Millennia ago, an ancient Chinese man named Khan found the Makluan Rings and used them to rule his dynasty as a ruler called the Mandarin. However, he wanted someone who he could give his rings to when he died, but his many children weren't worthy of them, so he scattered the rings all over the globe and created tests to measure the virtue of the next owner of the rings. The rings are free to be taken, but they are useless until the tests are passed by a worthy individual; only then will the ring's power return.
Season One[]
1. First Ring[]
During Gene's childhood, his mother kept a Makluan Ring until he came of age. This ring was already active because Gene was a Khan, and this ring was passed down in the Khan family. His mother disappeared soon after she married Xin Zhang, who claimed the ring for himself. In the present day, Gene successfully took back the ring and imprisoned Zhang.
2. Second Ring, Test of Wisdom[]
In Ancient History 101, Tony, Pepper, Rhodes, and Gene investigate the Temple of Wisdom in New Jersey, which had been explored by Howard Stark, but then abandoned when Obadiah Stane was put in charge, and they find a history book and a sword with an inscription on it on separate pedestals surrounded by dozens of Dreadknight statues. Gene assumed right away that choosing the book is the way to pass the test of wisdom, claiming that the knights obviously represent an overwhelming force and it wouldn't be wise to pick up a sword and fight them. Gene opens the book and reads the Chinese word for "begin", "Chong", unwittingly activating the test. The test begins and the group is separated when the floor collapses. Tony and Pepper are together in a deep chamber while Rhodey and Gene are in the catecombs. In Tony and Pepper's end, the Dreadknight statues awaken and Tony fights the animated Dreadknights as Iron Man. Gene and Rhodey find the history of the Makluan Rings and the origin of the tests. When more Dreadknights show up, Gene secretly knocks Rhodey out and fights the statues as the Mandarin. Defeating the Dreadknights proves hopeless because the more Tony destroys, the more that appear right behind them. After a while of keeping up this effort, he realizes that he is not going to pass the test with brute force. That's when he realizes the true meaning of Wisdom: Seeing through the obvious nature of any given situation and trust that there's more than meets the eye. In this case, the key to passing the test was never the book, but the sword. Tony gets a clear view of the sword and has his suit's onboard computer translate the glyph carved on the sword's blade. When he successfully pronounces the Chinese word for "end", "Jung", the Dreadknights are returned to their stone slumber and the ring is finally reactivated. After they get out, the sword splits in two, revealing the map to the next ring.
3. Third Ring, Test of Courage[]
In the episode Hide and Seek, Tony and Gene search for the next ring in Greenland, where they find the Temple of Courage buried in the glacier. Inside, they find a statue surrounded by hundreds of weapons identical to the weapons used by the Dreadknights in the Temple of Wisdom. Gene wants to activate the test, but Tony says that they should take the ring without beginning the test so that he can study it safely. Later, Gene, as the Mandarin, teleports back so that he can prove his worthiness as the Mandarin by passing the test. He strikes the statue with one of the axes to awaken the ring's robot guardian, Ultimo. Mandarin declares that he has no fear for the machine and readies for battle, but it walks right past him with no interest in conflict. Refusing to be ignored, Mandarin strikes it with a sword and a blast from the fire ring, but that just makes Ultimo double in size where it stands. It quickly tossed Mandarin aside and walked all the way from Greenland to New York to get the ring back. As it has become apparent that attacking Ultimo only makes it bigger, it's at least 40 feet tall by the time it reaches the streets of New York. Tony, as Iron Man tries to fight it, but every attempt made it grow in size and power. He pondered logic to whatever the test of Courage was and even tried returning the ring as the courageous thing to do. However, Ultimo refused to relent. Tony remembered all the weapons contained within the temple of Courage and Pepper estimated that if this thing gets more powerful with every attack, that must mean its hostility is drawn to anybody carrying a weapon, which means the battle is already lost for anybody who picks up a sword and tries fighting it. When Rhodey reminds Tony that his whole suit is a weapon, Tony remembers a quote from his father that proves miraculous in these particular circumstances: "Weapons never solve a problem. They only create more". Iron Man passes the test when he discovers that true courage is about forgoing your arsenal, not readying it, and kneels before Ultimo with his suit's weapon systems deactivated. Upon Tony's surrender, Ultimo shrinks down to its normal size and presents him with the ring, fully operational. The Mandarin appeared and took the third ring from Iron Man. The map to the next ring is hidden somewhere on Ultimo's head.
