Night Walk!

Having become the unwitting pawn of the White Dragon, Tony was under the villain’s mind control for over a weak. However, a chance outing as Iron Man created interference with the mind control device led to it being destroyed to cover up the Dragon’s schemes. This caused Iron Man to fall out of the sky, prompting Kevin O’Brien to drag him back inside to see what’s wrong. The entire experience has left Tony Stark confused and disorientated. He tries to explain what happened, but Kevin can’t make any sense of Tony’s fragmented memories. As O’Brien tries to figure out what happened to his boss he once again curses the fact that he knows Iron Man’s true identity.

Elsewhere, Marianne Rodgers, who dated Tony for a brief period wakes up after a dream about Stark being in danger. She doesn’t know why she is suddenly concerned about his well being and calls Stark Industries to see if he is ok.[1] Since Tony is in no condition to talk, Kevin makes up an excuse for his absence, making Marianne think that Tony doesn’t care about her feelings. Meanwhile, Tony becomes even more incoherent and violent as he begins to remember his brainwashing at the hands of the White Dragon. However, these memories are filled with visions of monsters. Thankfully, this last recollection causes Tony to slowly crawl back to sanity and asks Kevin to get Nick Fury on the phone.

Meanwhile, the White Dragon pushes ahead with his plans and has his minions Davina and Kreole set up a nuclear bomb that he intends to set off at the UN Conference that Tony Stark is supposed to be attending. He hopes that his impending victory will restore his honor to the Council of Nine of whom he works for. He believes Princess Shara-Lee is loyal to him, however she is secretly using him as a pawn for the Council, and intends to dispose of him as soon as his usefulness runs out.

By this time, Tony has reached Nick Fury and tells the SHIELD director that he will not be attending the UN council meeting but won’t give an explanation why. Fury is angry at Tony over this but Stark quickly ends their call. He then heads for the East River as Iron Man to investigate the strange memories he has of the area. While he is gone, Kevin O’Brien decides to go over the blueprints Tony gave him of a new weapon, unaware that these were provided to Stark by the White Dragon as part of his plot.

When Iron Man arrives over the East River, the White Dragon detects his arrival and sends his minions to destroy him. The Avenger manages to defeat these foot soldiers in single combat. Diving into the water, Iron Man becomes a target of Davina and Kreole who are piloting a mini-submarine. However, Davina ends up attacking Kreole in the hopes as replacing him as the White Dragon’s second in command. While they fight with one another, Iron Man blows up their sub, killing them both.

Iron Man then attacks the White Dragon’s submarine and board the device. There, Shara-Lee — having grown impatient with the Dragon’s bungling — reveals how she had been manipulating the White Dragon for her masters. That’s when Stark Industries appears to explode on the monitors, leading the Princess to believe she has finally won. Realizing how he had been used, the White Dragon then activates the self-destruct sequence. Iron Man escapes, narrowly avoiding getting caught in the blast.

At that moment, Marianne Rodgers suddenly feels the sense of danger looming over Tony Stark has passed and wonders what caused her to have these feelings in the first place.

When Iron Man returns to Stark Industries, he discovers his facility is still in one piece. Kevin explains that he was able to determine that the blueprints were a trap. Finding the White Dragon’s spy camera, he then set up a mock-up of Stark Industries to blow up to trick them into thinking they succeeded in their plot. Tony is impressed with Kevin’s ingenuity, prompting O’Brien to remind Stark that is what he is being paid for.

Recurring Characters

Iron Man, White Dragon Kevin O’Brien, Marianne Rodgers, Nick Fury, Shara-Lee, Kreole, Davina

Continuity Notes

1. Marianne’s premonitions are due to the fact that she has ESP powers, as we’ll learn in Iron Man #41.