With those words in Tales of Suspense #50, the world was introduced to one of Tony Stark's most mighty foes. The Mandarin, one part mad scientist, one part mystic sage, the awesome power he posseses matches the evil in his heart. Wearing his trademark rings, cape and flowing robes (although the outfit has changed over time), he resembles a kind of ancient Chinese Master. And over time he has gone from being a master of science-- whose evil genius rivaled Stark himself --to becoming a mystical shamen intent on destroying technology. Many consider the Mandarin Tony Stark's arch nemesis and chief advisary. And although his early and later stories set up the dicotomy, episodes in between have relegated Mandy to just another villain in Iron Man's rogues' gallery; impressive, but hardly an arch-enemy.

Stark first encountered the Mandarin when he was sent by our military command to find out more about him in the heyday of the Cold War (TOS #50). Dismissed in the West as little more than a fearsome legend, U.S. Intelligence revealed that he was the greatest single power in China, back before the United States even had relations with the sleeping commie giant. In fact, even the most powerful generals in the communist government groveled in front of him in fear.

Called the smartest enemy Iron Man has ever faced, he is a master of science-- He is also described as a "savage." (And the self-described "greatest karate master the world has ever known.")

His origin, as explained in TOS #62, is as follows: A tragedy shadowed his birth, an ill-omen. His father, a direct descendant of Genghis Khan, displeased the gods by marrying beneath his station, wedding a high-born English woman. When the Mandarin was born a large idol fell on his father, killing him. When his mother heard the news, she died too. As if that wasn't enough to set Mandy off on the wrong path, he was left to be raised by an aunt, who only wished to get her hands on the family fortune.

A bitter woman, she taught him to hate the world as she did. Every bit of gold he had inherited was spent to teach him the sciences of the world, the arts of warfare and the subtle crafts of villainy-- But soon the money was gone. When they could not pay their taxes, they were kicked out of their palace and off of their land. Though poor, this fallen prince did not starve because he had a destiny to fulfill. When his aunt finally died, the Mandarin spent "not one second mourning her." Truly, the blood of Khan flowed in his veins. One day he entered the long forbidden Valley of Spirits. Seeing a glow in the distance, he went closer, coming soon upon the remains of a long dead dragon. Startled, he fell into a ravene. There he uncovered the glistening metal shape of a spaceship.

Probbing every secret of the downed ship, which had been there for many years, the Mandarin lost track of time. Soon he found a special helmet that contained the mental log of Axonn-Karr, the dragon pilot from the planet Maklu-4. From the log, Mandy discovered that the ship was powered by 10 rings, whose gems contain unlimited energy. He spent years outfitting a deserted castle within the Valley of the Spirits, studying and mastering the alien science. But donning those rings, one for each finger, Mandarin became the awesome force known today.

In some of his earlier Vol. I clashes with Iron Man, Mandarin had a faithful assistant Mei Ling. (In Iron Man #'s 10-11 we learned that Mei Ling was betrothed to him since childhood. She was totally in love and devoted to him, assisting him in his evil schemes even though he seemed to keep her at a distance. Mei Ling died by Mandarin's own hand, saving Janice Cord from a terrible ring blast [because she saw that Janice and Tony were really in love, as a opposed to the cold relationship she had with ol' Mandy.])

The Mandarin has long suspected that Tony Stark is Iron Man. He has even unmasked Shellhead twice. The first time occurred after Mandy used a Hulk robot to prove that Stark was IM, only to be tripped up by a mask and the Stark Life Model Decoy when he finally unmasked IM (issues 9-11). The second unmasking of Tony Stark by the Mandarin came in issue #311, although he lost this info in the end.

In Iron Man #70, Mandy was killed by Yellow Claw and his rings were taken by Loc Do, Yellow Claw's servant. But the Mandarin couldn't be kept down. He returned in #98 to set up the big 100th issue. So how did he cheat death? In the moment before his death, ol' Mandy transferred his mind-force to his rings. When the greedy Loc Do put the rings on, the rings were activated and Mandarin's intellect was freed--free to take over Loc Do's body--and the true Mandarin returned, reborn. (According to the Marvel Handbook, Mandarin used his matter rearranging ring to transform Loc Do's body into a duplicate of his original one--albeit one that was younger and stronger.)

