Ho Yinsen

Doctor **Ho Yinsen** was a renowned scientist and surgeon, hailing from the village of Timbetpal, Asia. After his family was killed during a surge in local terrorist activity, Yinsen was abducted and held captive by terrorists. When Tony Stark was also kidnapped, Yinsen was charged with attending to Stark's medical needs after he was brought in injured from an explosive. After several months in captivity, Yinsen helped Stark escape the cave by developing a suit of armor, but willingly sacrificed himself in the process to the terrorists, telling Stark not to waste his life before he died of his injuries.

## Biography

### Early Life

#### Meeting Tony Stark

Ho Yinsen was an Asian man from the small village of Timbetpal. Eventually, he became a scientist and started to work in the field of engineer.

### Terrorist Hostage

#### Saving Tony Stark's Life

At some point, Yinsen was captured by a group of terrorists from Sin-Cong. When the terrorists brought in Tony Stark, injured from a missile used in their ambush, they charged Yinsen with keeping him alive. A skilled and resourceful field surgeon, Yinsen removed much of the shrapnel from Stark's body and helped keep him alive long enough to build an electromagnet piece in his chest to keep the remaining shrapnel from entering his heart.

#### Partners in Captivity

*"Why should I do anything? They're going to kill me, you. Either way I'll probably be dead in a week.""Well then, this is a very important week for you, isn't it?"*
―Tony Stark and Ho Yinsen[src]
Under captivity, Tony Stark and Yinsen were ordered to build a Jericho missile, or they would be killed. However, Stark refused and was tortured. Yinsen managed to motivate him and both men acknowledged that they would be murdered either way and instead focused on an escape plan. Stark revealed to Yinsen that he would use the parts that the terrorists gave them and build a weaponized suit of armor, which he would use to take out the terrorists and return Yinsen to his family.

#### Escape and Death

*"This was always the plan, Stark.""Come on, you're going to go see your family. Get up.""My family is dead. I'm going to see them now, Stark. It's okay, I want this."*
―Ho Yinsen and Tony Stark[src]
Yinsen helped Tony Stark keep the Mark I Armor he was making a secret from Wong-Chu and assisted in its creation. When Stark asked about Yinsen's family, Yinsen merely noted that he would see them when he left the terrorist Base. Yinsen also pointed out that Stark's legacy was his weapons being used and suggests that he should rectify this.

During the escape the terrorists were alerted to their plan, seeing there was no way they could power up the suit while defending themselves simultaneously, Yinsen sacrificed himself by taking a gun and attacking the terrorists, thereby giving Stark time to power up the suit. He was mortally wounded when he ran around a corner only to be shot by dozens of terrorists. When Stark found Yinsen, bleeding out from his wounds, he reassured Stark that his demise had always been the plan as his family was dead and that he wished to be reunited with them. Stark thanked Yinsen for saving him. With his dying breath, Yinsen asked Stark not to waste the rest of his life. Stark was quietly enraged by Yinsen's death, and dispatched the remaining terrorist members with emphatic fury.

### Legacy

#### Remembered by Tony Stark

Thanks to Yinsen's sacrifice, Tony Stark was able to escape and once back in the United States, he discontinued Stark Industries' mass weapon production line despite this causing his company's stock market value to plummet, much to Obadiah Stane's chagrin. After discovering that Stane was the one responsible for his kidnapping and defeating Stane, Stark dedicated himself to becoming a crimefighter, taking on the identity of Iron Man, for which he designed similar armors to the one he and Yinsen designed on Asia.

## Personality

*"Thank you for saving me.""Don't waste it. Don't waste your life."*
―Tony Stark and Ho Yinsen[src]
Ho Yinsen was a humble family man who was in many ways the polar opposite to Tony Stark. Quiet, unassuming and willing to sacrifice himself to save Stark, before passing away, Yinsen acknowledged that he was at peace by knowing that he would see his family again and told Stark to no longer waste his life nor the chance he had been given to redeem himself.

## Abilities

*"That is an electromagnet. Hooked up to a car battery. And it's keeping the shrapnel from entering your heart."*
―Ho Yinsen to Tony Stark[src]
* **Genius-Level Intellect**: Yinsen was a very smart and helpful man. He was also a very logical man, he taught Stark the lesson of how his own decisions have consequences on people. He told Stark not to waste his life. This is what ultimately led to Iron Man and his quest.
* **Master Engineer**: While saving Tony Stark, Yinsen managed to connect wires to a car battery and then make an electromagnet within Stark's chest so that the shrapnel was kept from entering his heart and killing him. His engineering gave Stark the idea to create the first Arc Reactor, which Yinsen helped with. He also helped Stark create the prototype Iron Man Armor.
* **Expert Scientist**: Yinsen was a renowned scientist before being captured by terrorists.

*"Why do you think you're still alive, huh?"*
―Ho Yinsen to Tony Stark[src]
* **Master Physician**: Yinsen was considered a world-renowned surgeon and was able to keep Tony Stark alive when he had shrapnel from a missile digging into his heart, by improvising an electromagnet with the few resources he had in captivity, and keep the shrapnel of his heart.

*"How many languages do you speak?""A lot."*
―Tony Stark and Ho Yinsen[src]
* **Multilingualism**: Yinsen was fluent in his native Dari, as well as English, Russian, Urdu, French, and a little Hungarian.

## Equipment

### Weapons

* **Heckler & Koch G36C**: Yinsen grabbed one of these rifles from one of the members during their escape attempt and started to shoot wildly in order to divert the attention from Tony Stark while he finished preparing his armor for the escape.

## Relationships

#### Family

* Wife †
* Child †

#### Allies

* Stark Industries
	+ Tony Stark - Friend and Patient

## Trivia

* In the comics, Ho Yinsen was a physicist and engineer from Timbetpal, greatly admired by Tony Stark.