Malled!

Iron Man has arranged with the leaders of Hydra and Advanced Idea Mechanics at the North Pole to discuss why the Maggia is at war with its competitors. However, the two men don’t trust anyone. While the Scientist Supreme of AIM appears via holographic projection, the Supreme Hydra is protected by a force field. They have determined that Maggia leader Madame Masque is going to be overseeing a smuggling operation at a warehouse in Los Angeles. When they ask Iron Man to interfere with this meeting, Iron Man declines to do the dirty work. After Iron Man has departed, the Supreme Hydra suggests that his organization and AIM work together as they had once done in the past.[1]

Meanwhile, Iron Man returns to Stark Enterprises after his fruitless information gathering mission. There, he reluctantly changes out of his armor, not looking forward to being confined to a wheelchair once again.[2] This is because Tony has a meeting with District Attorney Linda Vincent to discuss the upcoming trail of Kathy Dare, the woman who recently shot Tony. She has come to ask if Tony ever instructed Kathy on the use of firearms.[3] Tony explains that until she shot him, he had no idea she knew how to use a gun. Charmed by Tony Stark, Linda invites Tony out for some drinks to discuss strategy. He curtly tells her that he doesn’t drink and tells that if she needs to contact him again to do so through his secretary.[4] Tony then heads back into his lab to be alone.

Meanwhile, the Hulk arrives at Los Angeles International airport to take up a job now that he is no longer working as a bouncer in Las Vegas.[5]

At that same moment, Abe Zimmer — Tony’s resident hacker — has come upon some shocking information while searching for a potential cure for Stark’s disability. Concurrently, Tony calls FBI Agent Mallard to get answers as to why he sent Iron Man into an unexpected battle with AIM. Mallard warns Tony to stop poking his nose in where it doesn’t belong and ends the call.[6]

That evening, the Hulk arrives at the Sage Hills Mall which is a front for AIM. They have hired the Hulk to help with a new memory siphoning device. The Hulk is then sent to smash up the Maggia’s shipping operation to capture Madame Masque. Iron Man arrives just as the Hulk leaves and learns from one of the mobsters that Madame Masque has a tracking device in her mask.[7] When Iron Man follows the signal to the Sage Hills Mall, the Maggia has already deployed their Dreadnaught robots to the location. While the Hulk is busy battling the robots, Iron Man races inside the lab to save Madame Masque from the memory siphoning device. This leads to another battle with AIM’s Dreadbuster mechs. While Iron Man is busy, Madame Masque gets away.

In the aftermath of the battle, Iron Man is contacted via a video screen by Agent Mallard. He explains that Madame Masque is in his protective custody and that the Maggia is working with the FBI to keep organized crime in order. When he once again threatens Stark Enterprises, Iron Man reveals that he recorded the entire conversation through his helmet camera and that he will be giving it to the media. Meanwhile, the Hulk discovers that his money got burned up just like his clothes. Stealing a trench coat and hat, he wanders off to find some other way to pay for his trip to Los Angeles.

The following morning, the President of the United States disavows Agent Mallard’s actions in a public address following Iron Man leaking information to the media and promises a full investigation into the matter. Watching the coverage is Tony Stark and his lawyer, Felix Alvarez. Tony isn’t sure if what the President is saying is true, but considers the matter over with. He then goes about filling out some paperwork as he is planning on stepping down as head of Stark Enterprises.

… This story continues in Incredible Hulk #361.

Recurring Characters

Iron Man, Hulk, Maggia (Madame Masque), AIM, Hydra, Jim Rhodes, Felix Alvarez, Bambi Arbogast, Abe Zimmer, Linda Vincent

Continuity Notes

1. When Advanced Idea Mechanics first appeared in Strange Tales #146 they were part of an organization called THEM, the parent organization that also managed Hydra and the Secret Empire. When THEM was destroyed in Strange Tales #151, its subsidiaries split up to pursue their own individual goals.

2. Tony was recently shot by a stalker named Kathy Dare in Iron Man #242. It crippled Tony leaving him unable to walk. This will remain the status quo until Tony’s damaged nerves are repaired with a bio-chip in issue #248.

3. Here, Linda Vincent mentions how Tony used to build munitions. His first company, Stark Industries used to manufacture weapons. However, Tony eventually decided to shift toward more scientific pursuits in Iron Man #73.

4. Tony is pretty blunt about not drinking. This is because Tony has struggled with alcoholism his entire life. See Iron Man #128 and 167-182 for the most recent times he fell off the wagon.

5. This story takes place shortly after the Hulk left the employ of Michael Berengetti, a mobster and casino owner in Las Vegas. See Incredible Hulk #347-359.

6. Mallard reminds Tony of his recent legal troubles after the Armor Wars. This is in reference to Iron Man #225-231. Iron Man went on a crusade to deactivate every suit of armor that was using stolen Iron Man tech. This led to legal troubles for Stark Enterprises due to their association with Iron Man. Tony had just recently gotten the government to drop all the lawsuits after helping them destroy a bio-weapon that had gone out of control in issue #237.

7. Iron Man wants to find Madame Masque to learn why she murdered Whitney Frost, her predecessor. Frost was seemingly murdered by her successor in Iron Man #238. However, the murdered woman and her successor are actually bio-duplicates of the real Madame Masque who has been using them as proxies since Iron Man #138. This is all explained in Avengers (vol. 3) #32.

Topical References

• One of the department stores at the Sage Hills Mall is Macy’s. There is also a Radio Shack. This should be considered topical as it is a real world company.

• The President of the United States is depicted as George H.W. Bush, who was the President from 1989 to 1993. This should be considered topical, particularly since Bush died in 2018.