HO YINSEN  

Real Name: Ho Yinsen;
    perhaps "Ho" is his suname

Identity/Class: Human scientist;
    citizen of Timbetpal (Asian nation)

Occupation: Scientist

Group Membership: Leader of the Sons of Yinsen (at the last seconds of his existence)

Affiliations: Doctor Midas, Iron Man/Tony Stark, Sons of Yinsen (Sun-Tao, Tiger Minn)

Enemies: Mandarin, Ultron, Ultron Mark 12, Wong-Chu and his servants (including his unidentified female agent) and troops;
    allegedly the Taliban (Zakim Karzai, Dennis Kellard, Aftaab Lemar, Karim Najeeb, Ara Tanzerian)

Known Relatives: Unidentified (first, or previous) wife, unidentified (second, or more recent) wife (deceased; see comments), Toni Ho (Iron Patriot, daughter), alleged son (deceased; see comments)

Aliases: None

Base of Operations: Unrevealed;
    formerly New Timbetpal;
    formerly Wong-Chu's base in Southeast Asia;
    formerly Seattle, Washington;
    formerly Timbetpal;
    formerly mobile across Earth

Education: Ph.Ds in physics, robotics, medicine, and other sciences

First Appearance: Tales of Suspense I#39 (March, 1963)

Powers/Abilities: Ho Yinsen was a scientific genius versed in numerous fields, most notably physics and bio-technology.

    Ho Yinsen believed that the union of the human spirit and technology would illuminate society, and that violence was the way of the unenlightened and primitive.

    Yinsen briefly possessed control of an Iron Man model 16 suit of armor, which would have granted him great strength, durability, and energy manipulation, as well as flight. He did not utilize any of these abilities.

Height: 5'2"
Weight: 120 lbs.
Eyes: Brown
Hair: White; formerly black

History: 
(Iron Man Annual 2000 (fb) - BTS) - While still a student, Timbetpal native Yinsen's reputation as a brilliant man of science reached the world over. The young Yinsen made a deal with the mysterious Dr. Midas, apparently promising him his brain upon his death in exchange for funding for his many experiments.

(Iron Man III#50 (fb) - BTS) - One of the world's leading physicists, Ho Yinsen's work on miniaturized power cells won him the Nobel Prize.

(Tales of Suspense I#39 (fb) - BTS) - Tony Stark read Professor Yinsen's books in college and considered him the greatest physicist of all.

(Iron Man III#50 (fb) - BTS) - Yinsen's work in miniaturization inspired Tony Stark's own research.

(Iron Man IV#11 (fb) - BTS / All-New Iron Manual: Ho Yinsen entry) - Yinsen designed prosthetics and allegedly discovered that neuro implants could cure depression and schizophrenia and perhaps redefine a man's soul, turning sociopaths into model citizens (see comments).

(All-New Iron Manual; Ho Yinsen entry) - Yinsen lectured worldwide.

(U.S.Avengers#1 (fb) - BTS) - Yinsen met and married an unidentified woman in Seattle, Washington.

(U.S.Avengers#1 (fb) - BTS) <less than 12 years before Tales of Suspense I#39> - Yinsen and his wife had a daughter, Toni Ho.

(U.S.Avengers#1 (fb) - BTS) - Despite the best efforts of Yinsen and his wife, they were eventually divorced (when Toni was "small"), and Yinsen moved back to Timbetpal. 

(U.S.Avengers#1 (fb) - BTS) - Yinsen kept in touch with Toni, making she that Toni and her mother were OK. 

(U.S.Avengers#8 (fb) - BTS) - Yinsen sent Toni letters, spoke with her by phone, and occasionally visited her. She thought he smelled of pipe tobacco and solder.

(Iron Man III#31 (fb) - BTS) - In their nation of Timbetpal, Yinsen chose Sun-Tao as his first prodigy, after which he eventually hand-picked another eleven such disciples to study under him. 

(Iron Man IV#11 (fb) - BTS / All-New Iron Manual: Ho Yinsen entry) - When Midas' funding ran out, Yinsen allegedly took government funding, reluctantly accepting a push towards weapon design as a necessary evil so he could continue his real work (see comments).

(Iron Man III#31 (fb) - BTS / All-New Iron Manual: Ho Yinsen entry) - Invading Chinese armies occupied Timbetpal and took Yinsen away. Sun-Tao insisted he accompany Ho Yinsen as he was taken from Timbetpal. 

(Tales of Suspense I#39 (fb) - BTS) - Professor Ho Yinsen was pressed into slave labor by communists, and when he resisted, he was taken (or sold as a) prisoner by Wong-Chu.

(Iron Man I#267 (fb) - BTS) - Wong-Chu had it made to appear to the public that Yinsen had perished.

(Iron Man I#267 (fb) - BTS) - Wong-Chu had a laboratory built in which Ho Yinsen was to build a super weapon. Playing along, Yinsen produced a little for Wong-Chu, and then a little more as demanded, but never enough for a true weapon.

(Iron Man I#267 (fb) - BTS) - Yinsen told Wong-Chu he could not complete his weapon without the aid of American industrialist Tony Stark.

(Iron Man III#31 (fb) - BTS) - Presumably suspecting that Yinsen and Sun-Tao were feigning failure, Wong-Chu had then banished to the slave camps. As Yinsen grew frail, Sun-Tao did his work to keep Wong-Chu diverted.

(Tales of Suspense I#39 (fb) - BTS / Iron Man I#267 (fb) - BTS) - Stark visited the jungles of Southeast Asia to investigate/assist against local guerilla forces (see comments for greater details on the two versions of these events).

