The Hero Within

Iron Man has saved Stark International from the rampaging Hulk by channeling all his power into a single punch. However, the blow left Iron Man’s armor totally inert. Iron Man is unable to communicate or move because his circuits are fused. As a SWAT team comes to pick up the Hulk, Jim Rhodes has the idea to hook up a bomb detector to Iron Man’s armor in an effort to communicate. This gambit pays off, and Iron Man orders the Hulk back to their lab because they need to remove the regulator from his chest before he is trapped as the Hulk forever.

With Erica Sondheim dealing with the Hulk problem, Iron Man is carried back to the lab so they can figure out a way to repair his armor before he runs out of air and suffocates. Scott Lang believes he can make the needed repairs as his alter-ego, Ant-Man and races off to change into his costume. He convinces Jim and the others to let him venture inside Iron Man’s armor at ant size and try to effect repairs that way. Luckily, Ant-Man is able to communicate with Iron Man through his cybernetic helmet, allowing him to be walked through the repair process.

Ant-Men enters through one of Iron Man’s jet boots and begins making his way through the damage systems. This is no easy task as the armor has there are threats inside, such as a ruptured line of fire retarding foam. As Ant-Man works to save Iron Man’s life, Bethany Cabe arrives to see how Iron Man is doing.[1] By this time, Bruce Banner is going under the knife to have the heart regulator removed. Eventually, Ant-Man manages to reconnect Iron Man’s power supply just moments before he runs out of air.[2][3] After assuring everyone that he’s fine, Iron Man gets them all out of the room so he can change back into Tony Stark and check to see how Bruce Banner is doing.

When he returns to the lab he discovers that the surgery was a complete success. With Banner back on his feet and the police looking to arrest him, Tony has Bruce disguised as one of his staff so Jim Rhodes can smuggle him out of the facility. In the aftermath of everything, Tony can’t help but feel sorry for Bruce who has to face everything alone. He is glad he has someone like Bethany in his life to share his problems together.

Recurring Characters

Iron Man, Hulk, Ant-Man, Bethany Cabe, Jim Rhodes, Vic Martinelli, Erica Sondheim

Continuity Notes

1. Jim points out that Bethany is showing a lot of concern for Iron Man since she didn’t previously have a warm relationship with him. Beth explains that she has learned to tolerate Iron Man’s existence. When Bethany first met Iron Man she didn’t approve of the way he protected Tony Stark as his bodyguard, as seen in Iron Man #124. However, the reason she has warmed up on Iron Man is because, at the time of this story, she figured out that Tony and Iron Man are the same person, something she doesn’t reveal until Iron Man #139. She won’t reveal to Tony that she knows until issue #153.

2. During his voyage inside Iron Man, it’s mentioned that this Ant-Man is not the original. The original Ant-Man was Hank Pym, who began his crime-fighting career in Tales to Astonish #35. After retiring from the role of Ant-Man, Pym later gave Scott his blessing after Lang stole Hank’s Ant-Man gear to save his daughter in Marvel Premiere #47.

3. It’s interesting to note that Ant-Man’s adventure inside Iron Man’s armor is very reminiscent of when Hank Pym pulled the same stunt to repair the Vision back in Avengers #93.

Topical References

• Once inside Iron Man’s armor, Ant-Man quips that the last time he saw such complex circuitry was when he tried fixing his Betamax machine. This should be considered a topical reference as this is an obsolete technology.