The Mandarin returned in 241–242 as a Hong Kong businessman named Zhang Tong, a man with a stranglehold on the local business community. He fought Iron Man for the right of SE to do business in Hong Kong—he was so sinister, he even chiseled Tony out of most of the video rights to their battle (70/30 split).

But why had the Mandarin changed? Why had the fiendish scientist adopted a new M.O.? Li Fong, a lifelong servant explained: While working to extend the range of his Mento-Intensifier ring, there was an explosion. The Mandarin was left unconscious, virtually comatose. Defenseless, he was now at the mercy of his foes. When the Chinese government came for him, Li Fong secreted him away. They took refuge with the Shan-Tun monks.

After being in the monastery for a time, the Mandarin finally awoke. But his mind was . . . smudged. He remembered how to use the rings, but little else. After learning from the monks, meditating, Mandy came to believe that he had gotten the rings from his ancestors—not aliens. Now more mystical, he came to believe that it was his duty to raise China up to be the ruling country of the world.

Some of the monks became warriors for his new cause, taking the mysterious name the Hand. Mandarin controlled them with his rings, and they became extensions of his will. Soon, he became involved in business and crime. He quickly came to control the most powerful crime and business cartel in Hong Kong.

In the run-up to the second Armor War, in IM #260, the Mandarin had his mind opened by the old wizard Chen Hsu. The old man returned Mandy to China, trained him in ancient ways, and helped him realize his potential. He also introduced him to Fin Fang Foom, who helped Mandy get control of one-third of China in #264.

Now the Mandarin finally and fully attained the full potential of the rings in “The Dragon Seed Saga” (IM 270–275). He became embroiled with Fin Fang Foom and his dragon brethren, who wanted the rings back. In the end, he had to team with Iron Man to defeat the ten alien dragons. The full power of the rings was channeled through the Iron Man armor into one massive blast, which saw the end of the dragons. Mandarin’s hands and rings were lost to the four winds in the same terrible explosion.

During this story arc, Mandarin becomes a true devotee of magic. A real mystic, he rejected technology, becoming Iron Man’s true opposite. And with the Heart of Darkness he enveloped China in an anti-technology field that also transformed the country, returning it to simpler times as the vestiges of the modern world disappeared (mighty seaports became medieval fishing villages, etc.).

With this dark magic, Mandarin planned to plunge the entire world into darkness, cleansing it of decadent technology with a new Dark Age. Embracing his ancestral ties to Genghis Khan, Mandarin sought to reestablish the old kingdom, the empire of Cathay, with him as the last emperor of earth.

The Mandarin had been somehow transformed after the dragon explosion. He was now a nexus, a focal point, for malignancy. And with the orb, the only way to beat him was to change him. Iron Man infected him with a modified strain of the very techo-organic virus that almost killed him. It aged Mandy, but more, it infected him with science, making him unclean before the god of the orb, which rejected him. After a spectacular explosion, he was transformed into a lowly janitor at SE's Hong Kong facility.

Other Notable Achievements: He found Ultimo and unleashed him on the world after a quick reprogram, and had a certain Vietnamese Warlord in his employ around the time of Tales of Suspense #39 (making him ultimately responsible for Iron Man's creation).

It was recently revealed in Volume III, issue #53, that the Mandarin had a son that he left to be raised by monks. The son, Temugin, assumed his father's role as the ringed advisary of Iron Man. The real Mandarin's fate is unknown at this time, although he is believed to be dead.

Rundown on the Rings: The Mandarin has 10 rings that are as powerful as they are fantastic. (Proof of their marvelous power is that the rings have, over time, evolved into having all sorts of abilities well beyond the 10 rings with 10 powers he originally had.)