(Tales of Suspense I#39 - BTS / Iron Man I#267 (fb)) - As Stark entered the jungles, either he or one of the men accompanying him set off a tripwire, activating a bomb that incapacitated Stark and sent shrapnel into his chest (see comments for greater details on the two versions of these events).

(Tales of Suspense I#39) - Wong-Chu was informed that the shrapnel was too close to Stark's heart to operate and that Stark only had a week to live, he resolved to use Stark while he could.

(Iron Man III#31 (fb)) - Wong-Chu showed off Stark as his prisoner, and Yinsen and Sun-Tao were pleased by his presence/survival. Sun-Tao felt blessed when Yinsen was sent to work with Stark, feeling that Yinsen was now safe.

(Iron Man I#267 (fb) - BTS) - Stark was placed in Yinsen's lab -- a large room with plenty of scrap iron and tools.

(Iron Man IV#11 (fb) - BTS / All-New Iron Manual: Ho Yinsen entry) <As reported by the alleged son of Yinsen> - Ho Yinsen placed a bio-magnetic neural override implant in promising young weapons designer Tony Stark's head for the Taliban (specifically Zakim Karzai, Dennis Kellard, Aftaab Lemar, Karim Najeeb, Ara Tanzerian), apparently under Wong-Chu's direct supervision. Yinsen allegedly designed a sending unit without which the implant he placed in Stark was useless; Yinsen smuggled the sending unit out of Afghanistan and placed it with his wife.

(Iron Man I#267 (fb)) - Stark eventually regained consciousness after three days, where he was surprised to see Professor Yinsen, whom he had believed to be dead. Yinsen assured him that neither of them were dead, but that it had been very close indeed for Stark. When Stark was pained upon sitting up, Yinsen warned him to lie still and explained the nature of Stark's injury Yinsen also shared how he had worked for Wong-Chu for months and deliberately not produced anything useful.

    When Wong-Chu's female agent invited Stark to a meeting, he initially refused, but Yinsen coached Stark to play along rather than risk acute death. Stark was surprised that the woman seemed so well-educated, Yinsen explained that Wong-Chu preached a poison many wished to hear and that it was not only the foolish and uneducated who flocked to a madman's call. 

    As they approached Wong-Chu's home, Yinsen advised Stark to study the base's details as there might come a time when he would need to know them by heart.

    After Stark insulted Wong-Chu despite Yinsen's warnings, the tyrant had his agents discipline Stark, who fended them well for himself before abruptly collapsing as the shrapnel moved closer to his heart.

(Iron Man I#268 (fb)) - Yinsen urged Stark be taken back to his lab -- instructing Wong-Chu's female servant to "Keep away from him! Your meddling hands can do nothing!" -- to save him from the migrating shrapnel, an indignant Wong-Chu argued that Stark should be cast on the dung heap for his insults. Yinsen reminded Wong-Chu that without Stark he could not grant him the power he craved, and that he would never be more than a cruel and petty warlord. 

    Warning Yinsen that he only lived because he had use for him, Wong-Chu chided him for lecturing him and imagining himself Wong-Chu's superior and then physically tossed him across the room on top of a couch. After Wong-Chu reminded Yinsen how easily he could have him die painfully as he was nothing but a dry bag of fragile old bones, a defiant Yinsen told Wong-Chu to spare him his threats, arguing that if Wong-Chu dared to kill him he would have done so already; Yinsen further taunted Wong-Chu with his suspicions that he served a master who kept him on a tight leash (this was correct as Wong-Chu served the Mandarin). Though furious, Wong-Chu sent Yinsen back to his lab, instructing him he had until tomorrow to provide the desired answers.

(Tales of Suspense I#39 - BTS / Iron Man I#268 (fb)) - Yinsen was elated when Stark revealed his plans to construct an Iron Man armor both to protect Stark's heart from the shrapnel and to to use against Wong-Chu. Yinsen and Stark worked together for days (see comments) to construct the equipment.

(Iron Man I#268 (fb) - BTS) - As Stark grew progressively weaker, Yinsen continued from his designs. 

(Iron Man I#268 (fb)) - As Stark recovered conscious in Yinsen's lab, Ho advised him to lie still as there was nothing left to do but...wait for the end. Stark countered that if Yinsen had gotten far enough with his work, they could activate "their friend" then and there. Although Wong-Chu's female agent was present, Stark and Yinsen apparently (and incorrectly) felt she wouldn't understand what they meant with their vague code.

(Iron Man I#268 (fb)) - As Wong-Chu returned to the village, Wong-Chu's female agent noted she had appreciated from their conversations that Stark and Yinsen were conspiring against him. Appreciating, at least, that they had been talking about some form of weapon, Wong-Chu gathered his warriors and headed to Yinsen's lab, intent to claim the weapon and make himself master of the entire world. 

(Tales of Suspense I#39 / Iron Man I#268 (fb) / Iron Man III Annual 2000 (fb)) - As the armor was completed, Stark donned it to protect his heart from the increasing pressure of the shrapnel. As the armor charged, Yinsen noted that Wong-Chu approached to check on them (as indicated by a warning light they had installed).

(Iron Man I#268 (fb)) - When Yinsen stated that they could not allow the armor to fall into Wong-Chu's hands, Stark asked Yinsen to help him up and to get into the rest of the suit. 

