Stark Wars: Chapter 1

Iron Man has agreed to participate in an open house charity event being held by the military. He goes through a test run of his performance in which Iron Man uses the weapons in his suit of armor to evade and destroy targeted missiles. This is all part of a defense contract between the military and Stark Enterprises, good for the company since such contracts are rare given they don’t build munitions. After the test, he takes Shannon Sinclair — a military representative — out for dinner, in Noam, Alaska.

A few days later, Tony Stark is back in his private lab at Stark Enterprises. Finally having time to examine and disassemble Force’s recently confiscated armor, he is shocked to discover some of his Iron Man technology incorporated in the suit.[1] When Jim Rhodes comes in to check on Tony he is surprised to see Stark ripping up his lab in an effort to find any spy devices that might be hiding in his lab. Jim gets Tony to get it together and quickly learns that Force’s armor somehow has Iron Man technology that Tony went to great lengths to keep secret, even going so far as not to have them patented. This was to prevent from the technology from falling into the wrong hands and being used to harm innocent people. Tony is now realizing that others might be using his technology to harm others and it will be partially his fault.

Tony then access the West Coast Avengers computers to pull up their records on every armor wearer on file. The list is extensive and features low level crooks like Stilt-Man and the Beetle, and heavy hitters like Doctor Doom and the Controller. Tony is overwhelmed by the sheer number of people it could be, but Jim tells him that they should get the actual list straight from the source. As they head out, they run into Marcy Pearson — Tony’s head of public relations — she wants to go over Iron Man’s charity appearance and is shocked when Tony says he has to cancel it. Jim promises Marcy — whom he is in a fledgling relationship with — that she will talk to Tony, but gets a chilly reception.

Going to his office, Tony calls in “Carl Walker” aka Carl Wilson, aka Force to ask him about his armor. He tells Tony that while he built the original prototype, his upgrades were all provided to him by Justin Hammer. Tony thanks “Carl” for the information an sends him on his way. Continuing his investigation, Tony determines that the stolen technology stops short of his most recent suit of Iron Man armor, leaving him to believe that the theft of his technology happened back at Stark International.[2] Jim convinces Tony to go through with the charity appearance anyway, in the hopes that it gets Tony’s mind off his concerns.

Tony agrees, but as he demonstrates the feats of his current suit of Iron Man armor, he can’t help but think about the past. He remembers how, back when Stark Industries dealt in munitions, he was injured in a bomb blast. Taken prisoner by the enemy, Tony was forced to build weapons for them. Instead, he built his first suit of armor to free himself and from that point on he became Iron Man.[3] While he turned his business around to focus on positive aspects of life, Iron Man went on to found the Avengers on top of his solo heroic career.[4] Over the years, Tony had upgraded his base armor as well as construct specialized suits for specific tasks.[5] His growing anger over others using his technology for evil causes Iron Man to forget himself as he is stress testing two tanks trying to pull his arms with chains. Pulling his arms together he smashes the tanks to bits. While this gets a lot of fanfare from the crowd, the military brass is not impressed. Later, when meeting with Marcy Pearson back at Stark Enterprises, he learns that the whole thing was a public relations fiasco.

Tony tries to get his mind off it by going out to a movie premiere with Brie Daniels, an actress he recently met at a party.[6] However, when seeing the action film’s scenes of violence, Tony suddenly doesn’t feel like being out anymore. This is also affecting Jim Rhodes, who tells Marcy how that things have been weighing heavily on his mind. When he almost picked a fight with a guy fixing up his sports car, Jim realizes how stressed out over Tony’s problems.

Meanwhile, after a sleepless night, Tony calls Clay Wilson to ask him how many people he killed during his career as Force. Wilson doesn’t want to talk about it because he wants to put that part of his life behind him. This convinces Tony that he needs to do something proactive about the situation. The following day, Tony has Jim take him to Accutech, a subsidiary of Stark Enterprises. There he meets with computer programmer Abe Zimmer and asks him to hack into the computers at Transcorp, a company owned by Justin Hammer. Zimmer agrees to do so as he is grateful for Tony protecting his job and promises to get him the data he is requesting.[7]

Meanwhile, Tony wants to try and find Scott Lang in the hopes he can assist him on his quest. Although Tony is willing to scour the Earth, Bambi Arbogast shows him that it won’t be that hard to find him since Lang has started up his own company — Electrolang Inc — in Los Angeles. Tony, Abe, and Jim then pay a visit to Lang at home. Tony is both happy to see Scott and his daughter Cassie. Speaking to Lang in private, he asks Scott to help him in his mission. Lang is reluctant to engage in illegal activity, reminding Tony how he once spent time in jail.[8] However, when Tony offers to help fund Scott’s new business, Lang agrees to help.

That evening, Scott Lang — as Ant-Man — breaks into the Transcorp building. Slipping through the internal security systems, Ant-Man is about to route access to Abe Zimmer’s computer at Accutech. However, he needs a distraction to make the connection unnoticed. To this end, Iron Man slams into the side of the Transcorp building causing a shake up that distracts the the guards. This allows Zimmer to hack into the computer and steal the data Tony is looking for. When Stark and Jim look over the data, they discover that the plans for Iron Man tech was stolen by Spymaster and sold to Justin Hammer prior to his alleged death.[9] This gives him a list of everyone that Justin Hammer later sold that technology to.

