Crisis — And Calamity!!

The Spymaster and his Espionage Elite have targeted Stark Industries. While the facility has been bombed by the spies, Tony Stark is tricked into a meeting with a phony Nick Fury. This turns out to be Farley London, the Elite’s master of disguise. Captured, Tony is taken back to the Spymaster’s hideout while the facility is secured. After reporting his success to Spymaster, London (still disguised as Fury) takes Tony back to the Stark Industries facility. His arrival is spotted by one of the security guards who is concerned to see Nick Fury handling his boss in such a rough fashion and reports this to Jasper Sitwell, SHIELD’s liaison to Stark Industries. Finding this suspicious, Sitwell goes to investigate.

Elsewhere in the facility, inventor Kevin O’Brien wakes up and finds himself tied up after he had a run in with Spymaster’s minions. Rolling himself over to a nearby laser device, Kevin uses it to cut through his ropes and get free. By this time, Tony has been brought back to his office where Spymaster and the rest of the Espionage Elite are waiting for him. Spymaster wants Tony to open his private safe. As Tony stalls for time, both Jasper and Kevin make their moves to save Stark. When Tony has no other options, he pretends to start opening his safe, but secretly triggers a pre-recorded message he made of himself as Iron Man. The recording tricks Spymaster and his minions that Iron Man is on his way up to Tony’s office. When Spymaster and Samson Washington try to go down the elevator to intercept Iron Man, they get stuck between floors thanks to Kevin O’Brien tampering with the elevator cables.

Meanwhile, Farley London disguises himself as Tony Stark and addresses the factory staff that there is no danger. After he is done with this message, he is ambushed by Kevin O’Brien who quickly deduces which man is the real Tony Stark. This allows Tony to retreat to his secret sub-basement where his spare suit of Iron Man armor is being kept. Catching Spymaster and Washington as they exit the elevator, Iron Man clashes with Spymaster and his minions. Not far away, Jasper Sitwell runs into Marya Penskiyov and Roger Philips who take him prisoner. Not far away, Iron Man is fairing poorly against his foes due to Godfried Herter whose D-Ray causes serious damage to his armor. Still, the Avenger continues to hold his own against Spymaster until Penskiyov and Philips arrive with Jasper.

They attempt to use Sitwell as a hostage to cover their escape, but Jasper won’t go without a fight. In the ensuing struggle, the SHIELD agent is shot and his body dumped. Although security manages to capture the Espionage Elite, Spymaster manages to get away. Blaming Spymaster for Jasper’s injuries, Iron Man vows to get revenge.

Recurring Characters

Iron Man, Spymaster, Jasper Sitwell, Kevin O’Brien, Espionage Elite (Numbers One through Five)