MANDARIN

 

MANDARIN

Real Name: Unknown

First Appearance: Tales of Suspense (Vol. 1) #50, February 1964

Powers: The Mandarin employs a set of ten alien control bands which he typically wears as rings on each of his fingers. They were originally recovered from a crashed Makulan starship in the Valley of the Dragon. Mandarin has forged a strong mental bond with the rings over the years. He can sense the rings over a distance if separated from them, clairvoyantly sense events happening in their presence, and exert influence over foreign users, allowing him to control their minds or even possess their bodies. He once employed henchmen known as the Hands of the Mandarin, each of whom wielded one of the ten rings in his name. If they were captured or killed, Mandarin could teleport the ring back into his control, or do so anyway if the Hand displeased him. Naturally, he could also prevent them from using the rings against him. He is also an extraordinary genius with expertise in both earthly and extraterrestrial technology. Not only has he made himself into an authority on Makluan science, but he has also built upon this knowledge by making further discoveries based upon it. Although the Mandarin has no natural superhuman powers of his own, he is a superb athlete with tremendous skill in the various Oriental martial arts. Through repeated practice, he has toughened all the striking surfaces of his body, especially his hands, which are covered with thick callus. Without artificial aids he can split wood, cinderblock, or even mild steel with a blow of his hand. When he surrounds himself with a thin but intense protective force field, he can even split Iron Man's magnetic-beam reenforced alloy armor with repeated blows of his hand.

The Mandarin has used the rings in the past to amplify his chi and fighting prowess up to Iron Fist levels of skill. He frequently employs a variety of mystical or technological aids for his schemes. His original body was killed years ago, but after an underling attempted to wield the rings, Mandarin's spirit took over the man's body, and used the rings to reconstruct it into a younger version of himself. At one point, his hands were destroyed, but a new set of dragon-like hands regenerated in their place. His hands were severed again, with the rings going to his son, Temugin. He eventually recovered the rings, and surgically implanted them in his spine, in addition to adapting a new set of mechanical hands as prosthesis. In this manner, he could wield the powers of the rings directly through his body. Exposure to Extremis apparently turned Mandarin into an Enhancile, restoring his original hands and health, but the full results of his transformation are unknown. He eventually began wearing the rings on his fingers once more.

The rings of the Mandarin have had a variety of forms and functions over the years. Their individual functions were not classified and expanded upon until much later, attributing the Mandarin's previously demonstrated abilities under the powers of one ring or another. Much later, the rings' names and (to some degree) abilities were revised. Since the death of the Mandarin, these revised rings have apparently become independent and sentient, working together and separately through a series of ring wielders to harass Tony Stark. The rings cyber-telepathically communicate with each other in real time, sharing information about their hosts. Although they cannot control their hosts' minds outright, they are equipped with emotion dampening circuitry that can influence and guide their wielders to some degree. Each ring is capable of teleporting the wielder on command, and can provide verbal tutorial assistance in the ring's use and capabilities. The rings can also generate a time dilation field, slowing the environment down to .001% of normal progression. This lets the ring and wielder to discuss tactics in mid-battle, giving even inexperienced fighters an edge in fighting Iron Man.

-Originally referred to as the Poison Gas Ring, the Matter Rearranger or "Remaker" ring allows molecular control over matter. It can induce state transitions, such as changing solids into liquids, gases, and then back. Existing materials can be animated and reshaped, turning solid objects into giant hands that pantomime Mandarin's own to grasp objects or strike as a fist. Although originally believed incapable of alchemy, the Remaker ring can now directly transmute elements. It can convert lead (or iron) into gold, summon poison clouds of gas out of thin air (literally), and so on. The ring can crystalize particulate matter to create solid barriers apparently out of nothing, change human bones into glass, and may also be the Paralyzer Ring once mentioned by Mandarin, able to induce molecular stasis to inhibit any form of movement in his targets, leaving them paralyzed. If the paralysis strikes the human heart, death comes swiftly afterwards. A former Triad boss in Mandarin City became Mandarin-One, or Lord Remaker of the Rings.

-The Sonic Beam, Impact Beam, or "Influence" ring tends to act as a catch-all energy projector ring. It can project tremendous amounts of concussive and explosive force. Sonic vibrations can be used to scramble the inner ear of his opponents, inducing deafness or a loss of equilibrium, or directed at a solid target to make it shatter or produce vibratory shockwaves through the ground. Magnetic field beams can also be produced as tractor beams or pressor beams to draw metal objects towards him or send them hurtling away. C. Anderson Sixty is one of a series of clones of the businessman Colin Anderson. He adopted the Influence ring as Mandarin-Two.

-The Vortex Beam previously had wind-generating powers that Mandarin could direct against his foes, creating gale force winds or whirling cyclones. He could also create directable twisters to lift and carry objects aloft on his winds from a distance, and this ring was also likely the Jet Ring he used to launch himself through the air, using a personal cyclone to carry him skyward. The ring has been reimagined recently as "Spin", generating localized time distortion to slow the progression of time around the wielder. This gives their movements the appearance of superhuman speed when viewed by outside observers, similar to Velocidad of the Lights. Alec Eiffel, a French Neo-Nazi, adopted the ring to become Mandarin-Three, the Fascist Man Alive.

