Episode:Iron, Forged in Fire, Part Two

Story
In the sky a flies near.

Inside the tower, {{{C|Obadiah Stane|imaa}} and a group of s and aides are watching a  of the thing known as  stopping the  that almost crashed into the Tower. Stane explains that he wants the for the weapons devision and puts his top engineers on the job.

However, the scientist believe that the armor is far too advanced for them to figure out. Stane tells them they will steal the armor and it. The group wonders how to find the armored hero when Iron Man appears in Stane's office window.

Stane walks up to the window and realizes that he's been listening in on their conversation. Just as Stane offers Iron Man a lot of money two arrive to record Iron Man. When the hero sees the cameras he drops down and flies away. Stane watches him leave vowing to get the armor.

Iron Man flies through the while being pursued by the two helicopters. Iron Man flies next to one of the copters and challenges them. Just then he zooms ahead, but the two keep following. Iron Man looks back to see them behind him but when he looks forward he sees a third copter in his path.

He quickly stops and bumps into the copter but neither are damaged. Iron Man hovers in mid-air warning the three copters to stop chasing him because someone might have gotten hurt. One of the pilots realizes that the hero has hacked into the communication systems.

A uses the opportunity to ask for a statement. Iron Man says he has boot jets while they don't and flies away. High over the city he goes.

Later, at the inside the  Tony Stark puts away the armor while  yells at him about having to cover Tony for his. The two leave the factory with Tony commenting that Rhodey should try the armor. Rhodey says that's not the point but becomes flustered when he begins to think about it.

Elsewhere, the armored gazes at a  of Iron Man taken by a helicopter earlier. A informs his master of the morning's activities. Mandarin believes that the armored hero was created by Stane to protect the that he wears. He tosses the photo away and it lands at the feet of.

Gene walks up and suggest that Iron Man may not be working for Stane. Mandarin then orders the soldiers to leave the room so he may talk to Gene alone. Mandarin stands up and towers over Gene. Mandarin grabs Gene's neck and holds him to his face threatening him and then throws him to the ground.

Mandarin removes his helmet revealing, Gene's stepfather, who says that he will not be questioned by his men. He claims Gene has been corrupted by the West, just as his mother was. Gene then states that he and his mother were, Zhang is not and that he should listen to Gene. However, Zhang asserts that he wears the ring of the Mandarin and calls Gene a fool. Defeated, Gene looks down at the picture of Iron Man.

At school every student is talking about Iron Man. Tony and Rhodey overhear two students talking about how awesome the hero is and the two high-five each other. Rhodey gets his s out of his locker and asks if Tony's going to get his, but Tony has already memorized them all.

Tony then says he wants to go back to Stark Tower to learn more about Stane. He knows that his inventions, the s, have been turned into weapons but he wants to figure out how to stop it.

Just then walks up and suggests that Iron Man is a military experiment. She claims her father knows about it. However, walks up and says that everyone knows it's an advanced  from the future. When Rhodey questions him on what A.I. stands for Happy gets angry and leaves.

After Happy leaves Pepper asks why the two were talking about Obadiah Stane.

On the roof Tony and Rhodey explain the Earthmover situation. Pepper says that's horrible, though not illegal. She then comes up with a plan to stop Stane. Tony will override the security systems, Pepper will take out the guards, and Rhodey will stand watch. This idea excites Tony until she reveals that it was only a joke as it would otherwise cause them to go to jail. She just wanted to be positive since there is nothing Tony can do.

Pepper then asks if the Earthmover Tony invented looks like a metal monster that is ten stories tall. Tony and Rhodey see that she's looking over their heads at an Earthmover being flown by helicopter over the city and it flies right over the school. Pepper realizes that what they are seeing is it.

In math class Happy is constantly fidgeting as he needs to go to the bathroom. Pepper is asking Rhodey why it is taking so long for Tony to go. Happy wonders if Tony will be back because other people need to go too.

Elsewhere, Tony is suiting up into Iron Man. He flies out of the factory through a tube and flies towards the city.

In the Tong's lair, Gene is looking at the Mandarin's thrown when a Tong soldier runs up asking for his master. Gene says that the Mandarin doesn't wish to be disturbed and he will relay the information. The soldier tells him that their informant within Stark International says that Stane is on the move, and has the ring with him. He promises to let the Mandarin know and the soldier leaves.

The weaponized Earthmover sits at a testing site where it is activated. It opens a hatch and fires a laser that blasts through many feet of solid concrete. The Earthmover rotates around and fires at a and completely destroys it. It quickly fires and destroys another tank.

