—Tony Stark[source]Professor Ho Yinsen was the hero here. He distracted the guards to save me. You get it? He died saving me! A--A better man than I ever thought of being! My whole life!
History
Early Life[]
Professor Ho Yinsen was a brilliant physicist and engineer from Timbetpal.[2] Yinsen's genius had already gained international renown while he was still a student, but in those days, he lacked the financial means to continue his experimentation. Learning of Yinsen's situation, Doctor Midas agreed to aid in funding the student's work, under the condition that Yinsen bequeath his brain to Midas upon death.[3]
In the late '80s, Yinsen moved to Seattle, in the United States of America. He met a Chinese woman whom he married. They had a child named Toni. Unfortunately, the marriage fell apart, prompting Yinsen to return to Timbetpal. He kept in touch with Toni, regularly making sure she and her mother were okay.[4]
Back in his homeland, he married again, and had a son. However, his happy life was cut short when Red Room operative Natalia Romanoff kidnapped him in the name of warlord Wong-Chu.[5]
Imprisonment[]
Ho Yinsen, along with his best pupil in Timbetpal, Sun-Tao,[6] became a prisoner of the terrorist leader Wong-Chu in Siancong.[note 1] Yinsen and Sun-Tao were eventually relegated to the camp's slave ranks when they failed to produce the destructive weaponry Wong-Chu demanded of them. Over time, Yinsen became less capable of completing the manual labor expected from him, leading Sun-Tao to surreptitiously carry out the work for both of them.[6]
During this time, American inventor Tony Stark was sent to said country to supervise a field test of one of his new weapons. While traveling through the warzone, Stark tripped a booby trap. The resulting explosion lodged a piece of shrapnel in his chest. The gravely-injured Stark was taken captive by Wong-Chu as well, and informed that the shrapnel would penetrate his heart within a week, killing him. Wong-Chu offered Stark at deal: if Tony could build a power weapon for the terrorists, Wong-Chu's surgeons would save Stark's life. Tony agreed, hoping to gain time and access to tools.
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Yinsen was removed from the slave ranks to help Tony in Stark's assigned task, and the two were given access to a small laboratory in terrorist territory. Yinsen helped Stark design and build an electrically powered suit of iron armor and equipped it with a variety of offensive weaponry. The armor also contained a pacemaker-like device that would enable Stark's injured heart to keep beating after the shrapnel entered it. Donning the suit, Stark connected it to an electrical generator to charge. Lying on a table, Stark was helpless until the suit was fully charged. His captor, Wong-Chu, sensed something was amiss and came to investigate with armed men. Realizing he was sacrificing his life, Professor Yinsen went out to confront Wong-Chu, giving Stark the extra time he needed to fully charge the armored suit. As Iron Man, Stark avenged Yinsen's death and scattered Wong Chu's guerilla troops.[7]
Sons of Yinsen[]
After Yinsen's apparent demise, his old pupil, Sun-Tao, was ordered to bury his mentor's body. Yet the wounded Yinsen had not yet passed, and gave Sun-Tao a journal containing notes on all of Yinsen's theories and creations, including the Iron Man armor. Yinsen then died, after which Midas appeared with two of his Midas Foundation employees to collect Yinsen's body.[3] After Midas left with Yinsen, Sun-Tao began to teach others of Yinsen's work, eventually forming a group of monks who'd call themselves the Sons of Yinsen. Together, they'd build New Timbetpal, an aerial, futuristic city inspired by the notes in Yinsen's journal.[8]
After extracting Yinsen's brain and encasing it in a tube with protective fluid, Midas separately approached Wong-Chu and the Sons of Yinsen in the present day, offering them the chance to win Yinsen's gray matter back in a silent auction. Though Wong-Chu placed the winning bid, Midas betrayed him by having a mediator reveal to the Sons of Yinsen that Wong-Chu had been the other bidder. With Iron Man's help, Sun-Tao and the Sons of Yinsen defeated Wong-Chu, after which Sun-Tao and the Sons recuperated Yinsen's brain and placed it with a statue modeled after the inventor in New Timbetpal.[3]Attributes
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Abilities
Notes
- A modernized version of Ho Yinsen appeared in Iron Man (Vol. 4) #5.
See Also
- 23 appearance(s) of Ho Yinsen (Earth-616)
- 3 appearance(s) in handbook(s) of Ho Yinsen (Earth-616)
- 19 minor appearance(s) of Ho Yinsen (Earth-616)
- 16 mention(s) of Ho Yinsen (Earth-616)
- 2 mention(s) in handbook(s) of Ho Yinsen (Earth-616)
- 10 image(s) of Ho Yinsen (Earth-616)
Links and References
References
- ↑ That part went through multiple revisions, from the story originally taking place in Vietnam to finally being moved to Siancong in History of the Marvel Universe (Vol. 2) #2
- ↑ Iron Man (Vol. 4) #7–12
- ↑ Iron Man (Vol. 4)
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Iron Man 2000 #1
- ↑ U.S.Avengers #1
- ↑ Black Widow (Vol. 6) #6
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Iron Man (Vol. 3) #31
- ↑ Tales of Suspense #39
- ↑ Iron Man (Vol. 3) #32
- ↑ Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z #13
- ↑ Iron Man (Vol. 3) #50
- ↑ Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z #13
- ↑ Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z Vol 1 13