(Tales of Suspense I#39 / Iron Man I#268 (fb)) - As the system had not finished charging (or aligning to to Stark's body, or brain) and battling Wong-Chu now would be suicide, Yinsen refused, instead running outside and telling his friend Stark he would buy him a few seconds.

(U.S.Avengers#8 (fb) - BTS) - Stark advised Yinsen not to go out there, but Yinsen told him he had to stall "them." He added, "If I don't come back...remember me. And avenge me."

(Tales of Suspense I#39) - To prevent Wong-Chu from discovering the armor before it was ready, Professor Yinsen rushed out in front of Wong-Chu, shouting "Death to Wong-Chu! Death to the evil tyrant!" Considering Yinsen mad and no longer of any use, Wong-Chu ordered his troops to end his life. 

(Tales of Suspense I#39 - BTS) - Yinsen was shot, and Wong-Chu ordered his body to be dragged away.

(U.S.Avengers#8 (fb) - BTS) - Per Toni Ho, her father and Stark had 1 week together. 

(Iron Man III#32 (fb) - BTS / Iron Man Annual 2000 (fb)) - Sun-Tao was tasked with disposing of Yinsen's body in the jungle. However, unbeknownst to Wong-Chu, Yinsen survived. Yinsen gave Sun-Tao his journal that contained all of his life's works, including notes on the Iron Man armor and his cloaking technology. 

    With his apparent dying breath, he told Sun-Tao of his pride in seeing the rise of Iron Man, and he sent Sun-Tao to return to Timbetpal and teach the world of its greatest son. 

(Iron Man Annual 2000 (fb)) - Agents of Dr. Midas -- via a space warp portal -- stole Yinsen's body seconds after he drew his final breath and apparently died. 

(Iron Man Annual 2000 (fb) - BTS) - Midas told Sun-Tao of the old deal with Yinsen and assured him that Yinsen would be fine. Believing Midas could save Yinsen, Sun-Tao was calmed, and as Midas departed, he told Sun-Tao he would be in touch.

(U.S.Avengers#8 (fb) - BTS) - Seeing news reports of her father's death, an 11 year old Toni Ho dropped to her knees and began crying. 

(U.S.Avengers#8 (fb) - BTS) - Soon after, Toni decided that while Tony Stark had apparently done all he could to save her father, that he should have done more. She vowed that when she grew up, she was going to be better. 

(Iron Man Annual 2000 (fb) - BTS) - Dr. Midas harvested and preserved Yinsen's brain, which was allegedly kept alive inside a tank. 

(All-New Iron Manual: Ho Yinsen entry) - Accessing Yinsen's knowledge, Dr. Midas constructed a suit of armor similar to the Iron Man model 1 armor. 

(Iron Man III#31 (fb) - BTS / Iron Man Annual 2000 (fb) - BTS) - Sun-Tao returned to Timbetpal and rejoined Yinsen's other disciples. Via Yinsen's many journals, their own undying faith, and their own research, these twelve "Sons of Yinsen" built and constructed a way by which to honor Yinsen and the gift -- "the gift of the flesh, the spirit, and the immortal god of science" -- he gave to them. 

    To honor their master, the Sons wore versions of the Iron Man armor and designed the massive floating city New Timbetpal and its immmense mother-ship.

    They sold patents for their inventions to funds to build and maintain their equipment. 

    The people of Timbetpal came to follow the teachings of the Sons of Yinsen and converted to "Yinsenism." They all eventually relocated to New Timbetpal, with all but Sun-Tao taking a vow of silence.

(Iron Man Annual 2000 (fb) - BTS) - Sun-Tao cared for Yinsen's widow, but a year after Ho Yinsen's death she died of an apparent broken heart.

(Iron Man Annual 2000 (fb) - BTS) - Years later, Dr. Midas arranged a silent auction between Wong-Chu and the Sons of Yinsen (though neither they nor Wong-Chu knew the identity of the other auctioneer) to possess Yinsen's still-living brain. Wong-Chu's greater wealth won out.

(Iron Man Annual 2000 (fb) - BTS) - Midas' mediator offered the Sons of Yinsen the name of the successful buyer for the price of their losing bid. The Sons accepted and learned it was Wong-Chu.

(Iron Man III#1/2 - BTS / Iron Man III#31-32 - BTS) - Eventually joined by Iron Man, the Sons of Yinsen sought out, located, and confronted Wong-Chu.

(Iron Man III#32 - BTS) - Wong-Chu revealed to Stark that Yinsen was alive.

(Iron Man Annual 2000 - BTS) - At Sun-Tao's advice that Wong-Chu would be heading towards Yinsen, Iron Man traveled to Wong-Chu's fortified bunker and defeated him. Sun-Tao told Stark to stop so that Wong-Chu could lead them to Yinsen.

    When Wong-Chu vowed he would die before leading the Sons anywhere, Sun-Tao sent a female member Sons into the bunker. Tripping a sensor, she was killed in the resultant explosion, leading Sun-Tao to mock her death. As Wong-Chu continued to laugh, however, one of the Sons' servants (the brother of the Sons member just killed, later known as Tiger Minn), who had stowed away inside one of the drones slew Wong-Chu before anyone could stop him. 

(Iron Man Annual 2000 (fb) - BTS) - The Sons of Yinsen found the brain of Yinsen in a preservative chamber within the hands of a giant Yinsen statue. 

(Iron Man III#47 (fb) - BTS) - The Sons of Yinsen resumed their quest to resurrect Yinsen. 

