Original subtitles

1x09 - Ancient History 101

This find changes everything.

The Makluan rings are real.

And now I have one in my possession.

I'm taking it back to Stark international

To run my own analysis of it.

And then we'll see what makes these things tick.

and that's the last entry in my father's diary.

His ring is gone now,

And I've been through the diary a hundred times.

I still don't know what the rings are

Or where to find any more of them.

If you're still interested in helping me,

I'd love for you to take a look at the diary.

Maybe you'll see something in there that I didn't.

sure.

I'd be happy to help.

I don't like Gene.

yeah, I think we've established that.

you don't like him either, right?

You better not. I mean, why would you?

well, Gene doesn't bother me when I'm studying.

not yet.

Just wait. One day, he'll--

Hey.

Are you talking about me?

what is this?

yeah, I know.

It's a lot to take in.

My dad was a genius,

And he structured his thoughts a little differently.

There's stuff in there

That even I don't know what he's talking about.

He'd been searching for the rings for years,

Studying everything he could find out about them.

But his diary, it's filled with half thoughts,

Riddles, and bizarre entries on tests

And a few inventions he came up with.

helpful.

How did your father find the ring in the first place?

luck.

Stark international was building a new facility in jersey

When they found something under the site,

An old temple.

Bur then our plane crashed, and the ring went missing.

I'll look at the diary tonight.

Then maybe we can compare notes.

not to interrupt the brain trust here,

But does anyone think it's kind of weird

To find an old underground chinese temple

In Jersey?

And if Howard found the ring there,

Maybe you could find out more about it inside the temple.

Are you sure you should be trusting Gene

With all the info about the rings?

Far be it from me to agree with Pepper...

hey!

but we don't really know anything about him.

He's--

I don't know, man.

Something about him just seems a little off.

yeah.

His helpfulness is really bizarre.

I'm just saying,

The rings are dangerous.

Or don't you remember the mandarin using one of them

To take you out?

oh, I remember.

That's why I'm bringing my new backpack.

what?

it's got antigravity tech, so it's not a billion pounds.

Pretty neat, huh?

thanks for the warning, genius.

you're welcome.

And don't worry about Gene.

I know he's a little standoffish,

But he's a good guy.

silence!

I do not care about the magia.

The tong's only focus now is this diary.

I want every page analyzed.

I want every word, every reference studied

And explained.

Do you understand me?

Zap!

okay.

This is stane we're talking about here.

Expect armed guards, high-tech security,

Maybe dogs.

This isn't gonna be easy.

Let me go first and check things out.

I can't believe it.

ah, you're right.

I just don't see how we're gonna get in this place.

he-- he just abandoned it.

I guess it didn't make any money for him.

Hey, better for us, right?

Now we don't have to break in.

better? Maybe.

More fun? No.

Whoa.

So this was all buried underground?

Hmm, who built it?

How did it get buried?

Yuck. How old is this place?

we don't know. That's why we're here.

this is where my dad found the ring.

This--this must be the door.

okay, one.

What was that?

And if that's the door,

What did we just come in?

the earth movers.

They cut through the wall with a laser.

They cut through the back of the chamber.

This is the front.

Whatever just happened,

It must've revealed the real entrance.

are you serious?

Look at this place.

Who cares about where the real door is?

You should be worried about death traps,

Giant spikes or pits or mummies or--

Pepper.

Something triggered a mechanical system.

That's it.

Nothing spooky.

Rhodey probably stepped on a button or something.

what?

Why me?

nothing spooky?

that's just a coincidence.

Huh?

what does it mean?

wisdom.

It's the chinese word for wisdom.

my dad's diary, it mentioned tests.

What if this is some kind of test?

What if you have to choose one of these things

To get to the ring?

then it's not a very difficult test.

Wisdom.

Book.

Obvious.

whoa. Slow down.

We don't know what this is.

Let's just--

look around you.

These knights obviously represent an overwhelming force.

Would you pick up a sword and fight them, rhodes?

uh, Gene, maybe we should wait.

Chuang?

Gene, watch out!

Tony!

Pepper!

whoa!

Catch me!

Uh, thanks.

Pepper.

yes, Tony?

back.

Shattered.

Get.

Off.

oh, right.

Sorry.

you don't happen to have a flashlight in there, do you?

I have my phone.

okay.

I'm ready to go now.

don't help me up or anything.

oh, are we friends now?

Helping each other?

I assumed you and Pepper were still not liking me.

what? No, it's--

it's what, jealousy?

Or something else?

it's not that I don't like you.

It's just that I don't think you're good for Tony.

