The Mandarin tells General Ho Lee that he refuses to share his science on atomic warfare with the Chinese Army. He is also pleased to get the visit of Iron Man who is on his list of people to eliminate. When the Avengers proves more than a match despite his special rings, the Mandarin attacks with his karate skills, but Iron Man defeats him anyway.

The Mandarin has been tampering with Stark's observer missiles in Viet-Nam, which attracts the attention of Iron Man who pays him a visit. After a brief battle, the villain manages to entrap the armored Avenger in steel cables. While checking on his interceptor ray, the Mandarin is attacked by Iron Man who smashes the machine that was used to divert the trajectory of Stark's missiles. The hero then sends the previous missiles back on course and flies away.

The Mandarin activates a deadly ray which destroys Tony Stark's estate. Iron Man finds the origin of the ray and seeks out the Mandarin. After capturing the hero, the Mandarin explains his origins. Son of a descendant of Genghis Khan and of a highborn Englishwoman, who both perished after his birth, he was raised in hate by his aunt and lost all his wealth and his home. In the Valley of Spirits, he found a spaceship in which a dragon-like alien called Axonn-Karr had come to Earth. Inside the ship, the Mandarin found ten powerful gem rings, and after settling in an abandoned castle in the valley, he spent years studying their powers. The Mandarin soon subdued the surrounding villages and now intends to take over the world by triggering a new world war. Leaving Iron Man to his death on a spinning wheel, the villain launches a Chinese missile towards Formosa. Iron Man breaks free, intercepts it and redirects it to its launching site so that the Chinese believe the Mandarin has betrayed them.

The Mandarin decides to undertake the education of a child who will later become Madame Macabre.

On Reed Richards and Sue Storm's wedding day at Baxter Building, the Mandarin falls under the control of Doctor Doom's Emotion Charger and join forces with an army of super-villains against the Fantastic Four. He uses his Nerve-Ray ring to prevent the Angel from unhorsing the Black Knight then attacks Iceman. While the battle rages on, Reed Richards uses a machine that transports all their enemies back to the recent past with no memory of what occurred.

During a fight between the Avengers and the Swordsman, the Mandarin teleports the villain to his lair. He explains to him that he intends to help him get accepted in the team so that he can smash Iron Man from within. To do so, the Mandarin considerably upgrades his sword with new features, then he sends a fake message from Iron Man saying that he vouches for the Swordsman's membership. Some time after they took him in, the Swordsman sets a bomb intended for Iron Man, but the Mandarin changes his mind and orders his ally to blow it up that night. However, realizing that the Swordsman has betrayed him and removed the bomb, the Mandarin detonates it. As his short-time ally manages to survive, he vows to destroy him as well.