War Machine #10
Hands of the Mandarin Part 5: The Last Emperor
This story continues from Force Works #7….
The Mandarin has used the Heart of Darkness to revert mainland China back to its feudal past. On top of this, he has stolen Century’s Parallax staff which has boosted his powers. Force Works has tried to stop him, but they so far have been no threat to his plans and leaves them behind as he makes his way to Hong Kong to repeat the process there.
Now an army of Chinese soldiers is coming on the horizon, prompting Force Works and Tony Stark to brace for another battle. However, this turns out to be the calvary as the soldiers are being led by War Machine and Century. Tony is happy to see that Jim Rhodes is still alive.[1] Tony is also surprised to see his one-time love Su Yin is with them.[2] They also meet with the leader of the army, a man named Chu Lo Yan, who is eager to defeat the Mandarin as well.
Tony Stark still believes that the key to victory is using technology and suggests that they go back to the Stark Enterprise branch in Hong Kong to devise something to destroy the anti-technology field that has stymied them this entire time. Chu Lo Yan wants to take the fight directly to the Mandarin, prompting War Machine to explain to Tony that Chu Lo claims to be a descendant of Pu Yi, the last emperor of China. Jim then reminds Chu Lo that they are working to remove a dictator, not replace him. Lo takes this as an insult and soon he and War Machine start brawling. Tony calls out to everyone to stop fighting as this is exactly how the Mandarin will win.
Meanwhile, in Hong Kong, the Mandarin and his Avatars have arrived. He sends his minions to terrorize the city while he uses the power of the Parallax to erect a massive fortress in the middle of the city.
Back on mainland China, Force Works manages to drive off Cho Lu Yan and those loyal to, but not before Century is struck with another abrupt and brief change in personality. With the army in retreat, Tony tells the others not to follow since the Mandarin is their main goal. Taking to horseback, Tony leads Force Works and the remaining army onward toward Hong Kong. Along the way, Tony and Jim take the opportunity to finally bury the hatchet and give their friendship a second chance.[3] The Scarlet Witch also takes this opportunity to check on Century, who doesn’t understand why he has been having these strange episodes. He explains that they started when the Mandarin took Parallax away from him.[4] Wanda tells her alien companion not to worry as everyone in Force Works will help him through his current time of need, even US Agent, who now knows the Century isn’t a coward.[5]
Later, the Mandarin has brought the city of Hong Kong to its knees and has his Avatars force the locals to pay homage to him. At the same time, Force Works arrive and fight their way to the Stark Enterprise building. There they find Stark employee Suzie Endo, who has been injured during the Avatar’s first attack on the city. Despite this, she agrees to work with Tony Stark and Sun Yin to devise a way to counteract the Mandarin’s anti-technology field. Once they get to a computer with internet access, Tony contacts PLATO at Force Works headquarters and orders him to send a special package. The package arrives in the form of a suborbital transmodule that rockets the needed equipment from California in mere moments. Tony then gets to work rebuilding his Iron Man armor.
By this point, the people of Hong Kong refuse to bow to the Mandarin and reject his offer to regress their society back thousands of years. This angers the Mandarin who begins channeling the power of the Parallax through his ten magic rings transforming himself into a massive energy form.
With his Iron Man armor complete, Tony and the rest of the Force Works race outside to face the Mandarin. They are stopped dead in their tracks when they witness the massive energy form of their enemy begin laying waste to the city.
… This story continues in Iron Man #312.
Recurring Characters
War Machine, Force Works (Iron Man, Scarlet Witch, US Agent, Spider-Woman, Century), Mandarin, Avatars (Butterfly, Sickle, Deluge, Q’Wake, Foundry), Su Yin, Suzie Endo, Chu Lo Yan
Continuity Notes
Iron Man and War Machine were kidnapped by the Mandarin in Iron Man #310. They were separated in Force Works #6 when Century attempted to rescue them. However, he only managed to save War Machine.
Tony met and fell in love with Su Yin during a previous visit to China. At the time, Stark needed a cure for his deteriorating central nervous system. Su Yin couldn’t cure him but strung him along because the Chinese government needed the services of Iron Man at the time. Although they were attracted to each other, Su Yin was devoted to her disabled husband and things didn’t go anywhere. See Iron Man #270-274.
When Tony Stark faked his death in Iron Man #284 he kept it a secret from everyone, including Jim. Rhodes was left to run Stark Enterprises and take over as Iron Man until Tony revealed he was still alive in issue #289. This angered Jim enough that he quit and went solo for a time.
The Mandarin stole Parallax in Force Works #6. In Century: Distant Son #1 it is explained that Century is a composite being created by the Hodomurians. He is composed of the minds of his species greatest survivors of the past 100 years. A side effect of this is that if he is separated from Parallax these personalities begin gaining independence causing him to suffer a kind of multiple personality disorder as a result.
Topical References
In this story, Chu Lo Yan claims to be the grandson of Pu Yi, the last Chinese emperor. This direct relationship should be considered topical due to the Sliding Timescale. Modern readers can assume that Chu Lo Yan is claiming to be a descendant of Pu Yi, as opposed to a direct familial relation.
US Agent refers to Chu Lo Yan as a “two-bit Fu Manchu”. Fu Manchu was the recurring villain in a series of stories written by Sax Rohmer between 1912 and 1959. While this is a fictional character, a version of him exists in the Marvel Universe and as such this wouldn’t necessarily be considered a topical reference.
Hands of the Mandarin Reading Order
Force Works #6, Marvel Comics Presents #169-171, War Machine #9, Iron Man #311, Marvel Comics Presents #172, Force Works #7, War Machine #10, Iron Man #312