<span class="SFPTagline"> From SCIFIPEDIA </span>

Mandarin
Gender	Male
Publisher	Marvel Comics
Origin	Anonymous village on mainland China before the communist revolution
First Appearance	Tales of Suspense #50 (1964)
Creator(s)	Stan Lee and Don Heck
Alter ego	Unrevealed
Aliases	Gene Khan, Zhang Tong, Tem Borjigin
Abilities	Martial arts master, wielder of ten powerful alien rings, one on each finger, each with a different ability
Affiliations	Masters of Evil

The Mandarin is a super-villain, the arch nemesis of the superhero Iron Man, a fictional comic book character owned by Marvel Comics.

The Mandarin is one of Marvel’s oldest and most powerful villains. He was created as an antithesis for Iron Man (Anthony Stark), who, particularly in his early days, represented Western capitalism, since at the time his company Stark Industries was very much into military weapons manufacture for the United States government. The Mandarin represented all that was scary and mysterious from the Far East, a kind of super-scientific Fu Manchu. In the over-the-top hyperbole which was Stan Lee's trademark style at the time, Stan introduces him this way in Tales of Suspense #50 (1964). "For years men have spoken the name The Mandarin in hushed whispers! To those of the Western world, he is no more than a fearsome legend! But in the orient--in seething, smoldering, secretive Red China, men know--to their sorrow--how real the Mandarin is!"

Iron Man originally flies to China to investigate the Mandarin at the request of the U.S. military. He barely defeats the Mandarin in one-on one combat, and, with his armor running out of power due to one of the Mandarin's tricks, Stark manages to escape with his life. Among the Mandarin's earliest schemes was the theft and sabotage of American missiles and spy planes designed by Tony Stark and built by Stark Industries. Iron Man soon became the Mandarin’s chief opponent in his quest for world domination.

The Mandarin is a master of technology. He often tries to use western technology and weaponry against itself. He is also a builder of his own technology, including the 30 foot robot with vast destructive power, Ultimo. He has employed Ultimo a number of times against Iron Man without success. He has also developed teleportation technology that allows him to capture people at will. During their first clash, Stark thinks, "...he's the brainiest enemy that I've ever faced".

He is also a martial arts master. In his first appearnce, he describes himself as the "greatest Karate Master the world has ever known!" His hands are particularly callused and deadly, and he can chop through steel with them. He has been known to break through Iron Man’s armor with repeated blows.

Despite all this, the thing that makes the Mandarin Iron Man’s most deadly enemy is his possession of ten rings of alien origin.

The Rings of the Mandarin

The Mandarin once plotted to take control of the Hulk to use him against Iron Man.

The science behind the rings is so advanced that scientists can barely understand how they work. Even the Mandarin, who knows how to make use of their power, doesn't understand their power source. In fact, the rings seem to be a power source all unto themselves. They are so powerful that they were used by the aliens to power their starship. The Mandarin has mastered the use of the rings, and many aspects of the alien technology which produced them. Each ring is worn on a different one of the Mandarin’s fingers, and has unique and deadly powers of their own.

The rings are:
1) Left hand little finger – Ice Blast – transforms air and objects to intensely cold temperatures. Air turns to ice, stunning an opponent.
2) Left hand, ring finger – Mento-Intensifier – short term mind control of a person within ten feet of its wearer.
3 )Left hand, middle finger – Electro-blast - Emits blasts of electric power.
4) Left hand, index finger – Flame Blast – appears to set air on fire, emitting vast amounts of intense heat or flame blasts.
5) Left hand, thumb – White-light – emits various forms of energy along the electro-magnetic spectrum.
6) Right hand, little finger – Black light – creates a wave of absolute blackness.
7) Right hand, ring finger – Disintegration beam – emits a beam of energy which destroys the bonds between atoms, disintegrating objects.
8) Right hand, middle finger – Vortex beam – creates a high speed vortex of air, used to propel objects and levitate objects or the Mandarin himself.
9) Right hand, index finger – Impact beam – can omit various forms of energy, usually one with the concussive force of 350 pounds of TNT.
10) Right hand, thumb – Matter rearranger – can effect chemical and physical reactions in molecules, solidifying gasses, and creating poisons out of air, transforming water vapor into air.

The Mandarin has established a psionic link with his rings, and no one can use them but him. He can control and monitor them across vast distances if they are separated from him.

Character Origin

First Appearance

The Mandarin is a son of a powerful wealthy citizen of mainland China and an English noblewoman. When his parents died, he used his inheritance to study around the world. As a child, he showed an incredible aptitude for science, something which served him well in his career. As an adult he became a high government official, referred to as a "mandarin". He was a well-known and powerful member of the Chinese aristocracy.

This all came to an end with the communist revolution. Deprived of his power and wealth, the Mandarin searched for another pathway to greatness. He explored many of China’s mysteries, including the “Valley of Spirits”, where people had not set foot in centuries. There he found the wreck of an alien spacecraft. Inside was the skeleton of a dragon-like alien, Axonn-Karr, from the planet Malku-4. He found the ten rings, which the Malkuan evidently used to power his ship. He learned to use the rings, and employ the Malkuan technology to his advantage. With this power, the Mandarin conquered the various villages around the valley. Not even the Chinese army could defeat him. Establishing the ownership of this province, he then set about making plans for world domination.