Obadiah Stane and several potential military investors watch from a protected room. Stane is impressed but the potential buyers are not. They need to see the Earthmover in a real combat simulation since their enemies rarely stand still like the tanks and concrete. Stane asserts that they've already seen what it can do.

Just then a soldier informs Stane that something has violated the testing ground's airspace. A swivels around and spots Iron Man closing in. Stane gets an idea and tells the buyers to watch "Phase Two" of the demonstration.

Rhodey runs to his house and to his room. He drops his and heads to his computer to put on a set of s. Iron Man jokingly states he is not in the bathroom. Instead he is flying above the Earthmover at the testing grounds. He tells Rhodey to hack into the testing ground's system.

Just as Rhodey does he realizes that they are watching Iron Man. Stane orders the Earthmover to fire and it does knocking Iron Man out of the sky. Iron Man skids to a stop as the massive Earthmover closes in. Iron Man prepares himself as the Earthmover smashes its foot on the hero.

As the dust clears Iron Man pushes with all his might against the foot. Once he is off the ground he quickly flies away before the Earthmover stomps down again.

Iron Man flies above the machine realizing that it tried to kill him. Rhodey tells him to get out but Tony realizes that Pepper was right and he needs to destroy them since he made them.

Just then two more Earthmovers rise out of an elevator in the ground. The three surround Iron Man and fire their lasers. He activates his saving him but becoming trapped in the beams as the energy levels become critical.

Rhodey gets the idea to cut the boot jets and drop below the laser fire. Iron Man does so but must soon dodge the laser fire of one of the Earthmovers. He flies behind one and starts circling the three. When he gets tired of them shooting at him he begins firing his at them.

He fires at the laser of one but does no apparent damage. He starts flying around the three again firing his beams.

In his home Rhodey is yelling commands and the positions of the Earthmovers. However, Pepper pops in at that moment. Rhodey quickly shuts off his monitor before she can see. She says that she just came in the front door that was open. She wonders if Tony ditched class again and thinks that will get him led.

Meanwhile, Iron Man is still firing at the Earthmovers all the while asking for Rhodey. He continues firing but finds himself outgunned. He flies around until he sees what is powering the Earthmovers. At that site he realizes that Stane made a major mistake.

At the control center the buyers are watching the action while Stane observes on a monitor. The soldier at the monitor says that the is in auto-targeting mode and is beginning to malfunction. Stane orders him to fix it. However, a scientist says that the array was designed by Tony Stark, and that they never fully understood it. He tells Stane that it will overload and explode.

Outside, Iron Man is watching the array he built overload. He flies around firing at the Earthmover's legs while desperately calling out for Rhodey. Another Earthmover starts firing and he flies over to that while dodging.

Inside, Stane orders the Earthmover to be shut down but is overheard by the buyers. They ask if anything is wrong and Stane tries to reassure them that all is fine.

Just then a white orb appears in the control room. It grows in intensity until the whole room is enveloped in the light. The light disappears leaving behind the Mandarin, who is looking for Stane.

At his home Rhodey is desperately trying to convince Pepper that Tony is in the school's lab. He claims that his computer crashed and that Tony is trying to remotely fix it and must have lost track of time. However, Pepper says the lab was the first place she checked. Rhodey pushes her out of the room trying to get back to Tony. She knows he's lying but figures it must be a girlfriend. Rhodey finally gets her out the door and back to his computer.

Meanwhile, Iron Man continues flying around firing at the Earthmovers' legs. He finally disables one of the Earthmovers when Rhodey comes back online. He tells Rhodey that unless they shut down the laser arrays all of will be destroyed. Rhodey realizes the magnitude of the situation as he sees two security guards running through a corridor.

Mandarin walks up to Stane but knows the guards are on their way. He teleports just in front of one of the guards and lets the man run into his arm. He teleports to the other man and slams him into the wall. Once the two are down he walks back to Stane. Rhodey watches the whole thing on the monitors.

He lifts Stane up by his neck as the businessman ask what he wants. Mandarin demand the ring. Stane takes it off and puts it in Mandarin's massive armored hand. Satisfied, Mandarin throws Stane across the room.

Outside, Iron Man is still firing at the other two Earthmovers when Rhodey tells him of the situation inside. However, Iron Man thinks of a way to stop the Earthmovers. When Rhodey asks how Iron Man says he'll tell him if he survives.

Iron Man targets something on the Earthmover and flies up while dodging the laser attacks. Once above the machine he then flies down into it through the top hole. He reaches the laser array but the electricity knocks him back. He stands up in the middle of the array and begins absorbing all the energy.

