They say a hero is only as good as his villains. And every good superhero has his great nemesis. Batman has the Joker. Spider-Man has Green Goblin. Wolverine has non-alcoholic beer. And Iron Man has the Mandarin. More than anyone else in the Marvel Universe, Mandarin opposes everything Tony Stark stands for. Whereas Tony Stark wears the most technologically advanced battle-suit on the planet, the Mandarin wields ten rings of amazing magical power. Their rivalry is one of mysticism versus science, East versus West, and destiny versus free will.
Naturally, the two characters have clashed a number of times over the decades. With Mandarin finally making his live-action debut in Iron Man 3 next month, we figured now was the perfect time to look back at the most memorable battles between Iron Man and Mandarin, ranging from the Silver Age all the way to Matt Fraction's recently concluded Invincible Iron Man.
You either die a hero or live long enough to see your origin story retold over and over again. That goes for villains too. Mandarin's origin story and first encounter with Iron Man has been retold and re-imagined several times as new writers have tackled the character. Mandarin's actual first appearance happened way back in Tales of Suspense #50, but it wasn't until issue #62 that Stan Lee really shed light on how Mandarin came to be and what made him tick.
But while those issues are interesting as early glimpses of the Mandarin, the definitive Mandarin origin can currently be found in Joe Casey and Eric Canete's mini-series Iron Man: Enter the Mandarin. As Casey did with Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes (and Marvel's Season One graphic novels are doing currently), Enter the Mandarin used a handful classic comics as a foundation but expanded and modernized the material to form a more cohesive story. Casey embraced the goofiness of the Silver Age while still managing to mold Mandarin into a more menacing and fleshed out villain. Canete's kinetic visuals also lent an extra flourish to the initial brawl between the two enemies.
A more recent effort to overhaul the Mandarin came in Matt Fraction's Invincible Iron Man Annual #1. That issue paved the way for the character's appearance in the main series. In this issue, Mandarin kidnaps a world-famous filmmaker and orders him to create the definitive film account of Mandarin's long life. The constantly changing script and increasingly outlandish scenes shed light on Mandarin's massive ego and latent resentment at his many defeats. Some readers took issue with the less than noble portrayal of this long-time villain, but it was still an interesting look at the psyche of a tyrant.
Not unlike Joker, Mandarin has a habit of cheating death and returning to plague his nemesis yet again. "Ten Rings to Rule the World" was an early example of this, as well as Mandarin's habit to lurk behind the scenes and let others wear down Tony Stark before he attempts to deliver the killing blow. This storyline saw Tony called to Washington under accusations that he was a security risk. That quickly led to him facing a gauntlet of villains, including Ultimo, the Guardsman, and even Sunfire -- the world's crankiest mutant. His ailing heart condition also returned as a plot element.
This conflict reached its climax in Iron Man #100, where Tony faced the true architect of his recent misery. Thus began a heated battle where Tony countered Mandarin's magic with his newest and most advanced suit yet. Ultimately, he was able to defeat the villain and remove his rings. But thanks to the influence of Mandarin's mind-control powers, Tony was convinced to spare his enemy's life. That was a "decision" he probably regretted down the road. But then again, why expend the effort when it clearly never works?
At Marvel, John Byrne is best known for his stints on Uncanny X-Men and Fantastic Four. But he made the rare choice to forgo the artist's table and write this Iron Man storyline with artist Paul Ryan. "The Dragon Seed Saga" picked up in the wake of Armor Wars II, with Tony suffering from a debilitating virus that's destroying his nervous system. Tony and his buddy Rhodey head to China in the hope of enlisting the aid of a doctor named Su Yin. But the Chinese government throws a wrench in the works when they issue a demand -- Tony can't receive Dr. Yin's aid unless he first defeats the Mandarin. Considering that the power-mad villain was busy seizing large portions of China's territory, we can't blame them.
This story is most notable for shedding more light on the origin of Mandarin's rings, including tying them to the same race of space dragons as Fin Fang Foom. Even with Rhodey by his side, Tony faced a losing battle as Mandarin awakened nine of these dragons. But his plans backfired when the dragons demanded their rings back. Once again, Tony saved the day by combining his Iron Man abilities with the sheer power of the rings. The Dragons were destroyed, and Mandarin lost his hands and was left comatose. Surely that was the last Iron Man would ever see of him.
