As an example of Tony's world-traveling, he visited Jolly Olde England in my review of Iron Man #218 (May 1987). In this comic, Tony's going to do some traveling again, albeit for more personal reasons this time. He's heading to a land of dynasties and dragons. Let's join the Golden Avenger as he heads to Chi! The Dragon Seed Saga begins in Iron Man #270!
The cover is pretty neat. You got Iron Man front and center in his "New Red-and-Gold" Armor he used at the time, aka the "Coffeepot Armor". It was nicknamed that thanks to its bulky boot-jets. Like the Silver Centurion, it's a personal favorite armor of mine. There's a big ol' dragon behind him, which is awesome. Also, we have the heads of a Chinese general who is giving Iron Man a bit of side-eye, The Mandarin looking haughty, and a woman staring right at the reader. Deadpool is not the only one the fourth wall will protect you from.
"The Price"
Writer: John Byrne
Penciller: Paul Ryan
Inker: Bob Wiacek
Letterer: Michael Heisler
Colorist: Paul Becton
Editors: Howard Mackie, Nel Yomtov
Editor-in-Chief: Tom DeFalco
The story begins in Beijing, China. Particularly, the University of the Long March. Once, it was an imperial palace in the days of the Emperors. Now, it's a place of learning. We focus in on one particular class, being led by a Doctor Su Yin. She's imparting knowledge of neurobiology to her students. Her male students are spellbound by her, but not because of the lesson. A Chinese Army general bursts into the room, saying he has business with the doctor, and the students have to scram for the moment.
Doctor Yin wants to know what he wants with her. The general shows her a picture of three men, two of which she doesn't recognize. However, she does recognize one of the men: One Anthony Edward Stark. Despite his being seen by the Chinese general as an antithesis of the Chinese way of life, he is curious as to what Doctor Yin sees when she looks at him. Yin admits that despite seeing him the way the general does, she does notice that he has a rather...good-hearted nature about him. The general gives her a report about Stark's physical condition. You see, Tony Stark is having some health issues. More on that later.
After reading the report, Doctor Yin is amazed that Stark is even alive. She wants to know how they got this info. The general wishes that China's intelligence network obtained it, but it turns out...Stark gave them the info himself. He heard of Doctor Yin...and he needs her help. In the skies over China, Stark is flying in his plane, while the Iron Man is flying alongside him.
It's Jim Rhodes in the suit, and they're giving their hosts a little show. The plane lands at Beijing International Airport, and Tony is introduced to Li Wang, his guide and interpreter.
The interpreter may be disappointed that Stark felt the need to bring his armored bodyguard, but the General who is watching this is actually quite happy with this turn of events. You see, he needs the Armored Avenger's help with something. China has a bit of a problem, thanks to a couple of Tony Stark's old "friends"...
Yup, the Mandarin is back in town, and he's packing the dragon Fin Fang Foom with him. The Mandarin can sense that Iron Man is in the country. He consults a strange old man named Chen Hsu. Hsu warns the Mandarin that he is close to his "true concern", but he must not let his anger at Iron Man overcome him. Mandarin finds Chen Hsu a rather confusing old man. Hsu takes off his cap, showing off his...unusual hairstyle.
You know he's going to get his grandson back for sneaking hair dye in his shampoo one day. Hsu assures Mandarin that with patience, he will not only rule one-third of China...but he'll have the whole wide world under his ten-fingered fists. In Beijing, Wang and Stark are riding in a limousine through the streets of the capital city. The two men have a bit of a debate over the two countries' cultures and ways of life. Wang defends his by saying that people here are fed and humble. Stark defends his by saying that America values personal freedom. The two men arrive at the hotel, and Stark encounters a fellow businessman as Wang helps with the check-in.
He's surprised to see that Stark is back in the country, as after the massacre at Tiananmen Square, he pulled all his business ventures out of China. It costs Stark about sixty million a day, but he's not bothered. The businessman thinks Tony is here to restart his business ventures. After all, there's a lot of gravy in this country to get. Stark is here on a personal matter, not because he's one of, in his own words, "the vultures who fancy they can put a dollar value on freedom". The men go to their rooms, so Tony can rest up before dinner tonight. Iron Man checks the room for bugs, and finds it clean.
Tony asks if Jim is alright in the suit, if he's feeling any symptoms. But Jim feels fine, if a bit sweaty. Tony's happy with this. In the past, when Jim took up the armor due to Tony's falling into alcoholism, he started to suffer from headaches and grew more paranoid and aggressive. This was originally believed to be due to the armor's helmet being tailored to work with Tony's brainwaves, but Tony thinks it's psychosomatic. In response, Tony built a special component into the armor's helmet that would allow Rhodes to use the armor safely.
