Footsteps

Tony Stark has grown tired with living his life in a wheelchair. Putting on his Iron Man armor — the only way he can walk — he is about to smash his hoverchair when Jim Rhodes stops him and tells Tony to get ahold of himself. Tony angrily tells Jim that he can’t understand the agony of his life since in a wheelchair after he was shot by Kathy Dare.[1] Jim reminds Tony that he has a press conference in 20 minutes where he is supposed to announce that Marcy Pearson will be taking over as head of Stark Enterprises.

Regaining his composure, Tony admits that Jim is right and changes out of his armor, looking forward to getting things over with so he doesn’t have to be in his wheelchair again. However, during the press conference, Tony gets a message from Abe Zimmer, his resident hacker. He then tells the media that his announcement is to be postponed. This annoy Marcy Pearson who was ready to step up and run Tony’s company for him.

Changing into Iron Man, Tony flies to AccuTech — a subsidiary of Stark Enterprises — to meet with Zimmer. Abe has been searching the net for any revolutionary treatment for his condition. Abe has hit paydirt, learning about a new experimental bio-chip being developed by Cordco, a subsidary of Stane International.[2] Filled with hope, Tony calls ahead to Bambi Arbogast and tells her to have Jim prepare his private plane for a flight to New York.

En route to the east coast, Jim hears over the radio that a near by passenger plane has just been hijacked by terrorists. At first, Tony wants to dismiss it so they can get to New York faster, but Jim reminds him of his responsibilities as Iron Man. Convinced he can’t ignore this threat, Tony changes into Iron Man and quickly disarms the terrorists. When the other passengers begin beating on their captors, Iron Man leaves them to it so he can continue on his journey.

When Tony visits Cordco and meets with the scientists about the biochip, they tell him that the technology is still in its infancy and that they won’t be ready for human trails for a number of years still. Annoyed by this, Tony makes some calls and buys Cordco. Unfortunately, the scientists refuse to perform surgery on him because it would still be unethical, even if he owns the company. Unable to convince them otherwise, Tony returns to California defeated. He tells Jim that unless they can find a skilled enough surgeon that will be willing to implant the biochip he’s going to give up being Tony Stark so he can be Iron Man full time once all his final affairs are in order.

A week later, the Kathy Dare trail has begun. Her lawyer, Bert Hindel brings Kathy to the stand. She tearfully claims that Tony was both verbally and physically abusive and that this behavior was due to the fact that he was secretly drinking again and hiding it from everybody and that she shot him out of self-defense.[3] After Kathy is finished her testimony, Tony’s lawyer Felix Alvarez brings up a series of witnesses to counter Kathy’s claims. They include Tony’s employees Bambi Arbogast, Jim Rhodes, and Atha Williams, as well as Roxxon employee Arthur Dearborn,[4] the mayor of Los Angeles, Senator Paul Collins, and lastly Rae LeCoste, Tony’s current girlfriend.

Felix then turns things over to District Attorney Linda Vincent. She calls up one last witness, Albert Montenegro, Kathy’s former psychologist. Montenegro details how Kathy has developed a sociopathic personality after being spoiled her entire life. He also speaks about Kathy’s last relationship with musician Stevie Gazelle, whose home burned down under mysterious circumstances after their break-up. When Hindel objects to this statement, Montenegro concludes his testimony by saying that it was his recommendation that Kathy be institutionalized but this recommendation was stopped by her lawyer. After some deliberation, the judge decrees that Kathy Dare that she is to be put into the care of the California Board of Mental Health until she is fit enough to stand trial. On her way out, Kathy tells Tony that she’ll see him when she gets out.[5]

Hearing all the people testify on his behalf has caused Tony to have a change of heart and when he address the media outside the courthouse he tells them that he will be doubling his commitment to Stark Enterprises. This upsets Marcy Pearson who was looking forward to taking over the company and when Jim tries to console her, she storms off.

Later, at Stark Enterprises, Tony is explaining his new outlook on life to Jim, when Rhodey reveals that he has a surprise for him. He managed to track down their old colleague Erica Sondheim who has agreed to perform the biochip surgery that will allow Tony to walk again.[6] After a long and complex surgery, the biochip is implanted at the base of Tony’s spine.

After a few days of recovery, Eric Sondheim calls in Jim, Bambi, Felix, and Rae to give them an update on Tony’s progress. They are surprised when Tony is able to walk out to greet them. Although he needs a walker right now, he is expected to make a full recovery. Overjoyed that he can stand on his own two feet again, Tony asks his friends if they want to go for a walk.[7]

Recurring Characters

Iron Man, Jim Rhodes, Bambi Arbogast, Felix Alvarez, Rae LaCoste, Marcy Pearson, Abe Zimmer, Bert Hindel, Kathy Dare, Arthur Dearborn, Atha Willams, Linda Vincent, Erica Sondheim

Continuity Notes

1. Kathy Dare shot Tony back in Iron Man #242. The injury left him crippled and confined to a wheelchair when not in his Iron Man armor.

2. Tony Stark purchased Cordco following the arrest of its owned in Iron Man #145. However, Tony lost ownership when Stark International was taken over by Obadiah Stane in issue #173.

3. Tony has struggled with alcoholism his entire life. He has fallen off the wagon twice in the recent past in Iron Man #128 and again in issues #167 until he decided to sober up again in issue #182.

4. Dearborn mentions how Tony helped save lives by stopping Stratosfire, a rogue Roxxon super-agent. See Iron Man Annual #9.

5. Kathy Dare does eventually get out in Iron Man #284, just in time for Tony Stark’s funeral… More on that below.

6. A footnote here reminds readers that Erica was last seen in Iron Man #133. She used to work for Stark International before it was taken over by Obadiah Stane in issue #173.

7. This miracle cure turns out to be something far more insidious. It’s later revealed that the biochip was part of a long con by rival Marrs Corporation to try and take control of Tony’s body, as detailed in Iron Man #258-266. Ultimately, their attempts to control Tony cause extensive nerve damage that he will fake his death in Iron Man #284 through 290 until he is fully cured.

Topical References

• Tony is depicted as having a pager to receive messages. This should be considered topical as these devices are now obsolete.