(Iron Man III#46 (fb) - BTS / Iron Man III#47 (fb)) - The Sons of Yinsen recovered Iron Man's incapacitated Model 16 sentient armor (actually controlled by Ultron, although it was the more benevolent Mark 12 that had been in control) and implanted Yinsen's brain within it to give him a proper vessel through which to act/live.

(Iron Man III#48 (fb)) - Once the Sons of Yinsen reactivated the "sentient armor," the primary Ultron established contact and transferred his mind/program into this new host. 

(Iron Man III#47 (fb)) - The Sons of Yinsen were ecstatic to have seemingly brought their holiest of missions to fruition, but Sun-Tao soon noticed that "Yinsen" was more arrogant and aggressive, and that the orders he gave the Sons grew stranger each day; among these was the mass production of Iron Man's Model 16 armor as if he was preparing for war. Sun-Tao wondered if this behavior was an after effect of his extended disembodied existence or if this actually was Yinsen at all. Regardless, Sun-Tao resolved to stop "Yinsen," but the other Sons proved to be blinded by their unyielding devotion.

(Iron Man III#46 (fb) - BTS / Iron Man III#47 (fb)) - Sun-Tao was branded a heretic and ex-communicated from their order.

(Iron Man III#47 (fb)) - "Yinsen" convinced the other Sons that a great madness had come over Sun-Tao and that their holy technology was the only way to dispel it. In reality, "Yinsen" used the opportunity to strip away Sun-Tao's mind, leaving "Yinsen" was free to proceed without opposition.

(Iron Man III#46 (fb)) <Three weeks before the main story> - Ultron, controlling the sentient armor (Ultron Mark 12) inhabited by Yinsen's brain, arrived with the Sons of Yinsen in New Timbetpal above New York City and decloaked.

(Iron Man III#46 (fb) - BTS) - Under Ultron's control, the Sons of Yinsen set up the Church of Yinsenism, with their main office in New York. The religion caught up quickly, especially among the celebrity set, swiftly becoming the most chic new religion. Tiger Minn reported that Sun-Tao had disagreed with the Sons of Yinsen going public, and he parted ways with the order.

(Iron Man III#46 (fb) - BTS) - Ultron sent Sun-Tao, in an Iron Man model 16 armor replica to break into Askew Electronics, providing a distraction to allow the other Sons of Yinsen to steal the SKIN (Synthetic Kinetic Interfacing Nanofluid; digital fluid, generated by Askew Tronics).

(Iron Man III#47 (fb) - BTS) - Ultron had the Church of Yinsenism's New York City congregation horrifically altered, with SKIN used to turn them into his personal army of mindless cyborgs.

(Iron Man III#46 - BTS) - After Iron Man defeated and captured Sun-Tao (who could speak only of the "Great Devil"), Ultron (posing as Yinsen controlling the sentient armor, led the Sons to confront Iron Man and demand Sun-Tao and his armor's return. When Iron Man tried to warn "Yinsen" about the sentient armor, "Yinsen" initially tried to apologize for being too overzealous, blaming his lack of social graces on having been disembodied for so long. "Yinsen" further told Iron Man that Sun-Tao had gone mad, but when Iron Man questioned his true nature, refusing to completely believe him and refusing to surrender Sun-Tao until the matter had been resolved, "Yinsen" told Iron Man he and his allies would surely take Sun-Tao over his dead body.

(Iron Man III#47 - BTS) - As the other Sons attacked Iron Man, Tiger Minn needlessly protected "Yinsen" from a blast. 

(Iron Man III#47 - BTS) - Sun-Tao revived and told "Happy" Hogan and "Pepper" Potts what had happened with "Yinsen," whom he now knew was not Yinsen, but "the Great Devil."

Though Iron Man magnetically trapped the others, "Yinsen" stunned Stark and fried his armor's systems, freed the Sons, had them incapacitate Stark, and then sent them to recover Sun-Tao. 

(Iron Man III#47 - BTS) - After Tiger Minn defeated Sun-Tao, "Yinsen" had him brought back to their church, but when Minn prepared to sacrifice Sun-Tao, a recovered Iron Man stopped him. With Jocasta's aid, Iron Man caused the Sons' cloaking function to malfunction and instead absorb light, burning them. However, when the SKIN-mutated congregation confronted him, Iron Man tried to flee to gather the Avengers, but "Yinsen" used his control of the "sentient armor" to control Stark's new artificial heart (which that armor had created), incapacitating Stark with pain and cardiac dysfunction. "Yinsen" then unmasked, revealing it to actually be Ultron in control.

(Iron Man III#48 - BTS) - Ultron revealed how he had come to control the armor and then discussed his plans to conquer Earth before instructing the congregation to kill Iron Man and Sun-Tao as Ultron and the Sons departed; but Iron Man used his control of the SKIN distributor in his own armor to incapacitate the entire congregation. 

(Iron Man III#48) - Sun-Tao gathered the helmet with Yinsen's brain and took it with him. 

(Iron Man III#48 (fb) - BTS) - Ultron and the Son returned to New Timbetpal, and Ultron outfitted its entire population with SKIN and then transported it to Las Vegas.

(Iron Man III#48 - BTS) - Ultron mocked the arriving Iron Man and Sun-Tao. Though they incapacitated the SKIN-bonded population, Ultron again exerted control over Stark's artificial heart. Iron Man then downloaded Jocasta into Ultron's armor, allowing her to battle the sentient armor/Ultron Mark 12, distracting while Iron Man engaged Ultron externally. Together, they drove off Ultron, whose head was dislodged and sent away with his synthezoid ally Antigone.

