Secret Wars on Infinite Earths: The Comic Book Fight Club

AVENGERS versus MANDARIN

Thieves Honor (Marvel)
Where: Avengers #313 When: January 1990
Why: John Byrne How: Paul Ryan & Tom Palmer

The Story So Far...
A series of sudden super-villain attacks have stretched the ranks of The Avengers across the country as they respond to the decimation of their coastal island Hydrobase, and underground Manhattan headquarters!

Only Edwin Jarvis is on hand to raise the alarm when The Mandarin begins a frontal assault on an already damaged & unguarded Avengers Park. All thanks to Loki and his Acts of Vengeance designed to organize and consolidate the resources of some of the world's most powerful super-criminals!

Not content to leave their butler to face another siege: Captain America leads the call to assemble on Central Park -- but with The Wizard circling the skies over New York City, the star-spangled super-soldier will have to rely on the few local heroes able to answer the call!

Tale of the Tape...
Strength: Captain America 3 (Athlete)
Intelligence: Mandarin 4 (Tactician)
Speed: Captain America 4 (Olympian)
Stamina: Captain America 5 (Marathoner)
Agility: Black Widow 4 (Gymnast)
Fighting: Captain America 6 (Warrior)
Energy: Mandarin 6 (Mass Destruction)
Total: Captain America 28 (Metahuman)

The Avengers are: Captain America, Black Widow, and Hellcat.

Wonder Man and Vision accompanied Captain America on the trip from the West Coast, but had to peel away to take on The Wizard. That means Cap is relying on unpowered first responders Black Widow and Hellcat -- less than ideal against the ten rings of power wielded by The Mandarin!

Although appearing mystical in nature, each of Mandarin's rings is originally part of an alien technology that grants him specific skills. The names and breadth of their power has changed over the years, but the basics remain true:

The Ice Blast, or "Zero" Ring, is worn on the left little finger, and does exactly what it sounds like, generating sufficient cold to freeze anything in ice. That might give Cap some unfortunate flashbacks to his post-war suspended animation, but as we saw when he battled Cold War, he can keep a handle on it.

The Mento-Intensifier, or "Liar" Ring, is worn on the left ring finger, and can be used to bring a person under Mandarin's thrall, or generate a world of inescapable illusion penetrating the victim's very mind.

The Electro-Blast, or "Lightning" Ring, is on the left middle finger, and can deliver powerful bolts of electricity through the air! A power not unlike its namesake, but Cap's shield was able to absorb Loki's electric attacks in Avengers (Vol.2) #1.

The Flame Blast, or "Incandescence" Ring, worn on the left index finger, can super-heat the air by emitting radiation to fire potent jets of flame of varying intensities. Another one handily blocked by Cap's shield, as seen when he met Ghost Rider in Avengers #214!

The White Light, or "Daimonic" Ring, is worn on the left thumb, and traditionally emits various electro-magnetic spectrums, which has also been known to effect a susceptible target's mood, or mental state.

The Black Light, or "Nightbringer" Ring, sits on the right little finger, and projects an area of total darkness. Its energies are associated with the inter-dimensional Darkforce used by Darkstar for a variety of offensive & defensive projections, and contained within Cloak, who can trap opponents within its endless darkness.

The Disintegration Beam, or "Spectral" Ring, worn on the right ring finger, is traditionally used to destroy anything it strikes, unmaking it on a molecular level with an estimated 20-minute charge time. Cap's no stranger to avoiding those kinds of attacks, dodging Red Skull's blast cannons since the Second World War!

The Vortex Beam, or "Spin" Ring, is wielded on the right middle finger, and can allow The Mandarin to fly, levitate targets, or generate massive swirling winds as offensive weapons. It has also been associated with moving at super-speeds.

The Impact Beam, or "Influence" Ring, is a standard favourite for The Mandarin, using his right index finger to direct powerful blasts and waves of energy. It's an equivalent to a lot of energy blasters, such as Titanium Man's, which Black Widow was agile and canny enough to avoid, with added shielding from Iron Man!

The Matter Re-Arranger, or "Remaker" Ring, is worn on the right thumb and allows for limited molecular and atomic manipulation of matter. It's commonly used for generating poisonous gases from thin-air, and altering Mandarin's appearance.

