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….