(Iron Man III#48) - Sun-Tao had the Iron Man helmet containing Yinsen's brain reattached to the armor Ultron had evacuated, and the armor began to move anew. When Ultron appeared via a viewscreen and announced that it had rigged the entire city of New Timbetpal to detonate, Iron Man prepared to evacuate everyone, but Yinsen or whatever was now controlling the armor countered that this city was the ultimate extension of his people's belief system and that they would not leave. Iron Man refused to believe this was Yinsen and argued that it could be the "sentient armor" back in control, tricking them into mass suicide. Noting his pride in the man Stark had become and lamenting that they did not have more time together, Yinsen reluctantly used the armor's control over Stark's heart to incapacitate him and then instructed Sun-Tao that his destiny was elsewhere, that he must survive so that their ways would live on in some form, and that he should fly Iron Man out. 

(Iron Man III#48 - BTS) - After Sun-Tao departed with Iron Man, New Timbetpal detonated over the desert. They discussed what they had witnessed. Sun-Tao contended that, for him, it was Yinsen. He conceded that it could have been the sentient armor or something in between, a leftover spark of Yinsen saving Stark again one last time; he considered it a matter of faith. 

Comments: Created by Stan Lee, Larry Lieber, and Don Heck.

    Iron Man I#267-268 added a lot of information to earlier story from Tales of Suspense, but there are a number of contradictions as well:

• WHERE WAS STARK?
  In the original stories, Wong-Chu's first encounter with Tony Stark took place in South Vietnam, and it was associated with the Vietnam war.
       Due to the sliding timescale, that eventually became a topical reference, occurring either in Vietnam, just not during "the Vietnam War,"" or in the unspecified "Southeast Asia." Iron Man I#167 had Stark's employee Toshi Kanada greet him with, "Welcome to Southeast Asia!" 
       This is more just a modern fix of topical situation, and is not a problem whatsoever.
• WHY WAS STARK THERE?
  In Tales of Suspense, Stark was brought to Vietnam to help the army against guerilla forces
  
       (Tales of Supense I#39) - As US forces could not bring sufficient heavy artillery into the dense jungle to defeat the "red guerillas" that outnumbered them, industrialist Tony Stark was brought in to see if his miniaturized equipment could help them.
       (Tales of Suspense I#39 - BTS) - Stark joined a group of US soldiers in the jungles of Southeast Asia. Though Stark's miniaturized mortars (no larger or heavier than flashlights) proved effective, Stark himself tripped over a wire that set off a bomb. Barely alive, Stark was recovered by local soldiers, who brought him to Wong-Chu in hopes of gaining a reward.
  
  In Iron Man#267, Stark was summoned there by his employees due to problems with local troops interfering with the delivery of supplies.
  
       (Iron Man I#267 (fb) - BTS) - Supplies to the Stark Industries facility in southeast Asia (see comments) were progressively disrupted. After the better part of a week where materials consistently arrived incomplete or undamaged, Tony Stark decided to personally visit the facility.
       Stark's agent Toshi Kanada felt this was all a deliberate attack on Stark Industries, specifically to lure Stark to the region.
       (Iron Man I#267 (fb) - BTS) - In a jeep along with Kanada, Stark drove by the Stark Industries facility, and Kanada noted that all of the reinforcements and precautions were necessary as long as Wong-Chu was in the area.
       (Iron Man I#267 (fb)) - Observing this interaction via remote monitors, Wong-Chu noted with frustration to the Mandarin how they knew of him despite his efforts to keep himself hidden. The Mandarin explained, however, that he intended for them to know, as the presence of Wong-Chu was was what he knew would secure Stark's personal involvement. Though Wong-Chu cautioned that involving a smart and powerful person was a risk, the Mandarin ordered Wong-Chu to execute his part in the next phase of the Mandarin's plans. Having already signaled his men, Wong-Chu went to join them.
       (Iron Man I#267 (fb) - BTS) - Wong-Chu's men then attacked Stark's jeep, somehow having gotten past the outer perimenter, and Kanada held them off long enough for Stark's security to arrive, allowing them to flee into the jungle. However, Kanada (only a foot was seen, but he was the one in the lead, so presumably it was him) tripped a wire that set off a bomb. 
       (Iron Man I#267 (fb)) - Noting Kanada to be dead, Wong-Chu instructed that Stark be brought back to the encampment immediately; he further instructed his men that if Stark died, they would all suffer the torture of a thousand agonies. 
  
  In Iron Man III#50, Stark was sent there to investigate why  the exo-skeletons Stark had designed for US soldiers were having some sort of design glitch in the field in Southeast Asia. It wasn't specifically called Vietnam, but the timeline was described as "before the stink of Agent Orange had faded away..." Additionally, Wong-Chu specifically wanted Stark to design exo-skeleton armor for him.
  
       (Iron Man III#50 (fb) - BTS) - US government agents sought out Stark's aid in fighting a war against the drug trade, and Stark designed exo-skeleton battle armor to enhance soldiers' combat abilities.
       (Iron Man III#50 (fb) - BTS) - Wong-Chu observed one of Stark's exo-skeletons in action and was impressed; he learned of Stark himself.
       (Iron Man III#50 (fb) - BTS) - Stark was summoned to accompany "Snake-Eaters" (Special Ops; mostly commonly used to refer to Green Berets) to evaluate a "design glitch" that was turning up in the field in his exo-skeletons. One of the troops told Stark, "The suit works just the way you designed it. Maybe you should have thought about the man who was going to have to wear---"
       He was cut off as someone tripped a wire, setting off a bomb: It wasn't planted by Wong-Chu's men, just a leftover from an "all-but-forgotten war"; probably one of the US'.
• WHO MET STARK FIRST, WONG OR YINSEN?
  In Tales of Suspense, Wong-Chu first confronted Stark and put him to work, after which he sent Yinsen to aid him.
  
