Age of Innocence: The Rebirth of Iron Man #1
Age of Innocence
Tragedy had struck the Avengers when Iron Man, aka Tony Stark, was exposed as a sleeper agent for Kang the Conqueror for years. In the final battle, the team recruited Tony Stark’s younger self to help in the final battle. The adult Tony eventually turned on his masters and sacrificed his life, but not before gravely wounding young Tony’s heart.[1] The youth is raced back to Avengers Mansion where Hank Pym performs emergency surgery on him. He and the team of surgeons do all they can. Returning to the other Avengers, he tells them that the rest is all up to Tony.
A short time later, Jarvis heads down to Tony’s hospital room to wait by his bedside. Giant-Man allows this, but warns that it might be some time before Stark comes out of his coma. Still, the artificial heart they implanted — ironically the same that once repaired the adult Tony’s own damaged heart — is working perfectly and his body isn’t rejecting it.[2] That’s when Tony’s long time friends Happy Hogan and his wife Pepper Potts arrive to see how Tony is doing. Seeing the young man before them, they can’t help but think about how Tony’s older selves changed their lives.
For Pepper, it was when she was working in the administrative typing pool. One day, Stark came down and demanded to know who changed the figures on a government contract proposal. Pep spoke up, saying she noticed an error and fixed it. Tony is impressed because her keen eye saved the company a lot of money. To reward her for a job well done, Tony hires her as his personal assistant, which came with a substantial raise. Happy remembers the first time he met Tony Stark. It was on the day that Tony crashed his race car while on the track. Despite the danger to himself, Happy leaped onto the track and pulled Tony to safety. To show his gratitude, Tony gave Happy a job as his chauffeur. This led to Happy meeting Pepper and the two eventually falling in love and getting married.[3]
Jarvis is touched by the nice things Happy and Pepper said and his is grateful that they were there for him, as life in the munitions business was a lonely one. Jarvis then recounts how, Tony was alone on the day he went out to test his munitions in a East Asian conflict zone. How he stepped on a tripwire and was seriously injured and taken prisoner. It was as a prisoner that Tony worked with Hi Yinsen to create the suit of Iron Man armor. Yinsen sacrificed his life so Tony could power up the armor and save his own life.[4] However, he was required to wear his chest plate all the time in order to keep his injured heart beating. This led to Tony isolating himself and breaking off his engagement to Joanna Nivena.[5]
The conversation is observed from the monitor room by Captain America and Hawkeye. Hearing Tony’s origins once more, the two men marvel at how Tony never stopped working on and upgrading his Iron Man armor over the years.[6] They also recount how Tony was always there to fight whatever foe came their way from Loki, who helped form the Avengers, to the god-like Korvac.[7] However, things took a dark turn when Iron Man betrayed them, killing three of their own, and participated in the brutal deaths of two others that they know of. This conflict led to the Wasp being seriously injured as well.[8] Tony fought them every step of the way intent on destroying them all until he sacrificed his own life to stop Kang and Mantis. Clint points out that Tony always had a control problem and this time around, he’s going to stick around and make sure that the young Tony doesn’t fall into the same habits of his older self.[9]
Later that evening, when everyone is asleep, young Tony is visited by the enigmatic Masque. She uses her shapeshifting powers to take on the appearance of the many loves that Tony has had in the past. She wonders if the sleeping youth would recognize any of these women’s faces, particularly the ones that were lost. She says that Tony has disappointed them all in his time and now he has a second chance and warns him to dare not do it agian.[10] Tony gets another visitor that evening, Marianne Rodgers, yet another former flame. She is searching his mind mentally and is relieved to discover that this version of Tony Stark is free of the dark taint that has plagued him for years.[11]
The final visitor to appear before Tony is a cloaked figure shrouded in darkness.[12] He warns the young man that he is inheriting all of his older counterparts old foes and they all have a grudge against him. Foes such as Blacklash, the Ghost, the ever present Mandarin, a successor to Jack Frost, the Controller, even the robot Arsenal.[13] This entity vows that he will use them all to his benefit so he can finally get his vengeance once and for all.
Soon it is dawn and as the son rises, Tony Stark wakes up and groggily asks Jarvis what he missed.
