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Tales of Suspense
#50 is an important issue in the
history of Iron Man, in that
this comic book featured the first
appearance of The Mandarin. This
villain is considered one of Iron Man's
key foes. His ten power rings give him
a unique ability to battle against Iron
Man, as well as other super-powered
beings such as the Hulk. The Mandarin
is seen here as a warlord in Communist
China, but is not working with or for
the Beijing government. His background
is described as being half English, and
half Chinese. He is a master of martial
arts. Featured
Characters in this Tales of Suspense
Iron Man Story: Supporting
Characters: Pepper
Potts Villains: General Ho
Lee (1st Appearance)--Chinese
Communist general Iron
Man 3 Trailer Featuring Ben Kingsley
as The
Mandarin Story
Summary: “Caught in the Clutches
of the Hands of The
Mandarin”: The story opens in
the Mandarin's mountain fortress, where
he is holding audience with General Ho
Lee, representing the government of
Communist China. Lee is asking Mandarin
to share his knowledge and power with
the government, but the Mandarin
rebuffs Lee. This shows that while the
Mandarin is in Red China, he is not to
be considered a pawn of the Communists,
(as Radioactive Man, Crimson Dynamo,
and Titanium Man are). Meanwhile, in
America, the U.S. military asks Iron
Man to go to China to confront the
Mandarin. In order to accept
this assignment, Iron Man's alter ego,
Tony Stark, must forego his scheduled
appearance at a Stark employee dinner.
This causes Pepper Potts to go to the
dinner with Happy Hogan, causing Happy
to think he stands a chance with
Pepper. Iron Man is dropped
into China by the U.S. military, and he
fights his way past guards into the
Mandarin's castle. Overcoming various
death traps along the way, Iron Man
encounters the Mandarin, only to be
defeated by his foe's ten power rings.
Iron Man escapes by tricking the
Mandarin into attacking by hand,
employing his martial arts skills.
Mandarin damages his hand on Iron Man's
armor, allowing the Golden Avenger to
escape and return home to America, just
in time to attend the Stark employee
dinner. This would be the
first of many Mandarin vs. Iron Man
battles. The next encounter would be in
Tales of Suspense #54-55. "The
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