A Twist of Memory — A Turn of Mind!

Tony Stark is visiting Jasper Sitwell who is recovering in the hospital after being shot defending Stark Industries.[1] A condition Tony blames himself for allowing to happen. When the doctor enters the room and tells Tony that Sitwell is to undergo more surgery, Tony puts on an indifferent attitude to keep up his appearances as a heartless playboy. As he leaves the hospital, Tony once again finds himself questioning his role as Iron Man when, suddenly, knock-out gas begins to fill his car. This causes Tony to swerve off a bridge and into the East River.

Before the industrialist can drown, Tony is saved by Davina and Kreol, who take him to the submarine headquarters of their master, the White Dragon. The Dragon and his lover Princess Shara-Lee are working for the mysterious Council of Nine who have plans for Tony Stark. They place Tony in a device called the Transcriber so they can make the inventor their pawn. White Dragon is pleased that his plan is going off without a hitch as he has previously been a disgrace to the Council and this scheme will restore his honor.

With no memory of what happened, Tony Stark is released and — under the influence of the White Dragon — cancels his speech at a UN Committee on how science has a responsibility to humanity. Instead, he has his lead inventor Kevin O’Brien get to work on a new weapon, sonically pressured bullets that implode on contact. Tony’s strange behavior and sudden invention make Kevin suspicious, especially when Tony complains about headaches and calls in a brand new tailor.

A week later, Tony Stark goes out as Iron Man and the thickness of his armor cuts off the signal from the mind control device implanted in his head by the White Dragon. With his control over Tony Stark cut off, the White Dragon begins to fear that Stark has found out his scheme and is trying to foil it. While Iron Man is disorientated he is attacked by some of the White Dragon’s minions but, luckily for him, the attack draws out Captain America, Goliath, and Thor of the Avengers as well as Captain America’s partner the Falcon. They drive off the White Dragon’s minions but when they ask Iron Man what the purpose of that attack was, the increasingly disorientated hero says he doesn’t know and wanders off. Although the Falcon is concerned with Iron Man’s state of mind, Captain America suggests that they let Iron Man sort out his problems on his own.

With his minions defeated, the White Dragon considers his plot a failure and orders the mind control device implanted in Tony Stark’s mind destroyed. When this happens, Iron Man is flying over Stark Industries and suddenly crashes. The impact draws out Kevin O’Brien who then drags Iron Man back inside to find out what happened. Having observed Iron Man fall out of the sky, White Dragon’s failure suddenly becomes an even greater victory as he has deduced that Tony Stark and Iron Man are the same person.

Recurring Characters

Iron Man, White Dragon, Jasper Sitwell, Kevin O’Brien, Avengers (Captain America, Thor, Goliath), Falcon, Redwing, Frankie Majors, Shara-Lee, Davina, Kreol

Continuity Notes

1. Jasper was shot in Iron Man #34. (This story misattributes it to issue #35)

Topical References

• Kevin O’Brien refers to the Tony’s new "tailor” (actually a White Dragon operative) an “Oriental”. This is a dated term used to describe someone who comes from East Asia. It has fallen out of use in favor of actually referring to ones country of origin and, to some, the term Oriental is considered racist.