Stark Wars: Chapter 7 - Reborn Again

The world believes that Iron Man is dead, after Tony Stark faked his death during a battle with Firepower. This has not come without a cost as Tony was seriously injured in the battle. While he recovers from his injuries he and Jim Rhodes watch the news coverage of Iron Man’s alleged death. Tony believes that this is the end of his alter-ego and while he still has to shut down Firepower — who is using stolen Iron Man technology — he insists that Iron Man is gone for good.[1]

Meanwhile, in the desert, Edwin Cord has the military run another battery of tests on his Firepower armor, piloted by Jack Taggart. After passing with flying colours, Cord informs the military brass that he’s not turning over the Firepower armor to them just yet, as he has a job to finish: utterly destroying Stark Enterprises.[2]

Back at Stark Enterprises, Tony returns to work much to the delight of his employees. He has his secretary, Bambi Arbogast, to send out a memo to all employees telling them that the dark chapter for the company is now over. Marcy Pearson, Tony’s public relations manager, also begins looking for a new spokesperson to replace Iron Man as the face of the company.

A week later, the board of directors of Marsten Manufacturing Group meets to discuss signing a contract with Stark Enterprises. However, the meeting is interrupted by Edwin Cord who arrives with Firepower and threatens them into not doing business with Tony Stark. Days later, Firepower attacks a shipment of electronic components leaving Accutech, a Stark Enterprise subsidiary. A few days after that, Tony Stark and Jim Rhodes are on overseeing the loading of a shipping train when it too is attacked by Firepower. The massive armored figure sticks around long enough to play a recorded message from Cord, explaining how he intends to ruin Tony’s company as revenge.

Realizing that he has no other choice, Tony retires to his private lab for days as he begins constructing a brand new suit of Iron Man armor. It is the most advanced suit of Iron Man armor he has ever constructed, being advanced well ahead of his last suit. When the task is completed, Tony tells himself that he is only going to use this new suit once and then destroy it once the threat of Firepower has been dealt with.

A few days later, Firepower crashes the opening ceremony of a new Stark Enterprise facility in San Francisco. This time, however, the new Iron Man is there to stop him. This new suit has various offensive and defensive weapons that easily fend off Firepower’s copious amount of weaponry. When Firepower takes to the air, Iron Man slams him into the ground. With no other choice, Firepower attempts to launch his miniature nuclear missile at his foe, only to discover that it is jammed in the launcher. Claiming he can’t damage Firewpower’s armor, Iron Man then incapacitates the armor with an electromagnetic burst and begins scanning to figure out how to disarm the nuclear warhead. Iron Man forces Firepower to sweat it out while he defuses the bomb strapped to his back. Iron Man then reveals that he was lying about not being able to damage the armor by using his strength to rip off Firepower’s helmet.

In the aftermath of the battle, Tony Stark returns to his mansion pleased that his armor war is finally over. However, he realizes that there is still a need for Iron Man and he has a responsibility to use his own armor to help people. First however, he intends to get a good nights sleep as he can’t remember the last time he slept.

Recurring Characters

Iron Man, Edwin Cord, Justin Hammer, Firepower, Spymaster, Jim Rhodes, Bambi Arbogast, Marcy Pearson,

Continuity Notes

1. Tony discovered that his Iron Man tech was stolen and then sold to other armor wearers in Iron Man #225. Mention is made here how he was recently kicked out of the West Coast Avengers, that happened in issue #229 while his battle with Firepower and faked death happened last issue.

2. Cord has had an axe to grind with Tony Stark ever since Iron Man interfered with two of his schemes in Iron Man #145 and 156, respectively. After Cord was sent to jail, Tony bought up assets in his company Cord Manufacturing.

Topical References

• On the various TV screens being watched by Tony Stark at the beginning of this story are a number different shows including Wheel of Fortune, Gilligan’s Island, the Brady Bunch, Jem and the Holograms, and Speed Racer. These are not necessarily topical references as they could be considered re-runs of these popular shows.

• When considering a news spokes person for Stark Enterprises, Marcy Pearson wonders if they can get Bill Cosby. Back in the 1980s, the family-friendly Cosby was a spokes person for a number of products, most notably Jell-O and New Coke. This should be considered topical as Cosby no longer does advertising, particularly after rape alligations surrounded the comedian in the late 2010s and early 2020s. On top of all that, as of this writing (February 2020), Cosby is in his 80s and nearly blind, he probably won’t be around for much longer.