Recurring Characters
Iron Man, Avengers (Captain America, Thor, Giant-Man, Hawkeye, Quicksilver, Scarlet Witch, Vision, Hercules, Black Widow, Deathcry), Beast, Black Panther, Edwin Jarvis, Pepper Potts, Marianne Rodgers, Morgan Stark, (flashback) Tony Stark
Continuity Notes
This of course is the epilogue to The Crossing event. Not everything is as it seems on the surface and many of the repercussions from this event have long since been undone. The details:
The crux of The Crossing, as revealed in Iron Man #323, was that Iron Man was secretly a sleeper agent for Kang the Conqueror since the early days of the Avengers. This, and the entire Crossing event will later be revealed to be one giant hoax perpetuated by Immortus as part of a long running plot to alter the destiny of the Avengers. As explained in Avengers Forever #8, Immortus gained access to Tony’s mind in Iron Man #278 and used this connection to alter his memories and personality to sell the fact that he was a traitor when in reality, no such thing was true.
The Avengers then went back in time to recruit a younger version of Tony Stark, untainted by “Kang”, to help them in the final battle. This happened in Avengers: Timeslide #1. As a result, per Marvel Legacy: The 1990s Handbook #1, they created a divergent timeline that has been indexed as Reality-96020.
The Earth-616 Tony Stark eventually overcame his brainwashing and sacrificed his life in Avengers #395. He is indeed dead, but this won’t last very long. When the Avengers later sacrifice their lives in Onslaught: Marvel Universe #1, Franklin Richards will transport them all to a pocket dimension where they will live out reimagined versions of their lives, as seen in Heroes Reborn #½, this includes an adult Tony Stark. When the heroes are returned in Heroes Reborn: The Return #1-4, it is the Earth-616 Tony Stark that returns with them. Avengers Annual 2001 explains that when Franklin transported the heroes too the pocket dimension he “corrected” things that he thought were wrong. One of those these “corrections” included resurrecting Tony Stark-616 and merging him with his Earth-96020 counterpart.
The Earth-616 Tony Stark’s heart was damaged by shrapnel from a trip mine back in Tales of Suspense #39. For a while, he had to wear his Iron Man chest plate 24/7 in order to stay alive. Eventually, he underwent life saving surgery that removed the shrapnel and replaced the damaged parts of his heart with artificial components, as seen in Iron Man #19.
This part of the story glosses over how Happy, Pepper, and Tony all got involved with one another, and barely scratches the surface of Hap and Pepp’s employment history with Tony. The details:
Happy and Pepper both first appeared in Tales of Suspense #45, while the racetrack accident was told there, this is the first time it is explained how Pepper landed her job working for Tony. Her being hired as Tony’s personal assistant is explored in more detail in Iron Man: The Iron Age #1.
There would be a brief love triangle between Pepper, Happy, and Tony. However, in the end, Happy and Pepper fell in love and the two eloped in Tales of Suspense #89. The two then left Tony’s employ shortly thereafter.
Pepper will come back to her old job in Iron Man #57. Happy would follow by working for Tony again in Iron Man #71. However, when their lives are frequently put at risk due to Tony’s double identity, Pepper and Happy quit again in Iron Man #88.
Most recently, Tony hired Hap on as his personal trainer in Iron Man #297.
This of course is an abridged version of the Iron Man origin told in Tales of Suspense #39. Although Ho Yinsen is said to have died helping Tony power up his Iron Man armor, Iron Man Annual 2000 reveals that Yinsen survived and would endure until the present day as a disembodied brain.
As revealed in Iron Man #244, before the accident that turned him into Iron Man, Tony was engaged to marry Joanna Nivena. However after the incident, he pushed her away feeling that she could never love him due to his newfound disability. Their romance is expanded upon in Iron Man: The Iron Age #1.
When talking about the upgrades to the Iron Man armor that happened over the years, we get out obligatory montage of various suits of Iron Man armor. They are:
Model 1: This suit was the one he originally built in Tales of Suspense #39. The one on the display screen is the same suit by with a gold paint job he gave in Tales of Suspense #40.
Model 2: The first of the red and gold suits of armor, Tony started wearing this suit from Tales of Suspense #48 to 66.
Model 4: One of the most recognizable suits of Iron Man armor, this suit’s primary run was from Iron Man #85 to 200.
Model 7: The stealth armor which Iron Man wears on occasion. It was first built in Iron Man #152. It is seldom used because all other equipment and weapons have been sacrificed to make it as stealthy as possible.
Model 8: Also known as the Silver Centurion armor. Tony wore this red and silver suit from Iron Man #200 through 231.
Model 15: The last suit Tony wore before his death, it was first built in Iron Man #319.