-The Disintegration Beam was the Mandarin's most potent ring. It requires 20 minutes to recharge between shots, but can utterly destroy anything caught in its blast. Recently it has been renamed "Spectral", and recast as the ultimate assassin's weapon. Spectral can cloak the wearer from all forms of detection, making them invisible to the naked eye and to various forms of ranged scanning. It may also have more advanced teleportation abilities than the standard ring package. Malekith the Accursed is ruler of the Dark Elves of Svartalfheim, one of the Nine Worlds of Asgard. He was chosen by the Spectral ring to be Mandarin-Four, due to elves' natural anathema towards anything made of iron.

-The Black Light ring generates Darkforce as a blanketed area of total darkness. It can be spread as an animated mist or fired as a blackout beam. As the "Nightbringer" ring, it can now generate tangible Darkforce projections, able to physically interact with matter, striking and breaking apart solid objects. Remote anti-light sensory bubbles can be projected to surround opponents, completely cutting them off from the outside world. Victor Kohl is Mandarin-Five, the Exile. His Inhuman lineage was triggered by the Terrigen Mist after Thanos's invasion, causing him to undergo rapid Terrigenesis and emerge with natural Darkforce manipulation powers. With Nightbringer, his Inhuman powers symbiotically work with and enhance the ring's capabilities. He can create vividly detailed Darkforce constructs, animated streamers, and creatures that move and attack at his command. The Exile can form Darkforce duplicates of himself, or massive exo-structures to increase his functional size and strength.

- The White Light ring, or "Daemonic", is one of the least understood rings. Like the Impact Beam, it is frequently used as an all-purpose energy projector. It's official description is to produce various forms of energy across the electromagnetic spectrum, but it has also demonstrated abilities beyond that spectrum as well. It can produce bright or blinding flashes of light, and cast holographic illusions. Through this ring, Mandarin has appeared at gigantic size or cast one or more duplicate images of himself. It can also project a radio-holographic image over great distances, similar to an astral form, letting Mandarin see, hear, and speak to others from miles away. It can produce a tractor beam, drawing objects towards him, or a hyper-gravitational effect that pins his opponents to the floor or causes them to sink into the earth. The electromagnetic frequencies commanded by White Light are also likely the means by which the Mandarin occasionally activated his other weapons and devices using his rings. White Light can also project a force field, shielding Mandarin from all manner of attack. It can expand some distance away from his body, or retract unlike it fits like a second skin, serving as an offensive aid. The Mandarin's martial arts prowess is legendary, and even unaided his blows are strong enough to shatter cinderblock or damage steel. Reinforced by a protective aura from his rings, the Mandarin is capable of single handedly damaging Iron Man's armor in melee combat. The Mole Man (of the Fantastic Four) was chosen by Daemonic to become Mandarin-Six.

-Flame Burst, also called Incinerator or "Incandescence", draws power from the heart of a star. It may in fact literally use sub-spatial links to tap nearby stellar objects. The ring can project streams of flame from the Mandarin's hand, infrared heat to melt his surroundings, or induce combustion from a distance in flammable materials. Incandescence chose Abigail Beryl Burns to become Mandarin-Seven, or "Red Peril". She could project heat and flame, and used thermal updrafts like the Human Torch to achieve high-speed flight. Red Peril could also call forth enough stellar energy to create solar flares, unleashing an electromagnetic pulse in her immediate area.

-Electro Blast, or "Lightning", delivers electrical bolts directly from its sigil, or stimulate the electro-conductivity of other materials in the area. This allows the ring to trigger targeted lightning strikes, fry electrical systems, and disperse electromagnetic-based energy assaults. As one ring, it also allowed a wielder to fly, presumably through electromagnetic repulsion. An unnamed artiste fired for misrepresenting Tony Stark's image in a Broadway show sought revenge by becoming Mandarin-Eight, the Lightning Conductor. He died very, very quickly at the hands of Malekith.

-The Mento-Intensifier ring, also called Mass Hypnotizer or "The Liar", amplifies and directs the mental energy of the wearer. It can fully entrance victims, leaving them without any willpower to act on their own and subject to the Mandarin's commands. He can project hypnotic suggestions into the minds of conscious victims from a distance as well, guiding their behavior without them being aware of it. The ring can also produce psionic illusions, as opposed to Daemonic's holographic ones, altering the perception of reality so that his victims imagine people, scenes, or events that aren't actually occurring. Marc Kumar, a public relations specialist, used the Liar to become Mandarin-Nine.

-Ice Blast, or "Zero", is another self-descriptive ring. It produces tremendous amounts of cold by robbing the air or solid objects of their heat energy. It frequently generates ice as well by freezing the water vapor in the atmosphere. One description suggested the Zero ring actually opens into the vacuum of space, funneling heat through it and into the void. Tom Wilkins, called Endotherm, uses thermal conversion circuitry in his costume to manipulate heat and cold. His suit can siphon heat out of his environment, causing targeted objects to rapidly freeze over with layers of ice. As Mandarin-Ten, Endotherm incorporated the Zero ring into his latest suit, acting as a cold-generating power source for his equipment. The new suit also provides increased resistance to injury, exoskeletally augmented strength, and boot thrusters for flight.