G.A.R.D.’s Gauntlet

With the reconstruction of Stark International still on going, Tony Stark goes into his office to collect some personal effects before repairs begin.[1] He wonders why he came back from the past to this mess until he home comes upon a photo of his girlfriend, Bethany Cabe.[2] Tony thinks about how she had grown to become the most important person in his life, especially after she helped him with her drinking problem.[3] However, she has been gone for days on a sudden mission to Europe and he hasn’t heard from her since and feels lost without her.[4]

Tony then decides to stop feeling sorry for himself and do something he enjoys. Since his wardrobe was destroyed in the attack he decides to shop for some new clothes. Deciding to have company he calls Beth’s business partner, Ling McPherson and invites her along to help him out. As he leaves, he tells his secretary — Bambi Arbogast — to draw up some estimates on purchasing the Cord Conglomerate.[5]

As Tony heads out for the day, Vic Martinelli is overseeing the reconstruction of Stark International. The work crews are annoyed that they haven’t been given access to the Lab Annex. However, Vic insists that they cannot work in there until all classified information has been safely put away. The man in charge of this operation is Scott Lang, whom Vic doesn’t trust due to his past criminal record but has resigned to Tony Stark’s decision.[6]

Inside, Lang is working away unconcerned about the chemicals that caused the fire to the facility as it has since become inert. This proves to be wrong as a single drop of the corrosive chemicals eats through some wires connected to the building security system. This happens while Scott has stopped working for his lunch break. When the security system seals him inside the building and begins filling it with gas. Scott races to his locker to recover his Ant-Man costume since his helmet can form an air-tight seal and supply him with breathable oxygen. Unable to use his shrinking gas, Ant-Man tries to get out with using his own strength, but can’t break out.

Changing tactics, Ant-Man uses his helmet to summon an army of ants to assist him. Getting out of the room filled with knock out gas, Ant-Man shrinks down to ant size and leads the ants into the central computer. Inside, they begin fighting through the miniaturized defenses to shut the system down.

By this time, Tony has finished his shopping and notices he missed an important security alert from Stark International. Sending Ling home in a taxi, Tony slips away to change intro Iron Man and fly back to the office. When he finally arrives on the scene and rips open the security door he finds Scott Lang on the other side safe and sound as he managed to shut off the defenses inside. With the crisis over, Iron Man changes back to Tony Stark and heads back to his office to read the newspaper. One of the stories is about an American spy that has been captured and Tony is shocked to discover that it is Bethany Cabe.

Recurring Characters

Iron Man, Ant-Man, Bethany Cabe, Ling McPherson, Vic Martinelli, Bambi Arbogast, Cassie Lang

Continuity Notes

1. Stark International was damaged during Iron Man’s battle with Blacklash. See Iron Man #146-147. Reconstruction will be complete in issue #155.

2. While assessing the damage he recounts how he recently returned from a trip to the past with Doctor Doom, this was in issues #149-150.

3. Tony started dating Cabe shortly after they first met in Iron Man #117. She helped Tony kick his problem drinking in issue #128.

4. Bethany suddenly left town without explanation in Iron Man #146 without explanation. We’ll find out in issues #152-153 that she went looking for her long lost husband who, up until that point, was believed to be dead as seen in issue #128.

5. Owner Edwin Cord was forced to put his company up for sale after getting getting into legal trouble. See Daredevil #167 and Iron Man #145.

6. Scott Lang once went to jail for burglary. See Marvel Premiere #47 for all the details.

Topical References

• Tony is depicted driving a 1981 Triumph TR7 a luxury sports car made in the UK. They ceased production in the same year this comic was published. This could be considered a topical reference unless you want to believe that Tony is a vintage car aficionado, which is not impossible all things considered.

• Tony goes shopping for new clothes at L.M. Tailors a long running tailor company in New York City. This should be considered topical as it is a real world business.

• Tony is depicted as having a pager. This should be considered as these devices are now obsolete thanks to mobile phones. Modern readers could assume that Tony has a cell phone here and he received a text message instead of a page.