Invincible Iron Man #10: Review

Feb 1969

Archie Goodwin, George Tuska

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Story Name:

Once More, the Mandarin

Review & Comments

Rating:

Invincible Iron Man #10 Review by T Vernon (October 24, 2012)

Review: And the Mandarin springs his overly complicated trap (really, was a Hulk robot necessary?). Fast-paced fun, the way comics were meant to be. Interesting leap of logic: the hostilities toward his company lead Tony to conclude that someone has guessed his true identity—which doesn’t follow at all; unlike Matt Murdock and Daredevil in the “Born Again” story arc, everyone already knows that Tony and Iron Man are closely connected. And Tony has enemies too. And his response is to have Iron Man call Senator Byrd to reconsider—why not have Tony call?

Comments: Part two of a three-part story. The scene portrayed on the cover does not take place until the next issue.

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Synopsis / Summary / Plot

Invincible Iron Man #10 Synopsis by T Vernon

The Mandarin exults in his victory—by means of the Hulk robot (last issue) he has deduced that Tony Stark is Iron Man. (We also learn that the robot Hulk was his indirect revenge against Jade Jaws for wrecking his castle in HULK #8.) He then proceeds with his plan to destroy his arch-enemy. He uses his Visio-Synthesizer to fake photos of Tony meeting with Communist leaders (see how hard it was before Photoshop?) and has his assistant Mei Ling distribute them to the media. That evening, while Tony is at a posh restaurant with Janice Cord they are interrupted by reporters demanding a reaction to the “proof” that he is a traitor. The suspicion leads Senator Byrd to reluctantly cancel all of Stark’s government contracts, and without those projects, Stark Industries shuts down. As Iron Man tries to use his influence to change the Senator’s mind, he receives a call from Mei Ling to come to the antique shop to learn the truth. Shellhead heads there but is intercepted by Nick Fury and Jasper Stiwell summoning him to a meeting with the SHIELD Executive Committee. After a few blocks however, Iron Man (who wanted to lead them away from the antique shop) cuts and runs—and it’s harder to get away from Nick Fury than you would think. On the run, he heads for the deserted Cord factory to hide out for awhile and there (as Tony) he runs into Janice. Despite her misgivings, she trusts Tony and leaves. After some prep, Iron Man crashes through the skylight of the antique shop and comes face-to-face with the Mandarin. The villain uses his power rings to animate a pair of huge stone statues and set them against Iron Man. The hero easily vanquishes them then hurls himself against his foe—but it was a trap: Iron Man’s leap has brought him into range of a neutralizer beam which renders his armor powerless. Now that he has his enemy at his mercy, the Mandarin plans to blast the helmet off so he can see the face of Tony Stark as he dies….

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