Then we get a two page spread that is a parade of images of Iron Man’s various battles over the years. Some of these are easily identifiable, others are not. Here’s what I could puzzle out (clockwise from left to right):
Iron Man with Thor, and the Vision facing off against the Fantastic Four. These are actually Skrull impostors, as this scene is from Avengers #93.
Iron Man, Thor, and the Vision fighting Korvac. This is from the Korvac Saga which took place in Avengers #167-177 and pays homage to the cover of Avengers #176.
Iron Man with Daredevil and the Black Widow. Given the outfits that Tony and Natasha are wearing this is most likely from Avengers #111.
Iron Man, the Vision, and Scarlet Witch fighting Thanos. The only time those three went at Thanos all at once at this point was in Marvel Two-In-One Annual #2.
Iron Man with Professor X, Cyclops, Marvel Girl, and Iceman of the X-Men. Although the artist butchered Jean’s outfit, the X-Men are wearing their original uniforms. However, Iron Man is wearing his Model 4 armor. So this is probably from Avengers #110-111. The close up of Magneto with no context is probably from this period as well.
Iron Man, the Hulk, and Captain America facing Loki. Captain America’s appearance here is an error (see below). Given the Hulk’s presence and Iron Man wearing his gold Model 1 armor, this is clearly supposed to be Avengers #1.
Captain America and Iron Man together. It’s hard to tell because the image is so small and grainy. I suspect this is their first time solo teaming up in Tales of Suspense #60.
A group shot of Iron Man, Captain Marvel, Moondragon, and Jocasta. This is probably from the Korvac Saga as well.
An indistinguishable picture of Iron Man in his golden Model 1 armor. There is someone in the background but they are indistinct and therefor impossible to identiy.
Iron Man, Captain America, the Wasp, and three other indistinct characters fighting Kang the Conqueror. Given the number of Avengers present this is probably during the Game of Galaxies which took place in Avengers #69-71.
Iron Man fighting the Sub-Mariner. Given the armor he is wearing in this scene this is likely from Iron Man #25.
Lastly, we got Hawkeye and Iron Man fighting side-by-side. This scene is so generic this could be any point after Clint joined up with the Avengers.
These deaths all happened during The Crossing. We are shown Yellowjacket and Marilla, both of whom were killed in Avengers: The Crossing #1 by Iron Man directly. The third life that he took was Amanda Chaney, Force Works’ publicist in Force Works #19. The two other deaths are the death of Gilgamesh in Avengers #391 and the “adult Luna” in Avengers #394. “Luna” was another one of Immortus’ Space Phantoms per Avengers Forever #8. The Wasp was seriously wounded by Tony in Avengers #393.
Hawkeye mentions Tony’s alcoholism. Stark went through two particularly damaging benders the first from Iron Man #120-128 and the other from Iron Man #167-182. Although Clint vows to watch over young Tony, he doesn’t do any such thing. When left to his own devices, young Tony gets drunk and gets in trouble with the law in Iron Man #329. Great work, Clint!
Masque puts on parade of women that the adult Tony Stark loved over the years. They incluide:
Kathy Dare who first appeared in Iron Man #233. She became obsessed with Tony and after he stopped seeing her she shot him in Iron Man #242. When Tony was believed to have died in Iron Man #284, Kathy was so full of grief she committed suicide in Iron Man #286.
Meredith McCall: Briefly dated Tony when they were teenagers as explained in Iron Man #28. Although they have reconnected as adults (in Iron Man #28 and Iron Man Annual #14) they did not rekindle their romance. McCall will re-enter young Tony’s life in Iron Man #326-331.
Janice Cord: First met Tony back in Iron Man #2 when he was considering buying her family company. The two eventually fell in love. However, Janice was accidentally killed in a battle between Iron Man and the Crimson Dynamo in Iron Man #22.
Gretl Anders: Was a homeless woman that Tony first met in Iron Man #178 during his second bender. She died of giving birth to a child in the middle of winter in Iron Man #182. Her death and the survival of her infant child convinced Tony to stop drinking.
Su Yin: First met Stark in Iron Man #270-276, when he sought her aid in repairing his damaged nervous system. Although she couldn’t cure him the Chinese government ordered her to continue stringing him along. The two fell in love with each other, but Su Yin resisted his advances because she was still married and devoted to her husband. They reconnected in Iron Man #312 after the death of her husband, but the two had moved on by that point in time.