Kurt Busiek might just be the most under-appreciated writer in Iron Man's history. It was Busiek who was tasked with re-launching the series for a second time after the poorly received Heroes Reborn event. He brought Tony Stark back to basics as a businessman/playboy/superhero. And Busiek wasted little time before bringing Mandarin back into the mix.
Early on in this series, Mandarin re-emerged and decided that modern capitalism was merely a different form of feudalism. He decided to prove this, not by writing a thesis, but by constructing a giant floating fortress called the Dragon of Heaven. His intention was to first conquer Russia and eventually the rest of the world. Naturally, Iron Man had other plans. The two engaged in one of their more epic battles, and in the end, Mandarin revealed that his true intention was to test Iron Man.
He wanted proof that his old nemesis was still a worthy foe. Happy that at least one of his theories was proven correct, Mandarin seemed to perish in the destruction of his fortress. But as we've established by now, that was only a temporary setback.
After sitting out the Iron Man books for a while, Mandarin cheated death again and returned in the pages of Iron Man: Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. Despite having his hands cut off and being locked in a prison cell with no food or water, Mandarin used his chi to sustain himself and prepare for his latest plot against Iron Man. But that plot didn't involve a head-on battle, at least not immediately. Instead, Mandarin fused his ten rings to his spine, returned to the world and assumed the identity of Tem Borjigin, CEO of the corporation Prometheus.
Mandarin used these resources to modify the Extremis process and convert it into a aerosol virus. His intent was to release it upon the world, killing the vast majority of the human race but evolving the survivors into a more advanced form of life.
All of this unfolded while Tony Stark was serving as Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. in the aftermath of Civil War. Mandarin manipulated Tony's life and career to keep him occupied, even managing to have his Extremis abilities shut down. The two enemies finally clashed in the series' climax, with Tony wearing an older Silver Centurion suit while mandarin was at the height of his power. Even so, Tony managed to overcome his foe (thanks to a particularly brutal move where he ripped every single ring out of Mandarin's back), and blasted Mandarin with the full arsenal of his armor and the ten rings. Mandarin seemed to have perished in the onslaught, but an autopsy revealed that his Extremis exposure had evolved him, leaving only a lifeless husk behind.
Given that this run involves both the Mandarin and Extremis directly, it's an ideal reading choice for anyone interested in the plot of Iron Man 3. Mandarin has rarely been portrayed in a more compelling light than under the hand of Daniel and Charlie Knauf. Unfortunately, the relevant trades are a little difficult to track down these days.
Mandarin is a lurking presence throughout much of Matt Fraction's Invincible Iron Man, though his role didn't become overt until he appeared at the conclusion of "Resilient." At that point readers only knew that Mandarin was back and had formed an alliance with both the Stane and Hammer families to create the most concentrated dose of Tony Stark hatred on the planet.
These villains continued to torment Tony and discredit him publicly for months, but the true scope of Mandarin's plan didn't become apparent until the final two story arcs -- "Long Way Down" and "Future." By this late point in the series, Tony was forced to give up his fancy Bleeding Edge armor and surrender himself to Mandarin. His new mission was to build a fleet of Titanomechs -- giant tripod weapons that had haunted his dreams and could serve as vessels for Mandarin's ten rings.
This conflict wrapped up in what was easily one of the biggest battles between Iron Man and Mandarin so far. Tony managed to build a makeshift new armor, unite many of his old enemies, and lay siege to Mandarin's giant war factory. The fight culminated in a three-way brawl between Tony, Ezekiel Stane, and Mandarin. Tony succeeded in destroying the mechs, but not in preventing Stane from killing Mandarin. Given his track record, though, he'll probably be alright.
Anyone interested in an epic chess match between Tony and his greatest enemy will be pleased by this story. The only caveat is that Fraction's series is really one large storyline, and fans will be better served in starting from the beginning rather than jumping in with these two arcs.
Jesse is a writer for various IGN channels. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter, or Kicksplode on MyIGN.
Source : ign[dot]com
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