2. Enter the Dragon

Writer: Fred Van Lente
Artist: James Cordeiro

Right on the heels of the Scientist Supreme, Issue 2 gives us our next major Iron Man villain: The Mandarin! Tony Stark goes to investigate Stark International's China plant, and finds that all of the workers are missing. After he tracks them down, he learns that The Mandarin abducted them all, and he’s making a play to conquer all of China.

You see, he thinks he's the direct descendant of Genghis Khan, and that gives him dominion. Iron Man comes and beats him up until he and his giant robot dragon are no longer capable of harming people. Oh, yeah, he has a giant robot dragon.

Cordeiro is the star of this issue. His art in the first issue was solid, but here he gets to shine with some more interesting visuals. I especially love his robot dragon designs, which look great as they battle Iron Man. Plot is also good, if a bit standard. I do wish this one had a touch more of Van Lente's trademark wit, but his scripts are still engaging.