Synopsis / Summary / Plot
Iron Man: Enter the Mandarin #2 Synopsis by
Rob Johnson
The battle between Iron Man and Mandarin commences in earnest. The Golden Avenger doesn't go down as easily as he did in their initial meeting last issue. But he is still outclassed by the power of his foe's rings.
Tony Stark was sent by SHIELD to find out how dangerous Mandarin is. Now he knows. Battered and almost out of power, Iron Man just manages to escape and fly home. Mandarin decides that IM isn't the real foe. In the West it is money that is power, so it is Shellhead's employer Stark who must be the real target.
Next day Tony and his armour are treated by an automatic repair system he has installed in a private building at Stark Industries HQ. When he resurfaces, his secretary Pepper Potts finds Tony covered in sticking plasters. He blames it on an accident during an experiment.
Mandarin's agent Mr Miyagi approaches Ebenezer Laughton in a Greenwich Village theatre. Laughton was a small-time crook, and is now making his money as a contortionist. Miyagi gives him a costume and invites him to try industrial espionage as the Scarecrow.
In his office Stark is trying to work, but he's still weak from his injuries. When Veronica Vogue from last issue wants to see him, he tells Pepper to fob her off. Which Pepper is only too happy to do.
Chauffeur and right-hand man Happy Hogan tries to get Tony to see a doctor. But Stark notices that someone has broken into his database. They find Scarecrow, and he and his flock of crows attack Happy, as Tony staggers to where he keeps the Iron Man armour. With the armour still mostly non-functional, Shellhead confronts Scarecrow.