“Yesterday’s” Comic> Iron Man vol. 3 #9

I guess Iron Man 4 is out of the question after all.

Iron Man volume 3 #9

Marvel Comics (October, 1998)

“Revenge Of The Mandarin” part1: “Field Of Honor”

WRITER: Kurt Busiek

PENCILER: Sean Chen

INKERS: Eric Cannon & Sean Parsons

COLORIST: Steve Oliff

LETTERER: Dave Lanphear

EDITOR: Bobbie Chase

When we last left Tony he was dead, which is becoming a bad habit on his part. Natasha manages to shock Tony’s heart with her stingers and despite his injuries he insists on getting his armor back so he can go after the Mandarin. She calls the Avengers after calling Pepper and Happy, who themselves called Rhodey to de-bug the office. During his trip Iron Man sees the October Guard fighting off the Mandarin’s forces before coming upon his flying dragon-like fortress, the Dragon Of Heaven. It moves just like a Chinese dragon and captures Iron Man, while the Mandarin does even more damage to Tony’s already injured body.

What they got right: I rather like the design of the Dragon Of Heaven. The thing is armed, fights like a Chinese dragon, and just looks really cool, also a testament to the art team. The fight with the ship is cool while the fight with the Mandarin is understandably short given Tony’s condition and how close it is to the end of the issue.

What they got wrong: I honestly don’t have any.

Recommendation: Part one was really good, as shown by the lack of negative comments on my part. Hopefully part two will be just as good. Give this part a read anway.