Iron Man #204
Crossing
Tony Stark is in a state of shock when his ex-girlfriend, Bethany Cabe, tried to shoot him only to be rescued by Madame Masque. Masque claims that she is actually Bethany and that she and Madame Masque were body swapped by Obadiah Stane and that the process was overseen by Doctor Theron Atlanta.[1] “Bethany” denies this and Tony himself is not quick to believe it either. However “Madame Masque” proves it by reminding Tony of a trip they took to the Greek Islands together, recounting a terrible joke he told on the trip. Since only the real Bethany Cabe would know this, Tony is at least willing to consider the possibility that the two women have swapped bodies.
Deciding to get to the bottom of things, he calls Jim Rhodes to come over and keep an eye on the two women while he investigates these claims.[2] Recalling how Doctor Atlanta was at Stane International during his final battle with Obadiah Stane and that he was kidnapped by Advance Idea Mechanics, Iron Man heads out to find their headquarters.[3] He flies out to the ocean and searches an AIM fighter that he shot down recently and recovers black box that will tell him where to go.
While he is gone, Clytemnestra Erwin arrives at Tony’s villa to visit him. When she finds Jim babysitting two of Tony’s ex-girlfriends, Cly becomes bitter.
Meanwhile, Iron Man is able to track down AIM’s submarine headquarters and attacks. The Scientist Supreme is surprised that Iron Man has found them and orders his minions to fight back. As a battle rages outside, Yorgon Tykkio — a man who has been plotting to take over AIM himself — tries to escape with Doctor Atlanta as he is vital to his plans. Unfortunately, the battle outside damages the escape port, trapping them on board. Tykkio then decides to hide in one of the instrument panels. However, Doctor Atlanta loses his grip and the panel door slams into Yorgon’s face, shattering it. Seeing part of Tykkio’s true face comes as a shock to Theron and Yorgon that he’ll reveal his secret some other time and warns the doctor not to give away his hiding place once Iron Man arrives.[4]
Eventually, Iron Man cripples the AIM submarine and pulls it to shore. He then goes inside and finds Doctor Atlanta who refuses to tell him anything. Iron Man isn’t interested in why AIM wanted him and drags him back to Tony’s villa. There, Clytemnestra arranges to get them access to the secret lab below Stane International through a friend who works for the company. As they prepare to reverse the mind-swap, Madame Masque refuses to be put through the procedure against her will, bringing up the legality of forcing her to through it. This does little to stop Tony and the others who force her into the machine. Madame Masque tries to break free, but Tony activates the machine.
Once the process is over, Tony tests Bethany Cabe by asking her to tell him the punchline to the joke he told her when they were on vacation. When she is able to do so, Tony considers determines that the process was a success.
Recurring Characters
Iron Man, Madame Masque, Bethany Cabe, AIM, Jim Rhodes, Cly Erwin
Continuity Notes
It’s all true, as revealed last issue. The body swap happened behind the scenes during Iron Man #198. However, this is not the real Madame Masque, but a bio-duplicate as revealed in Avengers (vol. 3) #32.
Here, Jim’s arm is depicted as being in a sling. This is because he is recovering from injuries he sustained in Iron Man #198.
Iron Man’s final battle with Stane and the kidnapping of Atlanta by AIM was depicted in Iron Man #200 and 201 respectively.
Yorgon Tykkio’s secret is never revealed as the character is unceremoniously killed off in Iron Man #216. According to the Unofficial Appendix, not even writer Denny O’Neil remembers what he had planned for the character.
