Now Strikes the Cyborg Sinister

Stark Industries has begun shifting away from arms manufacturing and into other avenues that will be a benefit to the world. One of these inventions is a new prototype rocket for space exploration. At the test launch, Iron Man watches the blast-off from the air, hoping it will be a success so his company can start making profit again. Unfortunately, the rocket explodes, forcing Iron Man to quickly destroy the debris before it can harm anybody.[1]

As he makes his way back to the launch site, Iron Man spots a robbery in progress and swoops in to help the cops capture the crooks.

Meanwhile, on the micro-world of Bast, two beings named Jarr and Tyrr continue their plan to save their world following devastation from a nuclear war. To this end, they have taken control of the Super-Adaptoid, transforming it into their Cyborg Sinister and sent it to Stark Industries as it has the energy resources they need to save their world. While Jarr intends to save his world in order to rule over it, his cousin Tyrr wants to save their world for more altruistic reasons. There, the Cyborg Sinister begins trashing the place, as the devastation produce the energy needed to save Bast, which the former Adaptoid will transfer back to his masters.

At that same moment, Marianne Rodgers continues to have visions of knocking Iron Man into a vat of acid. As she tries to maintain a grip on her sanity, Tony Stark returns to his apartment and is not happy to see her since she abandoned Iron Man when he was in desperate need of a recharge to his batteries and almost died.[2] Having had enough, Tony tells her that their engagement is off and tells her to get out of his apartment. Heartbroken, Marianne is insulted that he could so callously end their relationship when all she wanted to do was protecting him and storms out of the apartment.[3] That’s when Tony gets a call from one of the scientists at Stark Industries who tells him about the Cyborg Sinister’s attack. With no time to lose, Tony quickly changes into Iron Man and heads to his company to face off against this foe.

When he arrives on the scene, he spots Marianne running toward the danger. Swooping her off the ground, Tony leaves her on a cat walk in an R&D building. This happens to be over the very vat of acid that Marianne has seen in her visions of Iron Man’s death. Iron Man then attacks the Cyborg Sinister in the hopes of stopping its rampage. With his jet-boots still on the fritz, Iron Man resorts to using his boot’s built in rocket skate to maneuver around his foe.[4] Still needing more maneuverability, Iron Man finally fixes his jets by giving his boots a solid whack. As their fight draws near the vat of acid, Marianne warns Tony that her vision is about to come true. Dismissing her vision as nothing more than a bad dream, Iron Man manages to knock the vat of acid onto the Cyborg Sinister.

Although their pawn is seriously damaged by the acid, Jarr insists on continuing the fight and is intent on killing Iron Man. However, Tyrr refuses to commit murder and fights his cousin in order to stop him. Their quarrel causes damage to the control panel they have been using to control the Super-Adaptoid, causing it to explode. At that same moment, Iron Man knocks the Cyborg Sinister to the ground and it soon dissolves into nothingness.[5] In the aftermath of the battle, Iron Man observes a second launch of a new experimental rocket designed by Stark Industries. This time, the launch is successful giving Tony hope that his company can continue to operate under its new mandate.

Meanwhile, Marianne Rodgers has returned to her apartment to contemplate the fact that her vision was wrong. As a result she has lost Tony Stark and wonders where she will go from here.

Recurring Characters

Iron Man, Cyborg Sinister, Marianne Rodgers, Jarr, Tyrr

Continuity Notes

1. Tony Stark had recently decided to stop selling munitions and focus on other, non-violent, endeavors in Iron Man #48.

2. Tony Stark has had a long history of problems with his heart starting in Tales of Suspense #39 when he took shrapnel in the heart. Later, Tony underwent surgery to repair the damage in Iron Man #19. However, any undue stress would cause his body to reject the synesthetic parts used to repair the damage. Tony was forced to start wearing a chest-piece to keep his heart beating in Iron Man #37. Marianne left Tony hanging in Iron Man #49.

3. Tony proposed to Marianne in Iron Man #45.

4. A footnote here reminds readers that Iron Man’s rocket skates were last used in Avengers #92.

5. Although seemingly destroyed here, the Super-Adaptoid will live in. As revealed in Captain Marvel #50, Stark contained the liquid remains of the Adaptoid in a cylinder to examine and learn its secrets. However, the Adaptoid would escape and reconstitute itself after the cylinder was cracked in an explosion in Iron Man #91.

Topical References

• At the end of this story, Stark Industries experimental rocket is depicted flying past Sputnik, the Russian design satellite that was the first of its kind. This is not historically accurate as Sputnik burned up in Earth’s atmosphere on January 4, 1958. Regardless, it’s appearance here should be considered topical.