Turf

For the past 1000 years a dinosaur like creature, known only as the Guardian, has been trying to keep the world safe. Using a massive weapon to keep invaders from another dimension. However, the Guardian is growing weaker and he fears that soon he will finally faulter and the world will be doomed.

Meanwhile, in New York City, a homeless man named Bernie Tolliver is causing a scene because people keep stepping on his “turf”, this being a cardboard box he sleeps in in the middle of the sidewalk. Two beat cops show up to break things up and decide to leave Tolliver be since he’s not really harming anybody.

While in Long Island, Jim Rhodes and Morley Irwin are handing in their resignations to Obadiah Stane. Although they are happy to stick it to Stane after his hostile takeover of Stark International.[1] However, the two men are left wondering what to do for jobs. Neither man wants to go and work for someone else after the experiences they had working for Tony Stark. Morley figures he should star up his own company and make new discoveries. He points out how Jim discovered one completely by accident himself recently, reminding him how he encountered a strange vortex when he “liberated” Indries Moomji from the Sisters of Ishtar.[2] Jim doesn’t want to risk his life going back there, but Morley says that it is only a suggestion.

Back in the city, Bernie Tolliver is fighting to defend his turf from a trio of other bums. Luckily, Tony Stark happens by and convinces them to leave Bernie alone by giving them a pair of diamond earrings. Tolliver is grateful and invites Tony to sit with him and drink. Wanting some booze something bad, Tony agree and the pair get to talking.

Elsewhere, Jim Rhodes has returned to his apartment and he realizes that his ability to afford such a place for much longer unless he finds a job. At first he decides to have a night out to forget his worries but decides against it. He decides to change into Iron Man and look into that vortex after all.

In the city, Tolliver chases a rat away from his box and tells Tony that he protects his turf because its’s the only things he has and he will fight for it to the death.

By this time, Iron Man has returned to the underground hideout of the Sisters of Ishtar, located below the deserts of the midwest. He shrugs off their defenses with easy and confronts the team of spies and demands that thy reveal the secret of their vortex. As it turns out, the Sisters don’t want to fight him and hope that he can help the Guardian who is now growing weaker. They know all about the creature and his struggle thanks to Friska, the member of the group with ESP. Friska agrees to lead Iron Man down to the Guardian.

Back in New York, Bernie is building a fire in a trash can so he and Tony can keep warm. Feeing a pain in his leg from an old war injury, Bernie knows its going to rain soon. Tony is hardly aware of his surroundings because he is nodding off from the booze.

Meanwhile, Iron Man and Friska find the Guardian just as he is becoming too weak to stop the invaders from crossing over. As an alien ship begins crossing over into this dimension, Iron Man uses his weapons to force it back. With more invaders still coming, Friska reads the Guardian’s mind and tells Iron Man that he needs to close the portal. After driving back more of the invading ships, Iron Man uses his uni-beam laser to collapse the tunnel ceiling on the portal, blocking its opening. With the danger over, the Guardian suddenly vanishes in a blinding flash of light. Although he has no idea what was going on, the experience proved to Jim that he can’t just go back to working as a wage-slave for someone else.

While all this was happening, it had begun to rain in New York City. Seeing that Tony has nowhere else to go, Toliver invites Tony to sleep in his cardboard box so they can both stay warm and dry. When they wake up in the morning, they discover that their shelter had disintegrated in the rain. Despite this, the two remained dry throughout the night. Tony apologizes to Bernie. However, Tolliver isn’t sad, all it means that he has to go out and find a new box and stake out some brand new turf. He explains that losing something makes you realize what’s worth fighting for. He believes Tony knows what that was like, but forgot. Before walking away, Bernie tells Tony that one day he is going to stop drinking and fix the mess he has made of his life. He hopes that someday, Tony will too and to take it is. After Bernie leaves, Tony picks up a scrap of the ruined carboard box and tries to make sense of the lesson it was trying to teach him.

Recurring Characters

Iron Man, Tony Stark, Morley Erwin, Obadiah Stane, Sisters of Ishtar

Continuity Notes

1. Obadiah Stane completed a hostile take over of Stark International back in Iron Man #173. This happened thanks to pushing Tony Stark to start drinking again. Tony has been on a bender since Iron Man #167.

2. Jim — as Iron Man — encountered this strange vortex in Iron Man #173 as well.

Topical References

• In this story, Bernie Tolliver states that he got an injury fighting in the Korean War. This should be considered a topical reference as the idea that someone who fought in the Korean War and still being alive — especially living on street — is increasingly impossible.