Oh. Real nice, Mandarin. You can't even have a conversation without weighing the odds in your favor, can you? 
Appearing in "In the Belly of the Beast!"
Featured Characters:
Iron Man (Tony Stark) 
(Main story and recap)
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
- Mandarin's Army of Mercenaries (Death)
- Mandarin (Main story and recap) (Apparent death)
Other Characters:
- Russian Army
- Spymaster (Nathan Lemon) (Mentioned)
- Espionage Elite (Referenced)
- Stark Enterprises (Recap)
- Unnamed Tony Stark's assistant (Recap)
- Death Squad (Mentioned)
- Dreadnoughts (Mentioned)
- Jurgen Hauptmann (Mentioned)
- Whiplash (Mark Scarlotti) (Mentioned)
- Madame Masque (Whitney Frost) (Death)
- Madame Masque (First appearance)
- Napoleon Bonaparte (Mentioned)
- Adolf Hitler (Mentioned)
- Dr. Nigel Dabuta (Recap)
- Lord (Yahweh) (Invoked)
Races and Species:
- Humans (Main story and recap)
- Synthezoids
- Mutants
Locations:
- Earth (Main story and recap)
- Russia
- China (Recap)
- Hong Kong (Recap)
- Stark Enterprises Headquarters (Recap)
- Hong Kong (Recap)
- United States of America
- Potomac River
- Madame Masque's Secret Base
- Potomac River
- Kenya (Referenced)
- Australia (Recap)
- Heaven (Mentioned)
Items:
- Darkforce
- Black Widow's Gauntlets
- Captain America's Uniform and Shield
- Iron Man Armor
- Mandarin's Rings (Main story and recap)
- Techno-Organic Virus (Recap)
Vehicles:
- Quinjet
- Dragon of Heaven (Destruction)
Synopsis for "In the Belly of the Beast!"
The Avengers arrive in Russia to aid the Winter Guard. Spotting the Dragon of Heaven as it begins an aerial assault, the two teams of heroes head into the sky to face its threat. The Mandarin holds Iron Man as he explains how he intends to master technology in order to usher in his New World order. When Iron Man accuses the Mandarin of being responsible for the threats he has faced, the Mandarin professes ignorance of the Death Squad, Whiplash and Iron Hand Haupman's activities. Elsewhere, Madame Masque is attacked by an unseen figure who murders her and claims her identity. As the Avengers and Winter Guard continue to battle the Mandarin's forces and attempt to enter the Dragon of Heaven, Vostok tries to use his powers to control the vessel, only be taken over by the dragon instead. Iron Man manages to escape his bonds and reaches the power core of the Dragon; the Mandarin tries to divert him with his Final Guardians but Iron Man ignores him and destroys the core; the Dragon of Heaven is destroyed and the Mandarin is seemingly consumed in the destruction. Iron Man survives this destruction, but is finally overcome by all of his recent injuries and collapses in front of the Avengers.
Notes
Publication Notes
Legacy Numbering
- Based on the Marvel Legacy renumbering infographic, this issue is Iron Man #355
