The Hands of the Mandarin!

The Mandarin views Iron Man through his all-seeing crystal globe and vows that, even though they have never met, he will destroy Iron Man. The Mandarin is interrupted by one of his minions who tell him that representatives of the Chinese government have come to see him. The Mandarin uses one of his power rings to summon the men from the government. Their leader is a man named General Ho Lee, who asks for the Mandarin to share his secrets with the Chinese government. The Mandarin is furious that they would dare ask and gives them sixty seconds to leave his sight with their lives.

Meanwhile, in the United States, Iron Man meets with members of the Pentagon. They are discussing the threat posed by the Mandarin. Iron Man agrees to sneak into China and deal with this new threat. First, he returns to Stark Industries, where he changes back into Tony Stark. He has to cancel an employee's dinner and when he passes this news to Bill, the head organizer, Bill is upset and figures Stark doesn’t want to waste his time on his employees. Happy punches Bill out for insulting their boss, leading to Tony scolding Happy, as he won’t allow his employees to be dealt with violently for speaking their mind. In the middle of all of this, Pepper is upset that nobody has noticed she changed her hair or make-up.

Hours later, Iron Man is smuggled into China aboard an unmarked Jet. Bailing out, Iron Man drops out near the Mandarin’s castle. There a number of Chinese soldiers try to ambush him but he easily defeats them in battle. Checking his power levels, Iron Man is surprised to see that they are dropping fast and suspects there might be a short circuit somewhere in his armor. As he flies toward the Mandarin’s castle, Iron Man is pulled into the building by a magnetic device. Iron Man breaks through various traps laid out by the Mandarin. However, when he faces the Mandarin one-on-one, Iron Man is not prepared for the various powers contained in each of the Mandarin’s 10 rings. Ultimately, the armored Avenger is incapacitated by a blast from the Mandarin’s paralysis ray.

Meanwhile, back home, Pepper is upset that Tony Stark will not be attending the employees’ dinner. However, she refuses to go without a date and reluctantly calls Happy Hogan to ask him to go with her. Happy can hardly believe it, but is happy to go with her.

Back at the Mandarin’s palace, Iron Man breaks free from the paralysis ray in record time. The Mandarin is impressed but still intends to eliminate his foe. Electrifying the walls of the room, the Mandarin intends on destroying Iron Man using his martial arts skills. Iron Man evades the Mandarin’s attacks sluggishly until he realizes that the Mandarin tampered with his armor to give the villain the advantage. When the Mandarin prepares to make his next blow, Iron Man uses his on-board computers to determine the best way to counter it. Having his blow blocked is so painful that the Mandarin blacks out.

With the military plane coming back to pick him up in moments, Iron Man has no choice but to leave the battle in order to get out of China. Tony Stark manages to make it back in time to attend the company lunch after all. When Happy and Pepper invites him to their table both see the grim look on Tony’s face and interpret it differently. Pepper thinks that Tony is sad because Happy asked her out, while Happy thinks Tony is angry because he is on a date with Pepper. They are both wrong, as Tony’s thoughts are focused on the Mandarin, and when this new menace will strike again.[1]

Recurring Characters

Iron Man, Mandarin, Happy Hogan, Pepper Potts

Continuity Notes

1. Iron Man and the Mandarin’s first battle is expanded upon in Iron Man: Enter the Mandarin #1-2.

Topical References

• There are a number of dated Cold War-era references in this story: Primarily characters referring the Chinese government as “The Reds”.

Journey’s End

The Watcher tells the tale of Wilbur Weems, a space pilot that lives in the distant 21st Century. Weems was incredibly timid and this made him the subject of ridicule from his peers. One day, a strange radioactive cloud appeared in space. A pilot was needed to be sent to examine it, but the mission was sure to be a dangerous one. Nobody would step up to do the mission except Wilbur Weems, who figured that someone had to fly the mission and he had the least to lose.

Weems flew out to the radiation cloud and as he piloted his ship through it, the radiation caused his body to change it to that of physical perfection. Low on fuel, he then landed in a world full of perfect people who welcomed him with open arms. He is told that the radioactive cloud was a test made by the humanoids who live on this world. They want Earthlings to live among them, but only the bravest, and Wilbur Weems passed their test. Meanwhile, back on Earth, those who sent Weems on his mission have concluded that Weems died in space and write him off, as usual, unaware of the utopia he has just joined.

The Watcher concludes his tale by saying that no matter what you do in the universe, you are never truly alone.

Recurring Characters

Watcher