It is too much for the armor to handle and his systems begin to overload. When all the energy is gone from one he fires the on his chest at the other Earthmover destroying it. The Earthmover he's on shuts down.

Iron Man walks away triumphant until an explosion knocks him back. When he stops all this systems shut down and his heart implant goes on backup. At home, Rhodey tries the reboot sequence.

Mandarin walks up to the fallen hero and claims that all who oppose him will be destroyed. Iron Man taunts the villain's threats. Mandarin moves to destroy him but before he can Iron Man's suit powers up and fires a repulsor beam knocking him back.

Mandarin and Iron Man both get up and square off. Iron Man demands to know where Mandarin got his two rings and flies towards him. Just then Mandarin activates another ball of light that pushes Iron Man back. When the light disappears the Mandarin is gone.

Rhodey is glad to hear that Iron Man is alive. Just then Obadiah Stane walks up with one more offer for Iron Man to work for him. Iron Man refuses and blasts off.

Back at the armory, Rhodey tells Tony how everyone almost died because of Stane. However, Tony is more concerned with the Mandarin. He realizes that his father was right and the Makluan Rings are a form of technology. He also knows that the Mandarin had another ring in addition to the one his father owned.

Elsewhere, the Mandarin is in a when his helmut disappears revealing Gene Khan. He tells Zhang, inside of a cell, that the symbols are not just a symbol of power but are power themselves. He then taunts his stepfather by saying that he will find all of them.

Quotes
"'They're calling him Iron Man. No one seems to know who or what he is or where he went. He disappeared after the incident. It's all over the news." "All over the news because he saved hundreds of lives stopping that runaway train. Including everyone that was in this building." "I don't care who he is or what he did. All I care about is what he's wearing. Imagine the possibilities. A flying weapons-capable suit of armor. It would revolutionize warfare, and make us rich. I want our top engineers working on this." "Uh, Mr. Stane. From what we've seen the Iron Man armor is more advanced than anything we're working on here." "It's years, if not decades, ahead of current technology." "Then what am I even paying you for!? Fine, then we get the armor and reverse engineer it."
 * -Consultants and Obadiah Stane

"Tell me, Iron Man, are you interested in making a lot of money?"
 * -Obadiah Stane

"Why would he come here?" "I don't know. But I want that armor, right now."
 * -Consultant and Obadiah Stane

"Okay, you wanna play? Let's go."
 * -Iron Man

"Are you nuts!? I could've flown right into you. Stop chasing me! Someone's going to get hurt if you keep this up."
 * -Iron Man

"Iron Man, do you have a statement for the public?" "Yeah, I got boot jets and you don't."
 * -Reporter and Iron Man

"You're stressing me out, Tony!" "Try racing helicopters before breakfast. Now that's stressful." "Seriously man. It's getting harder to cover for you with my mom...What!? Racing helicopters!? I'm not going to see you on the news again, am I?" "Not if you don't watch it."
 * -James Rhodes and Tony Stark

"This armor is seriously incredible. I may have outgeniused myself. You should take it out for a spin."
 * -Tony Stark

"Master, the Iron Man was seen once more at the Stark International building." "Stane believes this armored fool can prevent my from seizing the Makluan Ring!? That ring belongs to the Mandarin by right!"
 * -Tong Soldier and Mandarin

"You should be careful, Mandarin. This Iron Man may not be working for Stane."
 * -Gene Khan, first line

"I will not be questioned in front of my men!" "Stepfather! I didn't mean any disrespect! I..." "What you meant means nothing! I'm told you now call yourself Gene Khan. Pathetic. You are weak. Corrupted by West like your mother was. Question me again and you will join her!" "My mother was a Khan. I am a Khan. You, Zhang, are not! If you were smart you would start listening to me." "I wear the ring of the Mandarin. Not you. You are a child. And worse, a fool. You will never know what true power is."
 * -Shin Zhang, first lines, and Gene Khan

"Hey, don't you need to get your books?" "I memorized them." "I hate you."
 * -James Rhodes and Tony Stark

"It's a military experiment." "Pepper! What are you talking about?" "Iron Man. Isn't it great. Anyways, my dad told me in strictest confidence that Iron Man is part of a military experiment. Oh, red is my favorite color." "Whoa, you got it all wrong, Pepper. Everyone knows the truth about Iron Man. He's...a robot. Some kind of advanced A.I. From the future." "Uh, do you even know what A.I. stands for?" "Yeah I do. Shut up!"
 * -Pepper Potts, James Rhodes, and Happy Hogan, first lines