I'm sorry.

I didn't realize I was trapped down here

With Tony's mom.

we don't know anything about you.

Look, Tony's obsessed with these rings,

And all of sudden, you're here and just fueling his obsession.

just because you think these rings are a waste of time

Doesn't mean Tony does.

And if he wants to find them,

If he wants to follow his father's dreams,

Wouldn't a real friend help him?

uh, where are Tony and Pepper?

maybe they fell

Into a different section of the temple.

well, we should go look for them.

Huh.

this text.

It's the history of the Makluan rings.

And their master--

The very first mandarin.

I can put on the armor, fly you out,

And then go find the others.

but then Gene would see you.

this again.

Let it go, Pepper.

Pepper?

I've changed my mind.

Put on the armor.

okay. Armor.

Good idea.

the man called khan found the rings of power

And became the mandarin.

He conquered all he saw with his might

And grew his dynasty.

really?

It doesn't say the guy's name?

Huh.

Some historical record.

Now, how about we find a way out of here?

it says that this unnamed guy wanted an heir,

Someone to give the Makluan rings to when he died,

But that his many children weren't worthy of them.

So he scattered them to the four corners of the globe

And designed tests to measure the worthiness and virtue

Of those who would seek them.

no exits. No way to climb out.

This is great.

What's the point of a room with no doors?

it speaks of a test.

we have to find Tony and Pepper.

I don't care about any test.

problem solved.

you were saying?

never mind.

here the ring shall rest,

Its true power sleeping

Until an heir

Whose blood is pure and of worthy spirit

Passes the test.

Only then will the ring's power return.

Gene.

Yo, Gene,

Are you listening to me?

Help me find a way out of here.

No, I have to--

We have to pass the test of wisdom.

and how are we supposed to do that?

maybe they know.

okay. Stay calm.

Any thoughts?

how about this?

I push you forward into these dreadknights,

And then while they're beating you up,

I could escape.

very funny.

You are joking, right?

Rhodey, look out!

There's someone behind you.

Kneel before your master.

Or maybe not.

So this is the test.

Begin, indeed.

Pepper.

Pepper, hang on. I'm coming.

And we're leaving now.

Tony!

Pepper, duck!

warning. Armor power supply low.

Switching to reserve power.

Pepper, are you okay?

you're so sweet,

But why didn't you do that in the first place?

because I wanted to be sure and get all of them?

Enough!

What must I do to pass this test?

Why won't you work?

if I'm going down, I'm going down fighting!

Please don't let me go down fighting.

call me crazy,

But I'm starting to think that fighting

Might not be the way to go here.

well, surrendering seems like a mistake.

Gene read from the book, the one on the pedestal,

And then everything went bad.

Maybe there's a way to stop this in the book too.

hey!

Where are you going?

he read a word. "begin."

Maybe that's how you stop it too.

Begin translation sequence.

Translating.

He recognized the ring's power,

And the power reached out to him.

it's like-- like some kind of history book.

It's about the rings. There's too much.

It doesn't make sense.

There has to be a way to stop this.

Tony!

where did you get that sword?

Is that the one from the pedestal upstairs?

I don't know. What different does it make?

that symbol.

That's it. It's not the book. It's the sword.

Computer, translate the glyph on the sword

To give me the pronunciation.

Glyph translated: "End."

Pronunciation: "Zhong."

Zhong. Zhong!

O...kay.

Stay here.

I'm going back for--

Rhodey!

Rhodey!

do you mind moving?

Gene.

Rhodey.

Are you guys okay?

Rhodes will be fine.

He hit his head.

are you two okay?

Where did you go?

And did you see anything weird wherever you ended up?

you mean like a bunch of statues coming to life

And attacking us.

No.

yeah. We saw the statues.

My dad thought the rings were some kind of ancient technology.

Maybe the statues were part of that too.

It was all a test designed to get the ring.

so when I chose the book, the test began.

right.

But the book was so obvious,

We didn't even look at the sword.

The word to deactivate the statues was on the sword.

Wisdom, right?

But if my dad already had the ring,

What did passing the test do?

you passed the test?

I thought--

well, at least we got a souvenir.

Too bad we lost that book, though.

it's-- it's a map.

It has to be another ring.

With this, maybe we've got something.

Maybe we can find another one of the Makluan rings.

there will be another test.

Where we fell, there was a wall

That described the history of the rings.

I couldn't read much of it before it was destroyed,

But it described more tests.

I'm sure it's nothing we can't handle--

All of us, together.

Come on, Gene.

sync: f1nc0 thx to Adriano_CSI