4. Fourth Ring, Test of Temperance[]
In World On Fire, Tony, Rhodes, and Pepper go to the Temple of Temperance at the foot of Mt. Saint Helens. In the temple, there is a column of light, two large challises one each side, one with ice and one with coal, similar to the pedestals from the chamber of Wisdom, and a pair of steel handling tongs. When Pepper accidentally knocks the ice in the light, the ring's guardian, Firebrand, turns Rhodey into a fire monster and attacks Tony/Iron Man, thus beginning the test. Tony and Pepper learn that if they don't pass the test before the volcano erupts, the energy from it will trigger the eruption of all other volcanos on Earth that will exterminate all life on Earth when the sun is blocked out by an impenetrable cloud of ash. Pepper tries to stop the test by doing the opposite and putting the coal in the light with the tongs. However, instead of passing the test, Pepper merely reverses the effects when Firebrand leaves Rhodey's body and possesses her instead. Rhodey manages to reach Gene on his cell phone and he explains the urgency of the situation. Gene relays that the test is Temperance, which means moderation, self-control, not too much of any one thing. If neither ice or cole is the answer, he decides that both the ice and the coal must go in the light together. Rhodey has his doubts since the tongs only work with one sample at a time, but Gene identifies the tongs as the source of misdirection for this test, reminding him that every test had a trap, and orders Rhodey to go through with his suggestion. Rhodey dumps the challises into the light and the test is passed. The ice and the coal represented the concepts of hot and cold, and the test was passed because putting both in together represented warmth, the space between representing the perfect balance between either one thing. Once that was done, Firebrand leaves Pepper's body, the test is passed and the door to the ring chamber is opened with the ring fully activated. After leaving the temple, Tony realizes that he can't use the ring, but The Mandarin can.
5. Fifth Ring, Test of Sacrifice[]
In the season finale, Tales of Suspense, Zhang kidnaps Gene, Tony, and Pepper and go to the Temple of Sacrifice in Machu Picchu, Peru. In the temple, there are two hand switches, both of them right handed. Gene and Tony activate the test and bring the dragon Fin Fang Foom to life. Zhang and his Tong men flee, leaving Pepper with Tony and Gene. Pepper tries to pass the test by giving the dragon the Makluan rings, but it doesn't work. Gene passes the test by sacrificing himself to save Pepper, and allowing himself to be eaten by Fin Fang Foom . Inside the dragon, Gene finds his four rings, as well as the fifth. Fin Fang Foom is frozen solid and Gene escapes from the dragon's mouth. Gene then shows Team Iron Man that he is The Mandarin, and attacks Tony as Iron Man (Tony reveals to Gene that he is Iron Man during the test). As Tony is about to beat Gene, Gene finally reveals to him that he was the one who blew up his father’s Jet, abducting him and leaving Tony for dead in the plane crash, and if Tony wants to see him again, he has to let Gene live. Tony stops attacking and Gene teleports away.
Season Two[]
In Season 2, Gene Khan (the Mandarin) and his prisoner Howard Stark went to search for the other 5 rings, for Gene found out that Original Mandarin didn't have five but ten rings in the season finale.
6. Sixth Ring[]
Gene Khan and Howard Stark found the sixth temple and defeated its guardian, the Melter to claim the sixth ring.
7. Seventh Ring[]
Gene and Howard eventually found the seventh temple and defeated its guardian, the Sunturion, and take the seventh Makluan ring.
8. Eighth Ring, Test of Fear[]
Using the seventh ring's hypnotizing power to control Tony, Gene Khan, Tony Stark, and Pepper Potts travel to the eighth temple in Egypt. The eighth temple holds its guardian, the Grim Reaper. To pass the test, the riddle must be solved: "Who would master the future must endure the pain of the past". When Tony takes the ring out of the Reaper's mouth, it came to life as a specter. He strikes both Gene and Iron Man and they're forced to live their worst fears (in the form of dreams). Tony realizes that their fears are only as strong as you make them, and he wakes up. He snaps Gene out of his dream and they work together to destroy the Grim Reaper, but Gene escapes with the eighth ring in his possession. However, using the powers of his newest ring, Gene does save Team Iron Man from a sandstorm that was about to bury the temple.
9. Ninth Ring[]
The ninth temple was in the country of Latveria, the home of Doctor Doom. It is guarded by the Grey Gargoyle. It was destroyed by Doom and its ring was claimed by him. When Gene and Howard find out that the ring has been taken, Doctor Doom shows up and captures Howard Stark. Luckily, Gene escapes, teleports to the armory, and passes out. Tony/Iron Man took Gene's rings while he was asleep. When Gene wakes up, he tells Tony that Doom has his father, Tony gives him back the purple ring only, and Gene teleports them to Castle Doom. Doom captures Tony and Gene, and along with Howard, Doom gives them to Yogthulu, in exchange for his dead family. They brake free and accidentally trap Doom in Yogthulu's dimension. Unfortunately, Gene gets the ring and teleports away. Tony flies his dad back home.
10. Tenth Ring, Test of Worthiness[]
The tenth ring was in the temple in China, Gene's own country, who stated, "It makes perfect sense that this should end where it all began." It was guarded by the Makluan who gave the rings to the first Madarin. He tested Gene to see if he was worthy to have the tenth ring, and told the true history of the first Mandarin, "Khan," and the Makluans. Gene vaporized the Makluan after he sensed darkness inside of Gene, and claimed the ring, making him the most powerful person in the world as Mandarin.
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