For decades, Iron Man has used his superior intellect to create new suits and weapons to help protect the world. His ambitions even once led him to reinvent the Mandarin's former base of operations into Troy, the city of the future.
Mandarin City first appeared in Invincible Iron Man Annual #1 by Matt Fraction, Carmine Di Giandomenico and Matthew Wilson. In this story, Mandarin is telling a fictitious story of his life to an award-winning filmmaker that he kidnapped. Mandarin claims that Chairman Mao gifted the sorcerer the fiefdom that became Mandarin City. While it's true that Mandarin was awarded the city from Mao, one of Mandarin's Ten Rings allows for mind control, which he could have used to control Mao into giving him the land. Mandarin would go on to use the city as his headquarters until his death in Invincible Iron Man #526 by Matt Fraction, Salvador Larroca and Frank D'Armata
After Mandarin's death, the city fell into legal limbo. Many people believed they had claims to the land and others were accepting cash to give the land away. Tony Stark had recently discovered the existence of his parents' biological son, Arno, which discovery also led Stark to learn that he was adopted. With the shocking revelation, Stark needed a project to ground himself in, and Troy was born. Tony and Arno developed a plan to build high-tech cities of the future around the globe, and Mandarin City was the perfect place to start. The transition of Mandarin City into the Starks' ideological city of Troy began in Iron Man's "Iron Metropolitan" storyline by Kieron Gillen, Joe Bennett and Scott Hanna. The city needed to be cleansed as it had fallen into gang warfare since the Mandarin's demise. Tony, along with his armored drones, took to the streets to dismantle the gangs and make the city a safer place.
When Mandarin died, S.H.I.E.L.D. took control of his rings and secured them in a bunker. Eventually, the Incinerator ring made a reappearance in the possession of a British journalist who had it out for Stark. The Incinerator ring instilled a sense of purpose into Abigail Burns, who became Mandarin Seven. Her mission was to save the world from Tony Stark. Before Stark is attacked by Mandarin Seven, the Remaker ring also makes a reappearance during a press conference, destroying a model of Troy. Afterward, Mandarin Seven attacks Tony but is stopped by his drone army. Burns escapes using a solar flare to eliminate the drones. Stark, confused over the resurgence of the rings, travels to the S.H.I.E.L.D. bunker where Rhodes shows him the rings. However, the rings that are seen are fakes created by the Liar ring.
It's revealed that the Remaker ring has been gifted to a crime boss that ran Mandarin City during its legal limbo. Angry at Stark for taking the city from him, the self-named Lord Remaker plans to destroy the city if he cannot have it for himself. Lord Remaker is not alone, as the Night Bringer ring had been gifted to the new Inhuman Victor Kohl. Victor had recently been stopped by Iron Man after attacking the Inhuman Nativity Center in Iron Man #20.INH by Gillen, Hanna and Agustin Padilla. The new hosts of the rings all had one thing in common: a hatred for Tony Stark.
The villains launched an attack and demolished Troy's headquarters and the home of Arno Stark, still attached to his iron lung. While Arno was able to escape using an advanced suit that he designed, the Mandarins also seemed to escape. In actuality, Lord Remaker was decapitated, Abigail Burns had both of her hands removed and their rings were stolen by Malekith the Accursed. Realizing that Troy would never be safe with his presence, Tony relinquished the design of the city to his brother Arno and returned home.
Arno would continue to watch over Troy until he became the head of the Maria Stark Foundation, traveling the world doing charity work. Arno would even become Iron Man for a short period. While the city of Troy has not made a recent appearance in comics, its population did grow to over 500,000 and could become the setting for future Iron Man adventures.