During the mid 1960s, the Cold War was in full swing, and the United States feared an expansionist, aggressive “Red China.” in 1964, Marvel Comics played off of these fears by introducing a new adversary for Iron Man: The Mandarin.
The first page of Tales of Suspense #50, Mandarin’s first appearance. Published in 1964.
In Mandarin’s first appearance, from Tales of Suspense #50, he is portrayed as an egotistical and secretive Asian villain, with slanted eyes, claw-like fingers, and a Fu Manchu mustache. He is a master of martial arts, and wears a different ring on each finger, each with the power to manifest mystical energy beams. Soldiers from the “Red Chinese Army” approach Mandarin in his secret castle deep within China with a request from the Chinese government: join forces with them, and they can take over the world together. But the Mandarin refuses, and sends the soldiers away. Meanwhile, Iron Man is given a mission from the Pentagon to go to China and do reconnaissance on the Mandarin, who has been sabotaging and stealing U.S. missiles and spy planes manufactured by Tony Stark. He enters Mandarin’s castle, and the two do battle, Iron Man’s Western technology vs. Mandarin’s Oriental mysticism.
The Mandarin displays his superhuman martial arts prowess in Tales of Suspense #50.
Iron Man’s brains beat Mandarin’s brawn in Tales of Suspense #50.
Iron Man’s logic ends up defeating Mandarin’s karate, but the Mandarin proves to be a formidable adversary. The issue ends with Tony Stark “wondering when and where the powerful Oriental menace will strike again.” Indeed, the character continues to challenge Iron Man to this day. While his current design isn’t the “Fu Manchu clone” of the 1960s, he is still very much an “Asian” villain, with visual parallels to both Japanese samurai and Genghis Khan (whom the Mandarin claims as an ancestor).
The Mandarin’s modern design, from Iron Man v3 #9.
Unlike other caricatures of Asians in comics, The Mandarin is not a bumbling villain — he has always been portrayed as a very real threat, able to match the genius, technological abilities, and physical prowess of Tony Stark. And although he is a visual representation of the “mystical orient,” he is not a two-dimensional character. In Tales of Suspense #62, published in 1965, Marvel provides us with Mandarin’s backstory, some of which is re-imagined in the 2007 comic Iron Man — Enter: The Mandarin.
According to his origin stories, Mandarin is biracial. His mother was an English noblewoman and his father was a descendant of Genghis Khan, and one of the richest businessmen in China. His parents died when he was very young, leaving the young Mandarin to be raised by a bitter aunt. When he grew older, Mandarin spent every penny of the inherited family fortune on training in the sciences and martial arts. Penniless and unable to pay his taxes, the Communist Chinese government evicts Mandarin from his ancestral home. He chooses to blame the entire human race for his plight, and sullenly walks through the forbidden Valley of Spirits, where he comes across a crashed spaceship from a technologically-advanced race of aliens. Mandarin studies their technology and science and takes the ten power rings for his own use. The alien technology gives him god-like powers, allowing him to subjugate entire villages in his quest for world domination.
In analyzing the Mandarin as a character, we can see him as a visual representation of the “Asian” ethnicity as a whole. He’s a blended Asian villain: born in China, of Mongolian ancestry, and a master of Japanese martial arts. The first page of the Mandarin’s debut story, referring to his “Asian” traits of martial arts prowess and scientific genius, exclaims, “Some claim he is far more than human!” What makes the Mandarin a threat isn’t just his mysteriousness, but the fact that he is the equal of Tony Stark in intelligence and technology. The fact that an Asian villain might be able to match, or even exceed, the capabilities of an American superhero is unsettling. And although the American fear of “Red China” was at its peak in the decades which saw the creation of Mandarin, current political tensions between West and East, as explored in other posts in our class archive, seem to ensure that the “oriental menace” remains relevant today.
In a 2006 interview for CHUD.com, Jon Favreau, who directed the films Iron Man and Iron Man 2, discussed the Mandarin’s place in the modern world:
“There are certain fears and certain strengths the character evokes that are applicable, but of course you have to completely remove any of that short sighted cultural ignorance that leads to any sort of bigotry in the storytelling. That isn’t to say those fears and shortcomings of Iron Man as relating to that character aren’t relevant… [Mandarin] was intelligent, he was powerful, he was mysterious. He was always one step ahead. Despite his suit and technology, Iron Man was always the underdog. Mandarin always had this Machiavellian web he would fall into. He was based in China which was then mysterious because it was Red China. Today China is mysterious in other ways because it’s Global China. China is the economic powerhouse that is quickly catching up and will eventually surpass us.”
The Mandarin is, essentially, a visual representation of the Western fears surrounding the mysterious Asian continent, making the character a perfect example of how comics reflect the cultural, social, and political attitudes of the society that creates them. The Mandarin’s continued popularity likely owes itself to the United States’ modern fears of Chinese domination, and the enduring sense of “mystery” surrounding the Asian continent.
This cover art for the 2008 comic Invincible Iron Man #525 illustrates Western fears of an Eastern global takeover.