Low Noon

Clay Wilson, aka Force, had surrendered to Tony Stark after defecting from the employ of Justin Hammer. Tony had just convinced Wilson to surrender to the LAPD when Blacklash, the Beetle, and Blizzard — other operatives of Justin Hammer — arrived to eliminate Wilson. Stuck in the cell block without his Iron Man armor, Tony Stark fears the worst as Blacklash prepares to kill Clay right before his eyes.

Luckily, reinforcements arrive, but the cops are quickly blocked when the Blizzard uses his freezing powers to create a wall of ice. Drawn by the sound of gunfire, Jim Rhodes sees that his boss is also trapped with the villains. He races outside to the station motorpool where he commandeers a riot truck and smashes it through the wall of the jail. The truck pins Beetle to the wall and distracted Blacklash long enough for Tony to grab Clay and get him into the tank. The inexperienced Blizzard tries to freeze them, but his blasts go wild and hit Blacklash instead.

Realizing that Clay Wilson can’t be kept safe in police custody, Tony orders Jim to hide Wilson at Stark Enterprises. Recovering the briefcase containing his Iron Man armor, Tony returns to the police station just as Justin Hammer’s three assassins make their escape. He then tells the authorities that he has taken Wilson to a safe location. When this is protested by the chief of police, Tony uses his connections with the mayor’s office to get the proper authorization. Once back at Stark Enterprises, Tony is once again thanked by Wilson for all his help. He reiterates that while he originally wanted to be a super-villain because he enjoyed the power that came from being Force, his eventual employment by Justin Hammer made him a prisoner. Jim Rhodes still can’t bring himself to trust Clay, but Tony insists that they need to come up with a way to protect Wilson as Justin Hammer will not rest until he is dead.

Meanwhile, the three assassins return to Justin Hammer’s private ship to report their failure. Blacklash blames it all on the relatively inexperienced Blizzard. Hammer angrily tells them that he will not hear any more excuses and gives them one more chance to deal with Force once and for all.

Elsewhere in Los Angeles, Scott Lang is moving into his brand new home with his daughter Cassie. When she asks to go out for a bike ride, Scott is more than happy to send her off so he can unpack his Ant-Man gear. He thinks that this new home is going to be good for him and Cassie, and perhaps maybe his alter-ego as well.

A few days later, Tony Stark has figured out that someone within the LAPD must be leaking information to Justin Hammer and decides to set up a trap for his assassins. Calling the chief of police, Tony says that he is going to hide Clay Wilson at Gunshot Gulch, a long abandoned western themed amusement park outside of town. Sure enough, when Iron Man and Jim Rhodes relocate Wilson to the park, Justin Hammer’s lackies show up shortly thereafter. However, they are unprepared for the fact that Iron Man has rigged the animatronic cowboys in the park with actual weapons.

While Blacklash, the Beetle, and Blizzard are disorientated by this attack, Iron Man ambushes them. Although Shell-Head has the advantage the trio soon overpower him. Seeing Iron Man risking his life for him, Clay Wilson then changes into his Force armor and joins the battle. Since his would-be killers use technology, Force unleashes an electromagnetic pulse that renders their weapons useless. The trio then flee into the nearby buildings to wait out the effects of the EMP, which will wear off in six minutes. This sends Iron Man, Force, and Rhodes to scramble to apprehend the assassins before they regain the use of their weapons, something made harder thanks to the fact that Iron Man’s armor was also affected by the pulse.

Jim Rhodes finds Blacklash in a nearby saloon. Although his whip can’t use its enhancements, he can still be used as an offensive weapon. Grabbing a wooden pole off the ground, Jim holds his own against Blacklash for the entire six minutes. However, Blacklash is too busy gloating about his powers coming back that he leaves himself open to be struck in the throat by Jim’s pole, incapacitating him. In a nearby stable, Iron Man is unable to find the Beetle before the six minutes are up. With his armor back in working order, the Beetle ambushes his foe but Iron Man is able to defeat him by collapsing the stable. Meanwhile, Force tries to convince Blizzard to surrender by relating to him. Blizzard doesn’t want to listen to the truth about working for Justin Hammer and tries to freeze Force in a block of ice. However, Wilson channels and electrical charge through the ice that incapacitates his foe. While Force, Iron Man, and Jim deal with Blizzard, his compatriots retreat, more than happy to leave the inexperienced member of their group to the wolves. In the aftermath of the battle, Iron Man realizes that the only way for Force to get out of this situation is for Clay Wilson to die.

The next day, Tony Stark calls the police to tell them that Force died while trying to escape custody, calming he was burned alive after flying into some high tension lines. In reality, Tony had arranged for a new identity for Clay Wilson. As Carl Walker, Tony then sets him up with a job at Barstow Electronics, a subsidiary of Stark Enterprises, so that he can have a chance at a new life.

Recurring Characters

Iron Man, Force, Blacklash, Beetle, Blizzard, Justin Hammer, Jim Rhodes, Garrison Quint, Scott Lang, Cassie Lang

Topical References

• Tony calls Tom Bradley, who was the mayor of Los Angeles from 1973 to 1993. This should be considered a topical reference particularly since Bradley died in 1998.

• Cassie Lang is depicted wearing a Beastie Boys t-shirt.