In This hour of Earthdom!

Tony Stark is forced to become Iron Man once again when the city is terrorized by Ramrod, an alien robot sent to prepare the planet for his masters, the Changers. The stress of battle has caused his body to start rejecting the synthetic parts of his heart making him collapse in the middle of battle.[1]

As Ramrod continues his rampage, Iron Man barely clings to consciousness. Pulling himself to his feet and using all of his determination the hero manages to stumble into an alley where finds an overcoat in the trash to cover his armor. Removing his mask, Tony then makes the painful trek back to his car. Once in the front seat, the excruciating pain causes him to black out once more.

Meanwhile, an massive alien ship is making its way to Earth. On board are Ramrod’s companions, a trio of robots called the Changers. As they near the planet Earth, the leader of the Changers reminds them what their mission is. They are employed Worldform, Inc. an intergalactic organization that terraforms alien worlds for colonization of another species, so long as they can meet the price. The head of the company, an alien named Klark has been hired by an alien race to turn planet Earth into a world they can inhabit. Their leader, S’tan D’ard demands the surface be converted to glass so his people — who have suction cups on their fingers — can move about easily on their new home.[2]

Back on Earth, Kevin O’Brien has left Stark Industries looking for Tony Stark in all the chaos. He ends up running into Marianne, Tony’s date for the night and learns that he took off when Ramrod began his attack.[3] Returning to Stark Industries to see if his boss has returned there, Kevin goes to the elevator to Tony’s office. When the doors open, Tony comes tumbling out too weak to stand. Kevin wants to get Tony to a hospital, but Stark insists that Kevin bring him to Avengers Mansion instead. By this time, the Changers ship has landed on Earth and their humanoid commander, the so-called Foreman sends the three Changers to different parts of the globe to begin terraforming the planet. Observing the humans on his monitor, the Foreman notices Marianne out of the crowd because she reminds him of a woman from his home world that he once loved and is now dead.

Meanwhile, at Avengers Mansion, Kevin arrives with Tony Stark. It is here that Tony reveals that he is Iron Man.[4] He tells Kevin where to find the old chest-plate Tony used to wear to keep his heart beating and instructs him on how to install it so it can keep his strained heart beating. As Kevin gets to work, the Foreman has Marianne brought to his ship. He decides to tell her about his life, saying that as a boy he was the last survivor of his world that was found by his predecessor, who took him in and raised him to become the next Foreman. As the alien tells Marianne his story, the Changers arrive at their designated place along the Great Wall of China, the North Pole, and the jungle of Africa. This becomes worldwide news and among those watching from home are Pepper Potts and Happy Hogan. Pepper is deeply upset because she fears that Iron Man was killed in battle. Seeing how upset his wife is, Happy tries his best to comfort her.[5]

Later, Ramrod interrupts the Foreman’s story to tell him that the Changers are now in position. Marianne uses this distraction to try and make a run for it. However, before Ramrod and the Foreman can recapture her, Iron Man comes crashing into the alien ship. As he gets Marianne to safety, she tells him that the Foreman’s control over his robots comes from the special helmet he wears. Once he has gotten her to safety, Iron Man then has a rematch with Ramrod. This time giving the robot the full fury of his repulsor rays, Iron Man causes Ramrod to explode. Heading back to the alien ship, Iron Man evades the Foreman’s attacks and gets inside. There he manages to rip the helmet off the alien’s head. Suddenly, the Foreman begins to rapidly age and dies of old age, relieved that his centuries long life is finally at an end. Even though the alien had kidnapped her, seeing the Foreman die deeply upsets her and Iron Man tries his best to comfort her.

Meanwhile, back at Stark Industries, Kevin O’Brien tries to come to terms with the revelation that Tony Stark is also Iron Man. Although Iron Man managed to save the Earth, O’Brien wonders who will save him from the burden of keeping Iron Man’s true identity a secret.

Recurring Characters

Iron Man, Ramrod, Kevin O’Brien, Marianne Rodgers, Pepper Potts, Happy Hogan

Continuity Notes

1. Tony’s heart troubles began back in Tales of Suspense #39 when a bomb put shrapnel in his ticker. For some time Tony had to wear a device to keep his heart beating. More recently, in Iron Man #19, Tony underwent surgery to remove the shrapnel and replace the damaged part of his heart with synthetic materials. Although in much better shape, Tony was warned that any undue stress could cause his body to start rejecting the synesthetic prosthetics.

2. As of this writing (July, 2021), the alien races of Klark, S’tan D’ard and the Foreman are unidentified.

3. Marianne’s full name is not given here. Iron Man #40 reveals her last name is Rodgers.

4. Kevin already had his suspicions that Tony and Iron Man were the same person when he got scolded by both in the same day. See Iron Man #33.

5. It’s mentioned here that Pepper and Happy used to work for Tony Stark. Indeed, they worked for Tony from Tales of Suspense #45 until they got married in issue #89 of that series.

Topical References

• Happy and Pepper are depicted watching the news on an old black-and-white CRT television. This is a topical reference as this technology is long obsolete.