

Continuity Notes

1. Ayisha put on the prototype suit of Stark battle armor in order to help liberate her country and seemingly perished in Iron Man (vol. 3) #50. She survived thanks to the suit keeping her alive and forcing her to rebuild her body out of scrap metal, as explained last issue.

2. At the time of this story, the Mandarin is believed to have died in Iron Man (vol. 3) #9-10. The Mandarin is believed to be dead here, but he is actually rotting away in a Chinese prison and will turn up again in Iron Man: Agent of SHIELD #15.

3. Time of this writing (March, 2023), Ayisha hasn’t been seen since this appearance. Temugin survives this encounter and will turn up again in Iron Man (vol. 3) #68.

Topical References

• The captain of the Prometheus says that he will be replenish their supply of Brittney Spears videos the next time they are at port. Brittney Spears is a pop-singer who was at the height of her popularity around the time this comic was published. That they needed physical music videos speaks to the era in which this comic was published when wireless internet was non-existent, especially at sea. This whole missive should be considered topical.

• At the start of his fight, Tony figures he’ll be like Mike Tyson fighting Tinkerbell. Mike Tyson is (time of this writing) still considered a greatest heavyweight champion of the world. Is professional career was from 1985 to 2005. This should be considered a topical reference as more contemporary examples could be used in his place. Tinkerbell is a fairy from the 1904 play Peter Pan, its 1911 novelization, and popularized by an animated Disney film that was made in 1953. Since this a character that exists in classic literature, not to mention that Marvel is now owned by Disney, this wouldn’t be considered a topical reference.

Supplementary Material

• This issue features pin-ups of the following:

  • Iron Man by George Tuska

  • Iron Man and a rogues gallery that includes the Beetle, Blizzard, Doctor Doom, Blacklash, Mandarin, Justin Hammer, the Controller, the Ghost, and the Crimson Dynamo by Bob Layton

  • Iron Man and his current supporting cast and recent foes including Rumiko Fujikawa, Pepper Potts, Happy Hogan, Warbird, War Machine, Whiplash, and the Mandarin by Sean Chen.

Out of the Bottle

Following his ordeal with Temugin, Tony Stark thinks about a happier life where he and Pepper Potts have a child together. Soon, the SS Prometheus arrives in New York City. The crew of the ship have managed to get Iron Man’s armor in working order. Suiting up, Iron Man flies the rest of the way to shore.

Tony has been missing for two weeks and Happy Hogan is freaking out since the media thought Tony was dead and the stock price was plummeting. Tony learns that Pepper has been released from the hospital, but Happy is aware that there is something wrong that she is not telling him about. Tony remains silent, as it is not his place to tell Hap that Pepper lost their baby. Tony heads to a press conference to talk about his company’s plummeting stock. He is surprised when Rumiko Fujikawa shows up to listen.[1]

Tony tells the press that his absence is due to the fact that he injured himself slipping in the bathtub while on vacation. He spent the entire time recovering in the hospital. When asked what he plans on doing to get his company back on track, he tells them the media that a he will be making an announcement shortly. At the after party, Rumiko confronts Tony about the lame excuse that he gave the media. She knows better and its secrets like this that drove them apart. When he points out that she was the one who cheated on him with Tiberius Stone. He tells her to go back to him and tell him to call off his dogs.[2] Rumiko realizes that Tony implied that she was a bitch. She says its Tony’s fault because he continues to build walls between them. When he doesn’t open up to her, she begins to cry and storms off. The reporters are hungry to get a scoop on Tony’s big announcement. When Happy asks what the announcement is, Tony admits that he hasn’t figured that part out yet.

That’s when two situations occur on the street below. A young boy has lost his puppy up the street from a bank robbery in process. As the thieves try to escape in their getaway car they are about to run over the puppy. Without a second thought, Tony leaps off the balcony — his Iron Man armor forming around him — and rescues the dog and stops the robbers. This, all in full view of the public and the media.[3] This is also seen by Rumiko Fujikawa who is furious that Tony revealed his biggest secret just to save a dog. Tony corrects her, pointing to the little boy who has been reunited with his beloved pet. Tony says he did it for him. Rumiko is about to call him a son of a bitch when they are suddenly swarmed by the media who have a million questions for Tony Stark.

Later that day, Tony visits Pepper Potts who has been recuperating at his beach house. When she remarks how the media was having a field day about Tony revealing his double-identity. Tony admits to her that he should have done it a long time ago. He then asks her about telling Happy about their child. Pepper doesn’t intend to tell him, as they have had a very difficult time having a child.[4] Pepper now no longer wants to even try again and decides that Happy doesn’t need to know, to protect his feelings. As they walk away, Pepper asks Tony where he’s been this whole time.

Recurring Characters

Iron Man, Rumiko Fujikawa, Happy Hogan, Pepper Potts

Continuity Notes

1. Tony and Rumiko have been dating recently nearly since they met in Iron Man (vol. 3) #4. They have been on the outs since issue #37. This was due to Tony always being away as Iron Man. Due to Tony’s secret identity, he couldn’t give her a satisfying excuse so she dumped him.

2. Rumiko cheated on Tony with his old chum Tiberius Stone. This was all part of Stone’s attempt to ruin Tony’s life and business. See Iron Man (vol. 3) #37-40.

3. While Tony has revealed his identity to the public here, he will “put the genie back in the bottle” so to speak, in Iron Man (vol. 3) #89. He convinces the world that he is retiring as Iron Man and someone else will take over the role. This will only last until Civil War #1.

4. Pepper and Happy have been trying to have a kid since Iron Man (vol. 3) #37. Prior to this, they had adopted children Iron Man #165. They lost custody when the pair got divorced as explained in Iron Man (vol.3) #4.