       (Tales of Suspense I#39) - Wong-Chu was pleased that the victim's papers revealed him to be a "famous yankee inventor"; when he was informed that the shrapnel was too close to Stark's heart to operate and that Stark only had a week to live, he summoned Stark and told him he would have his surgeon save his life after he designed a powerful new weapon for him. Stark realized he was being lied to but played along, pretending to agree while secretly plotting that his last act would be to defeat this terrorist.
      Wong-Chu provided Stark with a large room with plenty of scrap iron and tools.
      The next day, Wong-Chu cast Professor Yinsen in with Stark, ordering him to help build his weapon. Yinsen vowed that he would never help the evil red tyrants.
      (Tales of Suspense I#39 - BTS) - Stark convinced Yinsen to help him build his Iron Man armor both to protect his heart from the shrapnel and to to use against Wong-Chu.
  
  In Iron Man#267, Yinsen was there when Stark first recovered from his injuries, before Stark met Wong-Chu.
  
       (Iron Man I#267 (fb) - BTS) - Stark was placed in Yinsen's lab, where he eventually regained consciousness after three days. When Wong-Chu's female agent invited Stark to a meeting, he initially refused, but Yinsen coached him to play along rather than risk acute death.
       (Iron Man I#267 (fb)) - As Stark entered his chambers, Wong-Chu mocked Stark's "cardboard power," noting that "in my kingdom," Stark was no more than a peasant groveling in the dirt. When Stark mockingly turned down an offer of wine, Wong-Chu instructed his agents Li Po to discipline Stark to make him aware of the precarious nature of his position. Stark fended well for himself before abruptly collapsing as the shrapnel moved closer to his heart.
       (Iron Man I#268 (fb)) - When Yinsen urged Stark be taken back to his lab to save him from the migrating shrapnel, an indignant Wong-Chu argued that Stark should be cast on the dung heap for his insults. Yinsen reminded Wong-Chu that without Stark he could not grant him the power he craved, and that he would never be more than a cruel and petty warlord. Warning Yinsen that he only lived because he had use for him, Wong-Chu chided him for lecturing him and imagining himself Wong-Chu's superior and then tossed him across the room. After Wong-Chu reminded Yinsen how easily he could have him die painfully, Yinsen argued that if Wong-Chu dared to kill him he would have done so already; Yinsen further taunted Wong-Chu with his suspicions that he served a master who kept him on a tight leash. Though furious, Wong-Chu sent Yinsen back to his lab, instructing him he had until tomorrow to provide the desired answers.    
  
  In Iron Man III#50, Wong-Chu was present when Stark arrived and then provided Yinsen to help Stark.
  
       (Iron Man III#50 (fb) - BTS) - As Stark revived, Wong-Chu told him of the shrapnel in his chest, working its way toward his heart. Noting his respect for Stark's work, Wong-Chu instructed him to "do better" for him with the laboratory and equipment provided, after which he had a fine surgeon standing by to save him. Stark called Wong-Chu mad, and he responded, "undoubtedly." Wong-Chu then provided Yinsen to aid Stark.
• HOW LONG DID STARK AND YINSEN WORK TOGETHER?
• Tales of Suspense I#39 noted them working together for days.
• In Iron Man I#268, the Mandarin gave Wong-Chu a day to resolve the issues, and upon returning to the base, he was informed of Stark and Yinsen conspiring against him, leading him to investigate immediately.
• Maybe Stark and Yinsen had a day or more to work together before Wong-Chu met with the Mandarin?
• AND, THERE IS ALSO JUST CRAP
  Warren Ellis' Extremis storyline in Iron Man IV#1-6 (2006) retold Stark's origin as having occurrred in the Middle East. I am generally a big fan of Warren Ellis, but I strongly dislike total rewrites of continuity.
• The storylines following that tried to support this total reality revision, and the Iron Man movie (2008) supported that as well. Since then, writers have waffled on whether they care about continuity and the writers before them, or whether they have just wanted to go with "hip" and "now," and crap on the work done before them.
• So, it's fiction, but disregarding continuity makes it less believable/enjoyable to me, at least. Oh well...
• Not a huge fan of the Iron Man III#50 retcons, either, but at least they brought things back to Southeast Asia...
• Thanks to Alexandre Julião Machado for clarifying the timeline...I was misremembering the movie as the impetus for the Middle East retcon. Alexandre further added:
  As for the movie influencing the retcon that was made in Iron Man IV 7-12, the change of place where Iron Man's origin happened, from Southeast Asia to Afghanistan, was made by Warren Ellis in his arc Extremis, in Iron Man IV 1-6. The film took that idea from there. What the film influenced, was what the Knaufs had planned for Karim Mahwash Najeeb. Eventually, he would've been revealed as the terrorist leader behind Wong-Chu, modifying continuity even further. Thanks to the film, the Mandarin was put back in that role.

