Iron Man #20
Who Serves Lucifer?
At Stark Industries, Iron Man saves the lives of countless staff by using his armored body to absorb the blast of an exploding mini-reactor. Iron Man survives the blast and is congratulated by almost everybody. The only person not cheering is Charlie Gray, a security guard at Stark Industries who is jealous of the praise Iron Man receives and the wealth of his employer, Tony Stark. Charlie longs for the day when he was a football star back in high school.
After his shift, Charlie drives home in his rundown car where he takes out his frustrations on his wife, Wilma, and their children. When Wilma tries to calm her husband down, Charlie doesn’t want to hear it and storms off. Going for a walk, Charlie is drawn to the ruins of an old building by some mental command. There he is greeted by Lucifer, an alien being who has been trapped in a dimensional limbo since his failed bid at conquering the Earth.[1] Although he has managed to build a device that allows him to appear on Earth again, the range is limited to the inside of the ruined building. Charlie thinks Lucifer is a lunatic until the alien demonstrates his ionic powers. Offering Charlie the chance to wield such power, Lucifer offers to give it to him so he can recover a device the alien needs from Stark Industries to complete his device and fully free himself.
Seeing this as his opportunity for greatness, Charlie accepts and Lucifer transfers his power to him. This causes Charlie’s clothes to change into a replica of Lucifer’s costume. It also puts them in a mental link, allowing Lucifer to observe and guide Charlie on his mission. Leaving the abandoned building, Charlie decides to show off his power and terrorize people on the street. However, Lucifer quickly stops this as his ionic powers are limited and Charlie is attracting unwanted attention from the authorities. By this time, the news of his rampage has hit the news and Wilma goes looking for her husband out of fear for his safety. Seeing the costumed menace in action, Wilma instantly recognizes his voice of that of her husband. When she tries to tell him to stop what he is doing, Charlie ignores her pleas and heads off for Stark Industries.
Fearing for the safety of the people at the plant, Wilma races to Stark Industries and rams through the security gate to try and warn Tony Stark of the danger her husband poses. Wilma gets through the gate but security manages to catch her before she can get any further. When Tony comes out to find out what happened he takes her warning seriously and rushes inside to change into Iron Man. That’s when Charlie arrives and begins attacking Iron Man. Able to hear Lucifer’s commands, Iron Man tries to convince Charlie that he is just being used and will be discarded once the alien gets what he wants. Charlie ignores this and after overpowering Iron Man with his ionic powers, prepares to slay the Golden Avenger. That’s when Wilma tries one last appeal, telling Charlie that he is a hero to her and their children and if he goes through with this, he will no longer be the man she married.
Realizing the errors of his ways, Charlie rejects Lucifer, banishing the alien back to the dimensional limbo he came from. Reverting back to normal, Charlie apologizes to his wife for how he was acting. Iron Man decides to let Charlie go and thinks about how Charlie envied everything that Tony has taken for granted. Now that his heart has been cured, Tony wonders if he should continue his career as Iron Man.[2]
Recurring Characters
Iron Man, Lucifer, Charlie Gray
Continuity Notes
Lucifer got his ass handed to him in X-Men #21.
Tony ended up with shrapnel in his heart after blundering into a trip-mine back in Tales of Suspense #39. Since then, being Iron Man was a necessity as the metal chest plate he wore kept the shrapnel away from his heart. However, last issue Tony received a life saving heart surgery.
NEXT: Iron Man in the 1970s
