Mandarin

Born circa 1920, the future Mandarin was raised by his embittered aunt following his parents’ deaths, and as an adult he used his brilliance and family wealth to attain prominence in the Kuomintang Party’s reign over China. The Communist Revolution of 1949 cost him his position and power, although the population he had once commanded still regarded him with nigh-mystic awe. After years of seeking some means of regaining greatness, he ventured into the mysterious Valley of Spirits, where he discovered the millennia-old wreckage of a starship of the reptilian Kakaranatharian, or Makluan, extraterrestrial race, and the ten mighty rings which had powered the vessel. Unaware that the Makluans themselves remained at large, posing as humans, the Mandarin spent decades mastering Makluan technology, then several years more conquering the valley’s adjacent villages and establishing a network both of citadels and of loyal followers such as Po, Yu, and Li Fong. His long-range goal was to conquer China, and then the world, which he claimed he would rule with the “wisdom and harmony” of his nobleman ancestors. During these years he fathered a son, Temujin, whom he sequestered in a remote monastery, and took the girl later known as Madam Macabre as a student; another girl, Mei-Ling, became betrothed to marry him in adulthood. He also discovered the dormant alien robot Ultimo within a volcano, and worked for years to revive him using a combination of science and magic.

In recent years, seeking assistance to master the Makluan rings’ full power, the Mandarin became the patron of the Sin-Cong revolutionary Wong Chu, who abducted the Chinese genius Ho Yinsen and American industrialist Tony Stark. However, Yinsen sacrificed his life to enable Stark to escape and overwhelm Wong Chu’s forces using his first Iron Man armor. After disciplining Wong Chu for his failure, the Mandarin had the opportunity to stop Iron Man from departing but, intrigued, allowed him to pass unhindered, little realizing the armored hero would become his most persistent nemesis.

Several months later, Iron Man visited China to investigate the Mandarin for the U.S. government. Using the rings and his own combat skills, the Mandarin nearly defeated Iron Man, who nonetheless outwitted him and escaped. Soon after, the pair again clashed when the Mandarin pulled Stark surveillance missiles from the sky to use for his own purposes, then manipulated the Chinese government into test-firing a missile which, unknown to them, was intended to trigger world war, but Iron Man defeated him both times. Affected by Doctor Doom’s Emotion Charger, the Mandarin next joined many other super-villains in attacking the Fantastic Four’s Richards-Storm wedding; later, he recruited the Swordman, whose sword he equipped with greater technological weaponry, to serve as his spy within the Avengers, but the Swordsman ultimately balked at destroying the Avengers and betrayed him.

Finally activating Ultimo, the gloating Mandarin teleported Stark to his citadel to observe the supposed triumph, but Iron Man lured the giant back into the volcano, temporarily imprisoning him. Later, Iron Man again prevented his foe from provoking world war with a second missile scheme. Reactivating Ultimo and rehiring the Swordsman, along with Living Laser, Power Man (later Atlas of the Thunderbolts), Enchantress, and the Executioner, the Mandarin launched an effort to empower a world-wide hate-ray, only to be foiled by the Avengers. He next mentally controlled the Hulk and used him to wreak havoc, thinking each nation would blame the other for the behemoth’s attacks, but his control was disrupted by Nick Fury and Yuri Brevlov of S.H.I.E.L.D. Undaunted, the Mandarin, now accompanied by the adult Mei-Ling, used a Hulk robot to abduct Stark’s lover Janice Cord while framing Stark himself for enemy conspiracy, but Mei-Ling, touched by Cord’s love for Stark and disillusioned by the Mandarin’s cruelty, sacrificed her life helping Iron Man defeat him. A second attempt to control the Hulk with the help of the Sandman also failed, as did efforts to foment unrest by abducting peacemaker Dr. Robert Hoskins, who was rescued by Captain America.