Tony recounts why he's come to China. You see, in Iron Man #242 (May 1989), a mentally unstable woman named Kathy Dare shot Tony Stark, paralyzing him. He had a microchip implanted into his spine that allowed him to walk again, but over months, it consumed his nervous system and made him into essentially a meat puppet. The only time he had any control over his own body was when he wore a special Iron Man suit that allowed him to control its movement mentally. But that had problems, too. There was some incompatibility between the armor's systems and his body. As a result, Tony's voluntary nervous system is completely shot, and he needs to wear a special "neuro-net" under a layer of fake skin.
He would eventually learn the man behind all of this was a man named Kearson DeWitt. DeWitt was convinced Stark was the reason his own father, a brilliant engineer, died penniless. However, Stark had never heard of Kearson DeWitt before this whole thing. All he knew about him was that he worked for the Marrs Corporation. If you read my review of Namor the Sub-Mariner #1 (April 1990), you may be familiar with the Marrs twins. Makes sense they'd show up, as John Byrne was also writing Namor's solo series at the time.
Anyway, he's prepared a disguise for Jim Rhodes, just in case. That night, Tony attends a dinner at the "Forbidden City". In the past, it was the home of the emperors. Li Wang explains that before the revolution, the people were forbidden to share in the imperial splendor. Tony and Jim feel things haven't changed that much. After all, the rulers may have changed, but this place is still for them only. The hosts have arrived, and among them is Dr. Su Yin.
Yeah, I can imagine another reason why Tony Stark wanted to consult with her. To be fair though, this is the first time he saw her in person. But I can imagine he is very pleasantly surprised by what he sees. The group sit down to have some dinner. The General notes that it's going to be tough for Iron Man to eat with his visor on. However, it's not a problem. The armor's gauntlets are facile enough to let him thread a needle, and the visor can be removed.
Yeah, your mileage may vary on that. Tony gave Rhodes that mask to help further hide his identity. Tony is quite impressed with how someone as young as Dr. Yin was able was able to achieve so much in her field. Yin explains she'd be working in her field since she was 12. Tony hopes she has never spent all her time in the lab. She hasn't, but her work is kind of the big thing in her life at the moment. Rhodes then asks the General what the pitch is. The general explains that the country would happily let Dr. Yin try to help Stark with her issues...for a price. Money is not a problem for Stark, but they don't want payment. China needs the Iron Man.
Later, at Stark's hotel room, Rhodes thinks Tony is nuts. But Tony's over a barrel. Su Yin may be his only hope to repair his nervous system. And the only way to get her help is to do what the Chinese ask of him at the moment. Rhodes thinks this sucks. Tony does agree...so he needs to suit up. Rhodes thinks that's a bad idea. Tony's still dealing with his injuries from battling a supervillain called Vibro. However, Tony claims he's prepared for this, and won't make the same mistakes he did during that fight. Rhodes agrees.
The knockout gas sends Tony to Dreamland, so Rhodes goes out to meet the General. The General explains that China has a problem thanks to an old "friend" of the Golden Avenger...The Mandarin. And the story ends with James Rhodes realizing that he just bit off a LOT more than he can chew. Yeah, he really should have let Tony suit up after all, huh pal?
This story was rather enjoyable. It is interesting seeing Tony Stark, arguably one of the biggest products of a capitalist society, go to a place that would seem rather anathema to him. The book is not quite as dated as the last Iron Man issue I looked at, but it still is a bit dated, what with its mentions of the massacre at Tiananmen. However, that's kind of unavoidable due to Tony's civilian life. I also enjoyed the bits of debate regarding Tony's and the Chinese ways of life. I have to admit, I am kind of fond of this era of Iron Man's book, and I think it is a bit underrated.
Paul Ryan's art is serviceable, but I have noticed there's more hatching on it than on his art on Squadron Supreme and Fantastic Four. Maybe it's the inking? I have no idea. Considering how...crazy superhero art could get in the 90s, this is actually not that bad at all. If you want to read it for yourself, it has been collected in the 2008 trade paperback The Invincible Iron Man: The Dragon Seed Saga, as well as the 2014 Epic Collection Invincible Iron Man Vol. 16: War Games.
Next time, we witness the rebirth of the original X-Men...
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