for today’s comic book review I read the tale titled “The Hands Of The Mandarin” from Tales Of Suspense #50. In this classic comic book we have Iron Man face to face with the Mandarin for the first time.  but does the story live up to the legacy that would follow from it?

Story

The story for this classic comic book was fair at best,  offering us a slight backdrop of Iron Man agreeing to go investigate the Mandarin for the US government causing Tony Stark to not attend an employee dinner.   This event leads to the side story between Pepper and Happy while Iron Man flies to china and comes face to face with his greatest foe yet.

But sometimes they tackle too much for an issue, and both stories seemed rush and as a result  felt like they where missing great bits.  In addition to that the conflict between the Mandarin and Iron Man was laughable at best, and you get the feeling that you seen very little of what the potential could be for the Mandarin.

Artwork

The artwork for this issue felt a bit off, just as the story did, and never quite looked right,   while the detail seemed to be on target, the characters seemed a bit off.  Included for you is a panel of Tony Stark and Happy Hogan being lectured by Pepper Potts.

Originality and Continuity

I do feel despite my concerns about the artwork and story that at the heart of this tale, is an original concept that does fit in and work well with what we have seen of Iron Man so far, and his ongoing continuity.

Characters and Development

As far as character development goes, this tale offered more for Happy and Pepper then it did for Tony Stark or Iron Man.  I do feel that supporting characters do deserve such attention, but i doubt any of what was seen will have lasting effects at this time.