And...on that note, the actual "Son of Yinsen" storyline in Iron Man IV#7-12 (2006), had Yinsen implant a device into Stark's brain while the two were imprisoned in Afghanistan together. The "revealtion" was crap, crap, and more crap.
(Iron Man IV#11 (fb) - BTS) <According to a young man claiming to be the son of Ho Yinsen; see comments> - Yinsen allegedly discovered that neuro implants could cure depression and schizophrenia and perhaps redefine a man's soul, turning sociopaths into model citizens. Needing funding for his experiments and lacking the patience to settle for the slow trickle of funds he was getting from university grants, which might take decades, Ho Yinsen "got in bed with government," and placed an implant in promising young weapons designer Tony Stark's head for the Taliban (specifically Zakim Karzai, Dennis Kellard, Aftaab Lemar, Karim Najeeb, Ara Tanzerian).

Yinsen allegedly designed a sending unit without which the implant he placed in Stark was useless; Yinsen smuggled the implant out of Afghanistan.
Yinsen placed the sending unit with his wife. 

(Iron Man IV#9 (fb)) - Ho Yinsen was captured and executed under the orders of Taliban agents Zakim Karzai, Dennis Kellard, Aftaab Lemar, Karim Najeeb, Ara Tanzerian.

(Iron Man IV#11 (fb) - BTS) - Andrei Gorlovich was hired by Karzai, Kellard, Lemar, Najeeb, and Tanzerian to retrieve the sending unit; he confronted and slew Yinsen's wife when she apparently didn't have it, but Gorlovich did not realize Yinsen's son was wearing the sending unit as a necklace and that he was watching his mother's murder from behind a partially closed door.

(Iron Man IV#6-11 - BTS) - Years later, the Son of Yinsen used the sending unit to cause Iron Man to murder Gorlovich, Karzai, Kellard, Lemar, and Tanzerian. Stark found a means to block the control to some degree and locate the Son of Yinsen as he was being ordered to kill Najeeb. SHIELD agents assassinated the Son of Yinsen to prevent him from further controlling Iron Man.

(Iron Man IV#12 - BTS) - The Extremis slowly dissolved the implant.

    I tried to include the information in the history, but it is so blatantly in contrast to continuity (both from stories prior to and since that story), that I couldn't see how most of it could be included. The major contradictions include:

• The whole Middle East origin is not what happened in Reality-616.
  In Reality-616, it was "Southeast Asia." Too many characters have too much history tied into continuity to just "change" that.
  Who knows about Prime Earth or whatever?
• Yinsen was already receiving funding from Dr. Midas, so there was no need for him to seek out funding from the Taliban or other governments.
• I suppose he could have needed MORE funding...
  
• Yinsen worked on a chest plate to save Tony Stark...he didn't do any surgery, and he certainly didn't implant anything in his brain (or do brain surgery in non-sterile conditions and without shaving Stark's head). 
• Yinsen couldn't have smuggled anything out of Afghanistan after working on Stark, as they weren't in Afghanistan, but regardless, his only real ally in Wong-Chu's prison was Sun-Tao, meaning Sun-Tao would have been the one Yinsen would have used to smuggle something out. 
• It is extremely difficult to believe that Sun-Tao wouldn't have shared this information with Stark after their experiences in Iron Man III#46-48.
• Improbable, but not impossible...
  
• That same retcon shows Yinsen being ritually executed in a chair, allegedly on order of Karim Mahwash Najeeb.
• This completely doesn't fit with him rushing out to sacrifice himself to buy Stark/Iron Man a few extra seconds to charge his armor.
• And why would he sacrifice his life for Stark when he had implanted whatever into Stark's brain to gain funding for his research? 
• Plus, we know Yinsen survived only long enough to be taken away by Dr. Midas, who harvested his brain before eventually selling it Wong-Chu.
• I suppose all of that could have been a trick, too, but that involves altering the history of so many existing characters, as opposed to simply discounting the information from the alleged "son of Yinsen" due to the multiple absolute contradictions.
  
• Stark has been evaluated by so much technology, and had major neurologic treatments, like the Bio-Chip and evaluations by Dr. Sondheim, that any chip in his brain would have been detected. It was one of those "everything you know about a character is wrong" stories...which showed that everything the writer knew about the character was wrong. 
• Yinsen's widow died of a broken heart a year after his death while under the care of Sun-Tao.
• This is probably the easiest contradiction to resolve.
• Perhaps Sun-Tao was not being truthful for whatever reason.
• Perhaps Ho Yinsen had more than one wife.
  
• Despite Yinsen being consistently shown as a peaceful pacifist, the "Son of Yinsen" considered him a "monster."
• The whole thing seems like some like some sort of alternate/altered reality...the whole thing took place around the time of House of M, so residual effects of that altered reality would really explain everything...or maybe the "Son of Yinsen" was just lying and used the brain implant (presumably placed at some more recent junction, or perhaps he just knew how to manipulate the Extremis to form such a device) to manipulate Stark's memories.
  
• Based on editorial discussion, the Son of Yinsen information was excluded from Ho Yinsen's profile in the All-New Iron Manual (2008). 
• However, when we removed that information from the end of the profile, we missed two references to Yinsen implanting whatever he was supposed to have implanted included within the earlier text history...so it is accidentally referenced therein. That's my fault for just truncating the information and not recalling the other references.
• Wong-Chu's profile did mention Karim Mahwash Najeeb of Afghanistan as an old ally of Wong-Chu from before he encountered Stark the first time...but that's it.
• I'm not sure how you can read Ho Yinsen's other appearances and decide he would be morally/spiritually capable of doing what he was said to have done in Iron Man IV#7-12. 
• Yes, of course, it's fiction, but a fictional universe relies on continuity.
• Barring some revelation that the whole story was House of M-warp distorted, I think what we can conclude is that the story in Iron Man IV#7-12 occurred. 
• The alleged "son of Yinsen" used a sending unit to activate a control device in Stark's head.
• References to the Taliban executing Ho Yinsen, etc. can be considered false.
  