"Happy Hogan. Not the next ."
 * -James Rhodes

"That totally stinks! I mean, you invent all this great stuff and now Stane's selling it off as weapons! That's horrible! Not illegal, mind you, but horrible."
 * -Pepper Potts

"Tony...Tony are you there?" "Rhodey, I won't lie to you. I'm not in the bathroom." "No kidding."
 * -James Rhodes and Iron Man

"Hi." "Don't you knock! How'd you even get in..." "The front door was open. You totally took off after school and Tony never came back. Did he seriously cut school again? He is going to get expelled. Whatta doing and where's...uh...Tony?"
 * -Pepper Potts and James Rhodes

"Stane."
 * -Mandarin

"Oh, wow. You are a terrible liar. Okay, fine. But you know I'm going to find whatever you guys are up to. Tony has a lot going on, doesn't he?" "You have no idea." "Oh, does he have a girlfriend?" "PEPPER!"
 * -Pepper Potts and James Rhodes

"We've got big problems. Things are about to go boom unless we can shut down these laser arrays." "Boom? What do you mean boom?" "Boom. As in all of Upstate New York." "Oh. Boom.'
 * -Iron Man and James Rhodes

"What do you want?" "The ring!" "Take it! Just take it and go!"
 * -Obadiah Stane and Mandarin

"Iron Man. How unimpressive." "Sorry, have we met?" "All who defy the Mandarin will be destroyed." "Bring it." "Such arrogance. Let those be the last words you ever utter."
 * -Mandarin and Iron Man, first meeting

"Where did you get those rings!?"
 * -Iron Man

"WHO ARE YOU!?"
 * -Iron Man

"Iron Man. You don't want me as an enemy. I'll ask you one last time, work for me." "Never!"
 * -Obadiah Stane and Iron Man

"You almost died, man. We almost died because of Stane. You saved millions of lives, Tony. Think about it, this is serious." "The Man in Black, the Mandarin, he had my father's Makluan Ring. What he did. The energy he produced. I know how to explain it. My dad was right, Rhodey. These rings, what if they are some form of technology? And this Mandarin had another one."
 * -James Rhodes and Tony Stark

"You should have listened to me when you had the chance." [Helmet disappears revealing Gene Khan] "Wouldn't you agree, Zhang? The rings aren't just a symbol of power, you pathetic old man. They are power. And I'm going to find them all!"
 * -Mandarin

Trivia

 * Ironically, the last name of Shin Zhang's voice actor, Vincent Tong, is the same as the army he commands.
 * It is stated that Gene Khan is a new name. It would be revealed that his name is actually Temugin.
 * It is implied that Shin Zhang may have killed Gene Khan's mother.
 * Going to the bathroom is a very common excuse for superheroes if they are in school. The excuse was used in series like Batman Beyond, Dragon Ball Z, and The Batman.
 * The animation of Iron Man suiting up and leaving the armory is from the first episode, though slightly condensed.

Inconsistencies

 * In the first episode Obadiah Stane's eyes were bronze in color but in this episode they are pale grey.
 * Dialogue, such as Obadiah Stane's and the students', would suggest that this episode takes place fairly recently after . So why would it be so difficult for James Rhodes to cover for Tony Stark all of a sudden? He just started covering for him.
 * Tony Stark pronounces Makluan wrong when discussing the Mandarin with Rhodey.

Continuity

 * Introduction of Gene Khan who would become the Mandarin throughout the season. He would begin an association with Tony Stark, James Rhodes, and Pepper Potts in the following episode that would lead to a friendship. However, in, when Gene's true identity is revealed, the three heroes would question whether Gene was being earnest or not in their friendship.
 * Tony Stark comments that James Rhodes should try out the armor. He would remote pilot it in and don the  in.
 * The first time Tony Stark, James Rhodes, and Pepper Potts are all together in one scene.
 * Happy Hogan's first speaking appearance.
 * First time Iron Man's energy shield ability is seen.
 * Iron Man discussing the destruction of Upstate New York is the first definitive mention of where the series takes place. In later episodes it will be specified that it takes place in New York City.
 * Zhang will reacquire the Mandarin position in.

Background
In the comics Happy Hogan was a bodyguard for Tony Stark. In this series, starting with this episode, he takes on a role closer to Flash Thompson of the Spider-Man fame, who is a dimwitted jock but has a great love for the costumed hero.

Reaction
The episode has a 8.3 Great rating on TV.com.