Agility and avoidance are the greatest tools Captain America, Black Widow, and Hellcat have at their disposal. The Mandarin's rings are incredibly powerful, but also limited in their scope. His defense is shored with a modern suit of armor, but a coordinated strike could potentially still defeat him!

The Tape: Avengers Ranking: Captain America (#7)

What Went Down...

Black Widow and Hellcat leap across the rooftops as Captain America's modified quinjet soars down beside them on a course towards Avengers Park.

He hails the assembling heroes over the jet's exterior speaker and advises them to hang back while he takes a recon flight over the attack sight. It's a good plan to protect his unpowered teammates, but the Captain never gets to make the flight -- blasted out of the sky by The Mandarin!

The Quinjet makes a dramatic, skidding crash landing into the rubble of Avengers Park as The Mandarin gloats over his successful strike!

Mandarin stalks toward his prey with Cap slumped in the exposed driver's seat -- rattled by the violent impact that tore the jet open like a tin can! 

The villain clutches the barely conscious Captain in the pilot's seat and raises his hand to prepare a killing blow -- but it's suddenly snared by the Black Widow's high tensile line!

Black Widow yanks The Mandarin away from the jet and introduces herself to the stunned villain.

Enraged at her interference he pivots to draw his free hand and blast a stream of fire from the ring of Incandescence. Widow narrowly avoids it, delighting at the unseen arrival of her comrade in arms -- Hellcat!

Hellcat leaps onto The Mandarin's armored shoulders and rakes her steel alloy claws across his frustrated façade!

The villain struggles beneath the grip of Hellcat's entangled arms and legs while Black Widow takes the opportunity to rush in an deliver a flying kick!

The two-on-one advantage doesn't last long. The Mandarin catches Black Widow by the ankle and tosses her across the park -- while also flipping Hellcat off his back and over his shoulder!

They spill across the rocky terrain -- vulnerable to another of his ring attacks!

The Influencer ring sprays concussive energy blasts across the battlefield that shatter the very ground beneath Black Widow & Hellcat's feet!

The heroic pair look severely outgunned when The Mandarin is once again caught by surprise from another attack at the rear!

This time it's Captain America who's able to return the favour to his allies, tossing his mighty shield directly into The Mandarin's armored helmet!

The chauvinistic villain is frustrated by Cap's recovery, but accepts that the battle can now be between men "as it should be". His Ice Blast "Zero" ring makes for an unfortunate irony as he encases Captain America's feet in ice -- a chilly fate all too familiar to the super-soldier once suspended in a frozen tundra.

At that same time -- Mandarin's partner in the Acts of Vengeance, The Wingless Wizard, glides overhead, bringing his battle with Wonder Man & Vision into convergence with the other Avenger's struggle.

Spotting the immobilized Captain America from the sky above -- The Wizard attempts to finish him off with a blast from his gauntlet, but Cap lurches forward into an evasive diving roll!

Wonder Man regains The Wizard's attentions, while The Mandarin plots a strategic retreat, blaming his ally for fouling his attack. He's so distracted by the failure he doesn't notice yet another Avenger arriving until his struck by his hammer!

Mjolnir collides with Mandarin's armored body and knocks him off his feet before flying back to the waiting hand of Thor!

The God of Thunder doesn't take kindly to The Mandarin's abuse of his powers!

He charges the rising villain, striking mightily with with a hammer-held uppercut!

Meanwhile, Vision comes to Captain America's aid, melting the ice from his feet with carefully applied eye beams. The liberation allows all Avengers present to assemble against the tyrannical twosome!

The Mandarin summons the dark forces of the Black Light Nightbringer ring to shroud his enemies -- and The Wizard -- in inescapable darkness!

He condemns his ally to suffer the consequences of their defeat, while the veil of darkness allows The Mandarin a clean getaway. He flies into the air -- gone before the heroes regain their sight.

The Hammer...

The arrival of Thor tips the scales in favour of The Avengers and drives The Mandarin into a hasty retreat. Bad news for The Wizard, who's left to face the music when his co-conspirator in the Acts of Vengeance betrays him upon exit!

Wizard was otherwise engaged in a completely separate aerial skirmish with Wonder Man and Vision, but chose to converge with the fighting in Avengers Park, taking potshots at Captain America. Not his only tactical error it would seem, but we'll take a closer look at his fight another time.

As it happens: the in-fighting is rife amongst the bad guys, who're duking it out while observing from their private meeting chambers, as well.