Whitney Forst: Known as the Maggia boss the Big M and later Madame Masque. She became involved with Tony in Tales of Suspense #97, when she attempted to seduce her way into his love life and steal secrets from his company. She ensnared SHIELD liaison Jasper Sitwell instead until she was exposed in Iron Man #8. She then disguised herself as his new secretary Krissy Longfellow and the two started a romance in Iron Man #91. Even after she was exposed as Madame Masque in Iron Man #103, Tony continued his romance with her until she abruptly ended their relationship following the death of her father in Iron Man #116.
Bethany Cabe: Met Tony in Iron Man #117 and the two started dating shortly thereafter. She ended their romance when it was discovered that her former husband, Alexander Van Tilburg, was still alive in Iron Man #152. They still remained apart when Tilburg died in Iron Man #211. The two had just recently got back together in Iron Man #319.
So who is Masque? She first turned up in Iron Man #320. In issue #322 we were led to believe she was Bethany Cabe. However, as clearly seen here — thanks to her shapeshifting abilities — this is not the case. It’s later revealed in Avengers (vol. 3) #32 that Masque is one of many bio-duplicates of Madame Masque that has been used over the years. Whitney Frost started using bio-duplicates starting in Iron Man #138.
Tony started seeing Marianne Rodgers in Iron Man #36. Plagued with precognitive visions of the future, Marianne abandoned Tony during a fight in Iron Man #51, leading to the end of their relationship. She then lost her shit in the following issue and had to be institutionalized. She remained in a mental hospital for years until she recently got out and was a minor player during the Crossing as seen in Iron Man #320-325. She claimed that she could see Kang’s evil influence and blamed that for her going mad all those years ago. Apparently, Immortus’ brainwashing was so good he was able to convince her that Tony’s non-existent evil made her go insane.
This spooky entity is revealed to be Tony’s cousin, Morgan Stark, as we’ll learn in Iron Man #327, and 330-331.
Morgan Stark runs through some of Iron Man’s rogues gallery, dropping some facts about them in one capacity or another.
Blacklash: aka Mark Scarlotti, Morgan refers to him as a rival weapons designer turned mob assassin. When we first met Blacklash (then calling himself Whiplash) he was already working for the Maggia in Tales of Suspense #97. Calling him a “rival weapons designer” is a bit of a stretch. He worked at Stark’s Cincinnati location as explained in Iron Man #62. Blacklash will not get the chance to fight this younger version of Tony Stark.
The Ghost first appeared in Iron Man #219. He also won’t clash with the young Stark.
The Mandarin, persistent foe of Iron Man since Tales of Suspense #50 also won’t get a chance either.
Jack Frost: Aka George Shapanka started off as Jack Frost in Tales of Suspense #45. However, he became better known as the original Blizzard starting in Iron Man #86 until his death in Amazing Spider-Man Annual #20. This “successor” that Morgan is talking about is Sloan Alden, aka Frost Bite, who will appear in Iron Man #327-328. He has no known connection to Shapanka.
The Controller aka Basil Sandhurst first clashed with Iron Man in Iron Man #12. He won’t get a shot at Teen Tony either.
Topical References
The computers in this story are all depicted as having CRT monitors. This should be considered a topical reference as this is an obsolete technology.
Pepper’s correction to the Stark Industries proposal is said to have saved the company over a half-million dollars. Adjusting for inflation that would be over 930 thousand dollars in 2023 money.
Errata
Pepper Potts refers to the company she was working for as Stark International. However, when it became, the business was called Stark Industries. It didn’t change its name to Stark International until Iron Man #73.
When Cap and Hawkeye are going through the Iron Man’s history, there is an image from the battle with Loki that led to the Avengers being formed. Captain America is depicted among the Avengers present. This is not correct as Captain America was not a founding Avenger. He was trapped in suspended animation at the time and was only freed in Avengers #4.
The Crossing Reading Order
Avengers #390, Iron Man #319, Avengers: The Crossing #1, Force Works #16, Iron Man #320, Avengers #391, Iron Man #321, Force Works #17, Avengers #392, War Machine #20, Iron Man #322, Force Works #18, War Machine #21, Iron Man #323, Avengers #393, Force Works #19, War Machine #22, Iron Man #324, Force Works #20, War Machine #23, Avengers #394, Avengers: Timeslide #1, Iron Man #325, Avengers #395, Age of Innocence: The Rebirth of Iron Man #1