• The timing of the placement of the implant, who placed it, the motivations of the alleged "son of Yinsen" and anything else relating to the past as related by that young man is to be considered suspect.
• The Iron Manual entry places the video of Yinsen's beheading before Yinsen meeting Stark. 
• According to Stark's memory/understanding as he reviewed the video, the beheading video took place after Yinsen survived seeming death at Wong-Chu's solidiers' hands.
• If we accept that that timing is false, but don't want to throw out the video, yes, it makes perfect sense that it could have represented someone faking his death as it has been previously noted that his death had been faked before.
• The Iron Manual notes that Yinsen entrusted Sun-Tao with the brain implant control/sending device and that Sun-Tao gave it to Yinsen's wife, but it doesn't note anything about how he cared for Yinsen's wife for the next year until she died of a broken heart, nor does it say anything further about any actual son of Yinsen, Gorlovich killing Yinsen's wife.
• While I liked the US Avengers series, and I like Tony Ho, it followed the vomit-recon-reboot-screw_our_predecessors history. It didn't outright state the location, but Yinsen's dress and reference to the proganda video. I guess that would be "Prime Earth" and not Reality-616 anyway...
  

    Additional thanks to Alexandre Julião Machado for reminding me about the Iron Man III#50 origin semi-revision. Alexandre further added:

Thoughts by Will Gillies:
Totally agree with your evaluation of the Execute Program storyline, and whilst I'm more forgiving to the Iron Man originated in Afghanistan idea, I agree that an implant would surely have shown up under the neuro examination when Tony had the Bio-chip and later when he was having his nervous system replaced by that techno-organic parasite thing they later repurpose to become his cybernetic nervous system. They put that chip in his head he used to work and build the Telepresence armor after he was revived from being in cryogenic suspension, fer gawd sake.
NOT ONLY THAT.....remember, the Tony we have post Heroes Return ISN'T just the same Tony, but he was also a composite, the sum of the Teen Tony that faced Onslaught, the Tony who died because of Kang/Immortus during the Crossing and the Heroes Reborn Tony. When they returned, they'd be Franklin-ized, for want of a better word. Hawkeyes hearing was fixed, Wasp was human again, and Tony....
As best I could figure, the cybernetic nervous system would have been purged from Tony in this merging. Perhaps he retained the heart that was "patched up" with synthetic tissue. Both Teen Tony and Franklinverse Tony had damaged hearts, and it doesn't become an issue again till the Sentient Armor saga.

Profile by Snood.

CLARIFICATIONS:
Ho Yinsen should be distinguished from:

images: (without ads)
Tales of Suspense I#39, pg. 5, panel 2 (Stark and Yinsen plotting to build Iron Man);
        pg. 6, panel 4 (oblique face);
            panel 5 (taunting Wong-Chu)
Iron Man I#268, pg. 3, panel 1 (treating fallen Stark);
            panel 2 (face);
        pg. 4, panel 1 (Wong-Chu lifting Yinsen high into the air);
Iron Man Annual 2000, pg. 1, panel 1 (full, distant);
            panel 4 (face);
        pg. 32, panel 3 (statue and brain);
            panel 4 (brain);
Iron Man III#47, pg. 20, panel 8 (Iron Man full, but with Ultron in control)
    #48, pg. 19, panel 6 (Iron Man armor, mask);
        panel 7 (upper body)
    #50, pg. 12, panel 7 (shot)
All-New Iron Manual: Ho Yinsen profile main image

Appearances:
Tales of Suspense I#39 (March, 1963) - Stan Lee & Larry Lieber (writers), Don Heck (inker), Stan Lee (editor)
Iron Man I#267-268 (April-May, 1991) - John Byrne (writer), Paul Ryan (penciler), Bob Wiacek (inker), Howard Mackie (editor)
Iron Man III#31-32 (August-September, 2000) - Joe Quesada & Frank Tieri (writers), Alitha Martinez (penciler), Rob Hunter (inker), Brian Smith (assistant editor), Bobbie Chase (editor)
Iron Man Annual 2000 (October, 2000) - Joe Quesada & Frank Tieri (writers), Dan Panosian & Paul Ryan (penciler), Bud LaRosa, Walden Wong, Harry Candelario, & Mark Pennington (inkers), Brian Smith (assistant editor), Bobbie Chase (editor)
Iron Man III#50 (March, 2002) - Mike Grell (writer), Michael Ryan (penciler), Sean Parsons (inker),
All-New Iron Manual (2008) - Michael Hoskin (head writer/coordinator), Stuart Vandal, David Wiltfong, Chad Anderson, Ronald Byrd, Mike Fichera, Anthony Flamini, Jacob Rougemont, Al Sjoerdsma, Sean McQuaid, & Mark O'English (writers), Carlo Pagulayan (artist), Jeff Youngquist (editor)
U.S.Avengers#1 (March, 2017) - Al Ewing (writer), Paco Medina (penciler), Juan Vlasco (inker), Alanna Smith (assistant editor), Tom Brevoort (editor)
U.S.Avengers#8 (September, 2017) - Al Ewing (writer), Paco Medina (penciler), Juan Vlasco (inker), Alanna Smith (assistant editor), Tom Brevoort (editor)

First posted: 03/11/2018
Last updated: 06/09/2018

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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