It seems Doctor Doom has nothing but contempt for The Mandarin and the inefficiencies of his frivolous, showy fighting style, while Red Skull is losing patience with Doom's arrogance. An inevitably violent clash of egos ensues -- another battle for us to return to some time in the future.

As a matter of housekeeping: Aficionados may also be interested to note I've chosen to predominantly refer to The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe #15 when breaking down The Mandarin's rings in The Tape section.

That particular 1984 issue is the wonderfully informative "Book of Weapons, Hardware, and Paraphernalia" -- a reference tome that answered a lot of common fan questions about the basic practicality of various devices, and locations.

With regards to The Mandarin's rings; The Handbook is obviously a little outdated, but the basics remain true. You'll note that I've also included, and alluded to, the more recent names & abilities outlined in 2010's Invincible Iron Man Annual #1.

If you didn't pay close attention to the information, you might like to scroll back and take a second look. It will allow you to appreciate the exquisite attention to detail of artist Paul Ryan's pencils, which assign each blast from The Mandarin's rings to the exact finger. Scripted or not -- it's the mark of a great comics artist!

Ryan was also saddled with the slightly less intricate design Mandarin was wearing around this time. I've never been all that crazy about this armor. It's serviceable, but never seemed to ring true. I suppose I would've preferred something more ornate, reminiscent of the colourfully stylized Chinese armor popular in wuxia.

A colour scheme of green, gold, and a little red or purple would've recalled other eras of Mandarin's design, but I suspect distancing the character from earlier incarnations was a deliberate conceit. When he wasn't in this blue & silver shell, he could typically be found wearing a tasteful suit consistent with his corporate machinations of the time. A welcome evolution for the modern era.

Modernizing the character has been an on-going concern, with greater emphasis on science-based explanations for his rings redefining them as Makluan machine parts accessing other dimensions. Personally, I think this flirts with a loss of imagination, and prefer a Mandarin whose mysticism clashes with Iron Man's technology -- not that the two ideas necessarily have to be mutually exclusive.

I do enjoy the more pulpy depictions of Mandarin, though. At the risk of being regressive: I think my favourite Mandarin design is the green & gold robes he returned to throughout much of the nineties. Its a style that very vaguely alludes to over-the-top villainy of Fu Manchu, albeit with a slightly more convincing approximation of Chinese imperial robes than Christopher Lee's qipao.

These allusions made the character a bit of a tricky subject when Marvel Studios attempted to adapt the character in Iron Man 3, and again, as a Fu Manchu stand-in in Shang-Chi and The Legend of the Ten Rings.

The substitution was as much a product of Shang-Chi's fictional father not being a Marvel owned property, but so fraught was their efforts to navigate the minefield of cultural sensitivities for the Chinese theatrical market, it seems the studio took a blank cheque approach. They retained so little from the source that the titular ten rings aren't even worn on the fingers! Not that Marvel Studios have ever been overly concerned with their comic book counterparts...

Here in comic book land Avengers #313 is a serviceable chapter in the Acts of Vengeance storyline, delivering one of the heavy hitters from the inner-circle of the villainous alliance. It's a little weird that so many heroes were dispersed after the action of the last issue, but anti-Avengers public protests explains that.

It's a fun time in Marvel Comics and Avengers history, and I particularly get a kick out of the unlikely team-up between Black Widow and Hellcat! They're out of their league taking on Mandarin, but turn out to be a terrifically fun tag team!

If you'd like to see the entirety of the team-up and today's featured fight you can find it all collected in Avengers: Acts of Vengeance and Avengers by John Byrne. Use the Amazon purchase links provided and you'll not only assemble a great deal delivered to your door -- you'll also help support the site at no extra cost!

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Secret Wars on Infinite Earths has featured well over 600 battles and ranked more than 1000 characters! You can discover them all by following links throughout this post, or by diving into the Secret Archive for a complete index of featured fights in order of publisher, series, and issue number!

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Winner: Thor (w/ Captain America, Black Widow & Hellcat)
#20 (+1) Thor
#7 (--) Captain America [+1 assist]
#41 (+1) Black Widow [+1 assist]
#101 (+6) Hellcat [+1 assist]
#144 (--) Vision [+1 assist]
#418 (+3) The Wizard [+1 assist]
#972 (-257) The Mandarin