In a remote area of China, the powerful potentate known as the Mandarin receives a delegation of officers from the Red Army at his castle stronghold. The frightened officials humbly request the Mandarin to share his knowledge of atomic power with the government; the arrogant autocrat refuses to serve any agenda but his own and drives the officials out from his presence.
In America, the US military asks Iron Man to investigate the Mandarin to determine whether he is a threat to national security. Heading off on his mission Shellhead stops by the lab as Tony Stark to put some business in order. He first must beg off as guest of honor at an employee dinner, asking Happy to go in his place. This offends the staff rep Bill who criticizes Tony for his supposed arrogance. Happy punches Bill and is rebuked by Tony, who encourages honesty among his employees. Then Pepper Potts loses her temper at the two men who haven’t noticed her new glamorous makeover (since it’s all about her). With this out of the way…
An unmarked jet drops Iron Man over Red China; Shellhead drops to the ground so that any observers will believe his parachute failed to open and he was killed. He soon locates the Mandarin’s castle and, after disposing of some guards, flies over the wall. The Mandarin observes him on a viewscreen and uses a massive magnet to trap the hero and drop him into a chamber of doom. Iron Man escapes by crashing through a vent and uses his ultra-beam to fend off the villain’s paralysis ray. But the Mandarin has ten power rings and nullifies the hero’s sonic blasts and hurls it back, quickly following up with a paralyzer ray to overcome Iron Man. The two then engage in a martial arts battle in an electrified chamber. The Mandarin is a master of karate but Iron Man uses his built-in slide rule to calculate the perfect countermove which causes the villain to collapse in pain when he lands a blow on the hero. He then makes his getaway back to the States where he has time to attend the employees’ party. Pepper, miffed at having to attend escorted by Happy, now worries that Tony will think they are a couple and avoid dating her. Because it’s still all about her. Meanwhile, Tony is worried about the Mandarin….
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