Tony then calls in his lawyers and orders them to do everything they legally can to prevent anyone from selling, using, or reproducing his Iron Man technology. His head lawyer, Bert Hindel, warns Tony that without any patents filed this will be difficult.

With litigation underway, Tony then goes about shutting down criminals using his technology. As Iron Man, Tony tracks down the Stilt-Man, shutting down his armor by fusing its circuits with a negator pack device that bricks all the Starktech in the suit. Meanwhile, Bert Hindle has learned that Tony obtained the information from Transcorp illegally and can’t use it in evidence in his case. Next, Iron Man goes to the Soldier of Fortune Convention in Denver, Colorado. There he confronts Brendan Doyle, aka the Mauler, to confiscate his armor. Doyle hands it over willingly as he is confident he can steal a new suit of armor for himself.

A week later, Hindle tells him that there is nothing much they can do legally thanks to the lack of patents, this angers Tony who decides to take matters into his own hands. He follows up on a lead that the Controller is operating out of a tanning salon connected to a local religious cult. Posing as a customer, Tony forces his way into one of the rooms in use and prevents a tanning both from secretly planting one of the Controller’s control discs. The intrusion prompts the Controller to send his loyal slaves to deal with Stark. While Jim Rhodes keeps them at bay, Tony changes into Iron Man and attacks the Controller directly. Shutting down his armor with a negator-pack, Iron Man immobilizes his foe and frees all of his captives.

Three days after this latest victory, Bert Hindel comes back to tell Tony that despite the fact that Justin Hammer has most of his bases covered, he has managed to secure a court date in two years time. Tony is furious about Hindel’s ineffectiveness and tells him to get out his sight. Tony now realizes that he is going to be forced to operate outside the law to complete his goals.

Recurring Characters

Iron Man, Stilt-Man, Controller, Mauler, Jim Rhodes, Bambi Arbogast, Marcy Pearson, Brie Daniels, Abe Zimmer, Clayton Wilson, Scott Lang, Cassie Lang

Continuity Notes

1. A footnote here reminds readers that Iron Man dealt with Force in Iron Man #223-224.

2. Stark International was Tony’s original company. It was later taken over by Obadiah Stane in a hostile take over in Iron Man #173 and re-naming it Stane International. Tony later founded Stark Enterprises in Iron Man #217. Despite the death of Obadiah Stane in Iron Man #200, Stane International is still in operation at the time of this story. In issue #283 it’s revealed that Stane is currently being run by Justin Hammer.

3. This is a brief recap of Iron Man’s origins from Tales of Suspense #39.

4. Iron Man was a founding member of the Avengers, as seen in the premiere issue of their series. This panel shows the original Avengers: Iron Man, Thor, Hulk, Ant-Man, and the Wasp as well as Captain America. This is roster isn’t accurate. The Hulk left the team in Avengers #2 and Captain America joined afterwards in issue #4.

5. This panel shows a collection of most of Tony’s Iron Man armors to date. From left to right they are:

   • The Model 5 Armor: This was build specifically for use in space. It was built in Iron Man #142. The suit was later destroyed in issue #175 to keep it out of the hands of Obadiah Stane and SHIELD. Tony will have rebuilt this armor by Young Avengers Special #1.

   • The Model 7 Armor: Specifically built for stealth, it first appeared in Iron Man #152. It was also destroyed in issue #175. Tony will rebuild the armor in Iron Man #229.

   • The Model 2 Armor: Replaced Tony’s original armor in Tales of Suspense #48. It was also destroyed in issue #175. Tony will have it rebuilt by Iron Man #268.

   • The Model 6 Armor: Tony first used this armor in Iron Man #218. It is used for deep sea diving and doesn’t get much usage.

   • The original Iron Man armor: As stated above, it was first built in Tales of Suspense #39. It was painted gold in issue #40 of that series. It was also destroyed in issue #175, but it was the first armor that Tony rebuilt in Iron Man #190.

   • Lastly, the Model 3 Armor: This suit was first built in Iron Man #85 and has was in circulation for the longest. It was given to Jim Rhodes when Tony was unable to be Iron Man anymore due to a drinking problem. Jim’s tenure was from Iron Man #169 to 195. The suit was last seen in Iron Man #220 when Tony was forced to use it to battle the Ghost.

6. A footnote here reminds readers that Tony and Brie first met in Iron Man #222.

7. Abe Zimmer was being forced into retirement before Tony bought up Accutech. Thanks to Abe’s warning about the Ghost, Tony assured him that he can work as long as he wants. See Iron Man #219.

8. Prior to becoming Ant-Man, Scott Lang was sent to jail on a burglary charge. See Marvel Premiere #47.

9. Everyone believes that the original Spymaster died in a battle with Iron Man and the Ghost in Iron Man #220. However, the original Spymaster turned up alive again in Dark Reign: Made Men #1. The Spymaster profile in Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A-Z #11 reveals that the man who died was Mark Sharen, a member of the original Spymaster’s Espionage Elite who got a chance in the big leagues.

Topical References

• Brie Daniels states that the movie Dark Angel is the “new” Platoon. Platoon was a film about the Vietnam War that came out in 1986, the year before this story was published. There have been many films that have tried to recreate the success of Platoon since then and thus this comparison should be considered topical.

• In his search for Scott Lang, Tony Stark says he wants to send messages via telex to any company that may have employed him. The telex was the precursor to the fax machine. Its reference here should be considered topical now obsolete.