Counter-Force

Aboard a submarine docked at the port of Dos Caballos, Guatemala, the supervillain named Force has decided that he needs a clean break from his life of crime. After fighting through the crew of the sub and incapacitating the ship, Force then takes off. The incident is reported back to Force’s former employer, Justin Hammer. Hammer is disappointed but still sees Force as a valuable asset and orders his men to bring him in alive.

Meanwhile, in Los Angeles, Tony Stark is out shopping with his friend Jim Rhodes. As they look over high-end luxury watches, Tony strikes up a conversation with a woman named Rae LaCoste, who invites him and Jim back to her business. As it turns out, Rae is the owner of a hair salon called Doos ‘n’ Don’ts. Telling Tony that he needs to update his hairstyle, she convinces him to let him style his hair. She also convinces Jim to get a pedicure from one of her beauticians. Rhodey is reluctant at first until he sees how attractive the woman is. A short while later, Tony comes out with a brand new hairstyle while Jim has been given pink finger nails with a pinky extension complete with a rhinestone. He is embarrassed by this, admitting to Tony that he was too distracted by the manicurist’s good looks to pay attention to what she was doing.

As the pair head back to Stark Enterprises, Tony decides to call ahead and check in. He speaks with Garrison Quint, the head of security, who tells him that Force has appeared at the company. While security tries to repel the villain, Tony quickly changes into Iron Man and flies there in record time. When he arrives, he discovers Force surrenders to him and Iron Man discovers that his foe can’t talk for some reason. Suspecting something is wrong, Iron Man takes Force up to Tony Stark’s office where he convinces Bambi Arbogast to let Force use her computer. With the word processor, he asks for a Knox A-79 cable to be installed into a port on the neck brace of his armor. Deciding to take a chance and trust Force, Iron Man escorts him down to Tony Stark’s private lab where he is joined by Jim Rhodes.

Once the Knox A-79 is plugged in, Force is finally able to communicate with them via a speaker. He tells them that he has defected from Justin Hammer’s employ and that he has been trapped in his armor by a safelock installed by his former employer. Iron Man then works to free Force from his armor. Once free from his armor, Force introduces himself by his real name, Clay Wilson, and asks if he can speak to Tony Stark directly. Iron Man agrees, and sends Clay up to his office with Jim while he secretly changes out of his armor. Turns out, Clay Wilson wants to snitch on everything Justin Hammer is up to.

Clay explains that he got into the super-villain game as a young man who had a thirst for acquiring power. While he built his original suit, it was merely a prototype and he craved more power.[1] This led to him eventually working for Justin Hammer who offered him upgrades and work in exchange for a cut of all of his crimes. As he grew older, Clay began to be haunted by the memories of the people he hurt. The final straw for him was when he discovered the safelock that Justin Hammer installed on his armor and realized that he was a disposable asset. He has come to Tony Stark in the hopes he can get some kind of amnesty. However, Tony can’t do much and promises to arrange for the LAPD To take him into protective custody. Clay Wilson doesn’t like the idea but decides to give Tony a chance since they took one on him.

Little do they know that Justin Hammer has operatives planted within the LAPD and he is quickly informed where Clay Wilson has been taken by one of the officers under his employ. Pleased by this recent development, Hammer dispatches Blacklash, the Beetle, and the new Blizzard to the police station to get Wilson. Although the inexperienced Blizzard makes their job a little harder, the trio of villains manage to fight their way into the cell block. Stuck inside the jail without his Iron Man armor, Tony Stark realizes that he made a big mistake and watches helplessly as Blacklash prepares to kill Clay Wilson.

Recurring Characters

Iron Man, Force, Beetle, Blizzard, Blacklash, Justin Hammer, Jim Rhodes, Bambi Arbogast, Garrison Quint, Rae LaCoste

Continuity Notes

1. Readers are reminded here that Force first appeared in Sub-Mariner #68.

Topical References

• Tony is out shopping for a new Rolex watch. This should be considered topical as Rolex is a real world brand name.

• The skateboarder Jim saves from a wipeout is sinking “Fly Like an Eagle” by the Steve Miller Band. This should be considered topical since this song came out in 1976 and was already a dated reference when this comic was published over decade later.

• Tony is depicted as having a car phone. This should be considered topical as this technology is obsolete now thanks to cell phones.