Sunfire Strikes Again!

Following his battle with the deranged Michael O’Brien, Tony Stark begins working on a new suit of armor that has life-support elements now that his heart problems appear to be coming back.[1] With O’Brien strapped to a nearby table, Tony wonders what to do with the police detective. Michael has been after Tony for some time over the death of his brother, Kevin. However, Kevin O’Brien’s death was an accident and he wonders how he can convince Michael of this.[2]

Tony’s thoughts are interrupted when he receives a call from his secretary, Krissy Longfellow.[3] She has been reading in the paper how Tony is being subpoenaed to appear before the Senate, and that the accusations don’t look good.[4] Tony decides against appearing before the committee until he can prevent himself from suffering from heart failure. As Krissy ends the call, she is visited by Jasper Sitwell — Stark International’s SHIELD liaison. He has arrived with Goro Watanabe and his daughter Fujiko, who have come to discuss solar energy experiment that is being conducted by Stark International and the government of Japan.[5] During this encounter, Jasper finds something about Krissy Longfellow and asks that they have ever met before. She assures him that they have not, although she becomes concerned after Sitwell leaves.[6] Soon, the Watanabe family are being shown around the facility, unaware that someone is seeking to ruin the Stark/Japanese project is watching them from the shadows.

Back in Tony’s lab, Michael O’Brien finally wakes up and once again begins accusing Tony of murdering his brother. Tony tries to get O’Brien’s facts straight when suddenly the alarms begin going off. Looking at the security monitor, Tony is surprised to see that the Japanese mutant known as Sunfire is attacking his facility. Rushing to get a spare suit of Iron Man armor, Tony is shocked to discover that his spare suits have all been stolen.[7] With no other choice, Tony puts on the Guardsman armor and heads out try and stop Sunfire.[8] As Tony battles Sunfire but the strain on his heart becomes too much and he begins buckling in battle. Seeing this from the security monitor, Michael recalls how his brother Kevin once said that Tony suffers from the weak heart.

Realizing that Tony Stark is a hero, Michael breaks free from his restraints just as the construction on the new suit of Iron Man armor is complete. Jasper Sitwell comes rushing into the room just as O’Brien is putting on the armor so he can help Tony defeat Sunfire. Jasper tries to stop Michael, but fails and soon O’Brien joins the fight. Weakened by his heart, Tony retreats in the hopes of finding another one of his older suits of Iron Man armor stashed in the building. The battle between Sunfire and O’Brien is observed by a man who is wearing the Mandarin’s ten power rings. Mistaking Michael for the real Iron Man, this villain decides it is time to get his final revenge and uses his teleportation device to pluck “Iron Man” out of the battle.[9][10]

Meanwhile, Tony Stark hobbles into one of his secret store rooms and finds a mysterious woman hiding in the shadows. She tells Tony to hurry and put on the armor, revealing that she knows he is really Iron Man. Stark pushes aside concerns about his secret identity and begins putting on this older suit of armor. Then races to the scene of the battle just moments after Michael O’Brien is teleported away. Sunfire is shocked to see another Iron Man, but Tony corrects him, saying that he is the original Iron Man.

Recurring Characters

Iron Man, Sunfire, Mandarin, Jasper Sitwell, Krissy Longfellow, Jasper Sitwell, Michael O’Brien, Goro Watanabe, Fujiko Watanabe

Continuity Notes

1. Tony’s heart was originally wounded with shrapnel from a bomb back in Tales of Suspense #39. This plagued him until heart surgery removed the shrapnel and replaced the damaged parts of his heart in Iron Man #19. The heart was at risk of rejecting the synthetic parts when under stress until it appeared to fully heal in issue #58. However, Tony has been suffering dizzy spell since issue #82 signaling heart problems that he acknowledges for the first time last issue.

2. I’m just going to get this out of the way now: There is a lot of interpersonal drama here. Obviously, Michael’s accounting of events are biased and kind of insane. The facts are this:

   • Kevin worked for Tony from Iron Man #31 until his death in issue #46. The two became best friends. He first wore the Guardsman armor back in Iron Man #43. This suit eventually drove him mad, leading to his accidental death.

   • Kevin accused Tony of stealing Marianne Rodgers from him. However, this was a delusion as he never had a relationship with Marianne Rodgers. Tony started dating her from Iron Man #36. Kevin’s unhinged mind made him think that Tony was stealing her and he went overboard when Tony proposed to Marianne in issue #44. Tony’s relationship with Rodgers didn’t last much longer. He ended their engagement after she abandoned him in Iron Man #49. She was later driven mad and institutionalized in Iron Man #52, where she will remain until he release in Iron Man #103.

   • Kevin, a police detective, came to believe that Kevin was murdered and that it was covered up by Tony Stark. He has been trying to find proof that Kevin was murdered since Iron Man #82. Consumed by thoughts of revenge, Michael broke into Stark International last issue and stole the Guardsman armor to get his revenge. This began driving him mad as well.

3. Little does Tony know that “Krissy Longfellow” is actually Madame Masque in disguise. He’ll learn the truth in Iron Man #103.

4. Tony has been accused of being bribed by foreign governments and intentionally disabling defense systems built by his company, as seen in issues #95-96. This is all part of a plot by the Mandarin, little knowing that Tony is actually working with the government to ferret out the mastermind behind this scheme. This is all revealed in issue #100.

5. Goro and Fujiko mention how Iron Man once helped save Japan from Zoga and the Monster Maker. This happened in Iron Man #30.

6. As stated above, Krissy Longfellow is actually Madame Masque, aka Whitney Frost. As former leader of the Maggia, she tried to seduce her way into Tony Stark’s life. She found Jasper and easier mark and manipulated him between Tales of Suspense #98 until her identity was exposed in Iron Man #1. Jasper — conflicted between his duty and his feelings — has been trying to track Whitney for months.

7. The theft of the suits of Iron Man armor are later revealed to be part of a larger scheme orchestrated by Mordecai Midas to take control of Stark International. See Iron Man #103-107.

8. Tony recounts how he and Sunfire once worked together to defeat the Mandarin. The two clashed and later worked with each other in Iron Man #68-70.

9. I don’t think I need to tell you that this is the Mandarin, as we’ll learn next issue. Issue #100 reveals that Mandy managed to cheat his death in Iron Man #70 by transferring his mind into his rings and then usurping the body of the person foolish enough to put them on.

10. Sunfire recognizes the Mandarin’s teleportation technology as he previously experienced it in Iron Man #68.