The Double-Death Threat!

While it's true that you can't thumb through your stack of old Iron Man comics without coming across at least a half dozen Iron Man vs. the Mandarin issues, do you still recoil with a start when you come across the issue where the Mandarin once battled his armored nemesis TOPLESS?

Yikes! That probably triggered the evacuation alarm at Stark Industries automatically!

It was in a two-part 1973 story where the Mandarin bared (thank God not) all--but why? What made this battle the one where the Mandarin went all Fabio on us?

For the answer, we have to backpeddle a bit and find out just what drove these two to clash again. It turns out the Mandarin, under the alias "Gene Khan," is instigating unrest with Stark Industries workers by having his men hand out leaflets to them that accuse Stark of sharing his research with communist countries--which is actually the truth, though Khan's message is phrased in such a way that it makes it seem that Stark is doing so covertly.

The telltale sign of Khan's distinctive rings no doubt identifies the Mandarin as our man in the shadows--but what's his game this time? It seems his master plan boils down to deceiving American workers into striking--surely, as the Mandarin admits, a more subtle endeavor for a super-villain whose ambition once extended to nothing less than immediate global domination.  It's also surprising to see him willing to exercise the amount of patience needed to see this through nationwide, given that he'll need to tailor this deception to every single factory in the U.S. that he considers crucial--after all, Stark may be one of only a few who can be accused of sharing information with communist nations.

But as we can see, someone has been eavesdropping during Khan's little rant, and his name is:

Iron Man of course handles the Mandarin's hired muscle easily enough--but now it's time for the main event.

CAUTION IS ADVISED.

WHAT YOU'RE ABOUT TO SEE MAY BE DISTURBING TO SENSITIVE CHILDREN, COMICS COLLECTORS,
AND ANYONE WITH 20/20 VISION.

Fortunately, unlike the Mandarin, Iron Man is dependent on his armor for engaging in battle, otherwise we'd probably seem him flinging it off just to make it clear to his foe that he's not exactly chopped liver to the ladies, himself.

Seeing Iron Man and the Mandarin square off like this is just classic comics candy that's meant to be savored. Yet all things are not equal here: Unknown to Iron Man, the Mandarin is wearing an alien headband, retrieved from the same ship where he first discovered his rings, which magnifies the rings' power--though it also has another deadly function, which Iron Man will soon find out the hard way.

For the time being, however, Iron Man battles on--against a very determined, very powerful archenemy.

Even with his might amplified, however, the Mandarin feels that he and Iron Man have reached a stalemate. But Iron Man discovers that the headband isn't the Mandarin's only edge in this fight, when it's used to summon another deadly foe of the golden Avenger who will add his own considerable power to the fray, putting the odds at 2-1 against our hero and bringing us to Part 2 of this knock-down drag-out.

While George Tuska continues as artist, the writing reins are passed from Steve Gerber (who scripted Part 1) to Mike Friedrich, who continues with Gerber's plot. The battle itself transitions smoothly between issues, with Tuska having the Mandarin waste no time in putting the Unicorn to good use.

The Unicorn has the misfortune of having one of the more uninspired names given to a super-villain, all because his power beam emitter protrudes from his forehead. Yet aside from the unicorn insignia on his chest, it's a fair bet that no one has ever associated this man with a unicorn, given the favorable and docile image we have of those beasts.  But the now-mute Unicorn seems to be in that state now--rendering him easily controlled by the Mandarin, with good reason.

As for Iron Man, his life in immediate danger due to the damage to his chestplate, he's escaped the "double-death" threat of the Mandarin and the Unicorn for now, heading back to Stark Industries in a desperate effort to survive the attack against him. Unlike so many other times where he's faced a dilemma of this nature, however, Stark reaches his lab too late, collapsing as his suit completely runs out of power. Yet when he revives, he's surprised to discover that he's revived at all, since his chestplate was necessary to supply power to his heart's pacemaker. (I have no idea why--no one else with a pacemaker uses a chestplate as a power source.) Further investigation reveals that his heart has possibly healed--a true turning point for Stark, given his heart condition's extensive history.

While he rests up, Stark also puts a halt to an angry break-in of his offices by striking workers stirred up by one of Khan's men; and not only does Stark out Khan as the Mandarin, but, in spite of the best efforts of Khan's mole, Stark offers a satisfactory explanation to his workers that effectively defuses the situation.

Afterward, he suits up again as Iron Man to search for the Mandarin and resume their battle--which isn't long in coming.

The circumstances as to how this fight is shaping up are clear enough. Iron Man is obviously outnumbered and out-powered--while the near-mindless Unicorn isn't going to be felled by any force that Iron Man can muster. (It's unclear why that should be the case--the Unicorn may not be able to register pain, but even a mindless man can be put down for the count when he's slammed by an armored fist.)

And so the battle intensifies, with Iron Man at a definite disadvantage. But the very weapon that has given the Mandarin the power he needs against his foe will also be responsible for his forced retreat, as well as shortening his life expectancy due to a disastrous miscalculation on his part.

Thanks to the capture of Sunfire, which facilitated the transferral of the Mandarin's mind back to his own body, the Mandarin barely escaped his fate, while the Unicorn wasn't so fortunate. At any rate, as the Mandarin renews his fight with Iron Man, hopefully he's shaken off the urge to cast his tunic to the wind.  Despite Stark's encouraging heart prognosis, that sort of shock could have "relapse" written all over it!

Invincible Iron Man #s 57-58 Script: Steve Gerber / Mike Friedrich Pencils: George Tuska Inks: Mike Esposito and Frank Giacoia Letterers: Shelly Leferman / Artie Simek