The Fury and the Inferno!

Iron Man returns to Stark Industries and finds that security is really on their toes. This pleases him after the recent trouble the facility has been having. Entering his private office, Tony Stark changes out of his armor so he can attend a shareholders meeting. As he races to the meeting room he ignores his fiancée, Marianne Rodgers. Tony is focused on quashing the ambitions of his board of directors, Simon Gilbert, who has been attempting to oust Tony from the company. There, Tony reminds everyone that he has the majority share over the company. To demonstrate his power, Tony fires Simon Gilbert on the spot. He then tells the others that he will be scheduling early-morning meetings with them and to prepare their resignations. Tony also announces that Stark Industries will be moving away from weapons manufacturing to focus on other technologies.[1]

Angry over Stark’s continued control of the company, Simon Gilbert uses his underworld connections to get into contact with the criminal known as Firebrand.[2] Gilbert wants to hire Firebrand to destroy Stark Industries. Firebrand finds this ironic since and explains his origins. He tells Gilbert that he grew up with an abusive father. As an adult he got involved in protests against the establishment but soon found that their peaceful methods were not going to work, that violence was the only way to get what they wanted. A genius in physics, the young man who would become Firebrand invented his wrist mounted flamethrowers and jetpack. After his recent defeat at the hands of Iron Man, he has been improving his weapons as he waited for an opportunity for a rematch against the Avenger. Simon offers Firebrand a stack of money and gives him a security pass to get into Stark Industries. Firebrand tells Gilbert to keep his money as he will enjoy destroying a munitions manufacturer like Stark Industries.

Meanwhile, Tony and Marianne are attending a party where Tony indulges in more drinks than usual.[3] This concerns Marianne, who thinks Tony is under a lot of stress. Overhearing one of the attendees talking about his company’s tumbling stock prices, Tony decides to leave. He speeds on the way back home until he is pulled over by a police officer who decides to let him off on a warning. The couple then stops at a lover lane but the romance is interrupted when Tony gets a call from security at the plant to tell him that it is under attack from Firebrand. Tony quickly changes into Iron Man and flies to his factory to face off against Firebrand.

Watching the battle is Simon Gilbert who thinks that it is taking too long to destroy Iron Man. He then begins rigging the building to explode but ends up getting trapped when part of the roof collapses on him from battle damage. Unable to disarm the bomb in time and unable to save Simon Gilbert, Iron Man grabs Firebrand and pulls him clear of the blast. Iron Man has to use all of his strength to keep Firebrand from running back into the building before the explosion. The death of Gilbert throws Firebrand into a fury who unleashes the full power of his flame throwers on Iron Man. Although the intense heat his causing his armor to start melting, Iron Man presses forward until he is close enough to destroy Gilbert’s weapons. When the authorities arrive to take Firebrand into custody, Iron Man asks the villain why he was so intent on going back for Gilbert. That’s when Firebrand reveals that he is Simon Gilbert’s son. He accuses Iron Man of murdering his father and vows to get his revenge.[4]

Recurring Characters

Iron Man, Firebrand, Marianne Rodgers, Simon Gilbert

Continuity Notes

1. Simon Gilbert’s power play stemmed from the time traveling android known only as Mister Kline, who came to this timeline to alter historical events. However, Klein was destroyed before his plans could come to fruition. See Daredevil #79-84 and Iron Man #41-45. From there, Gilbert tried to size control, manipulating a mentally unhinged Kevin O’Brien into battling Iron Man to the death in issue #46.

2. This story makes multiple references to Iron Man’s previous clash with Firebrand. That happened in Iron Man #27. This story incorrectly attributes Firebrand’s first appearance to Iron Man #18.

3. This is probably the first hint of Tony’s growing drinking problem which will grow into a real problem by Iron Man #128.

4. Although Firebrand is identified as the son of Simon Gilbert, his first name is not revealed until Iron Man #59. His first name is Gary.

Topical References

• Tony is depicted as having a car phone. This should be considered a topical reference since the advent of cell phones have made car phones an obsolete technology.