Iron Man #264
Armor Wars II Part 7: Where is Iron Man?
Iron Man hasn’t been seen over the last 5 days since Stark Enterprises was attacked by the Living Laser.[1] This has the media asking what is going on at Stark Enterprises. Since Tony Stark is stuck in his Iron Man armor in order to prevent the bio-chip in his back from being remotely hacked, he is unable to address the public.[2] Instead, he has Jim pose as him, a feat that can be pulled off thanks to a holographic image inducer. While this stop gap measure worked this time, Tony needs to figure out who is hacking his bio-chip and put a stop to them. Not only because he needs to be able to run his business but wearing his armor to override the hack is causing untold damage to his nervous system.
Elsewhere, Kearson DeWitt — the man responsible for the hacks — is furious that his scientists have been unable to take control of Stark for days. He is particularly angry since Stark was apparently able to hold a press conference unaffected by their attempts at controlling him. His lead scientist suggests that their hack is still working and suggests that perhaps Stark has found some way to trick them. With appeases DeWitt for the time being, but the scientists are getting nervous over how quick to anger their employer is getting and fear for his sanity. Once alone in his office, Kearson watches the Stark press conference again. Losing his temper he throws a sculpture into his TV screen and vows that he will have his revenge on Tony Stark.[3]
Meanwhile, in China, government officials meet with the Mandarin on neutral ground between the Great Wall and the Valley of the Dragon. They have come after the villain awoken the dragon Fin Fang Foom and they have come to discuss terms with him. The Mandarin will only accept one thing: total control over China. He warns the officials that anything less will result in him unleashing Fin Fang Foom once more.
Back in America, things are getting tense outside Stark Enterprises. The work force has been on strike ever since the Living Laser almost caused a nuclear melt down on the property and the union representatives are getting impatient with Tony Stark’s lack of attention to their grievances. When Jim goes out to try and appease the crowd they are not willing to talk to anyone by Stark himself. One annoyed worker rams the front gates in his truck and tries to start a fire with a Molotov cocktail. Iron Man soon arrives on the scene to stop him and put out the fire. However, the works regard him with suspicion since Tony convinced the public that the original Iron Man had died and was replaced with someone new.[4] He realizes that this had the unintended consequence of undermining people’s ability to trust him.
This whole incident has pushed Tony’s body to the limit as his armor fights against the hacking in his bio-chip. Suddenly, Tony suffers a heart attack and Iron Man plummets to the ground.
Recurring Characters
Iron Man, Kearson DeWitt, Jim Rhodes, Mandarin, Chen Hsu, Fin Fang Foom
Continuity Notes
Stark Enterprises has been terrorized by the Living Laser twice recently before Iron Man finally defeated him. See Iron Man #259-260 and 263.
Recently, Tony was shot through the spine by a jilted love named Kathy Dare in Iron Man #242. This left him confined to a wheelchair until he had an experimental bio-chip implanted in his spine to repair the damage in issue #248. He has been stricken with bouts of phantom pains since Iron Man #256. As we’ve learned over the last 7 issues is that this bio-chip was a trap set by the Marrs twins — rivals in business — to replace Tony’s nervous system with one that they can used to remotely control his body. Even after this plot is foiled, Tony will suffer lasting effects from it until he is fully cured in Iron Man #290.
In Iron Man Annual #13, Kearson DeWitt states that his father — allegedly a brilliant inventor — died broke and unrecognized. For some reason he began to accuse Tony Stark of stealing his father’s inventions to create his Iron Man armor. This of course is just insane nonsense.
At the time of this story, Tony had recently gone on a mission to shut down all unauthorized use of Starktech. This put him at odds with the public when he also went after government agents that used such technology. In the end, Tony faked Iron Man’s death and then convinced the public that someone new had taken up the mantle. See Iron Man #225-232 and Captain America #340.
Topical References
The leader of the Chinese officials in this story is depicted as Deng Xiaoping. At the time this story was published he was the Paramount Leader of China. He resigned from the post in 1992 and later died in 1997. His appearance here should be considered topical.
