Iron Man #282
Stark Enterprises is under siege by the cybernetic ninjas known as the Masters of Silence. The group had been hired by Akane Fusion Developments to get revenge against Tony Stark for selling them faulty equipment for their fusion reactor, leading to a huge disaster in Japan.[1]
Tony, having constructed a new suit of military grade War Machine armor, uses a Life Model Decoy lure the Masters of Silence into a trap. Following the decoy into a building they find themselves in a room that has been transformed into a jungle by holographic projection. Although the Masters have cloaking technology, Tony is able to track their movements with on board infrared technology. Tony rushes into battle with no fear since he’s already a dead man walking due to his ruined central nervous system.[2]
While Iron Man is battling the Masters of Silence, he has Jim Rhodes get in touch with their contacts in the intelligence community and find out why they are being attacked. Jim gets in touch with SHIELD director Nick Fury. Fury initially denies Jim’s request for information, but when Rhodes threatens to pull all of Stark’s contracts with the spy agency. Realizing that he is being put over a barrel, Fury relents. Impressed with Jim’s handballing, Nick tells him that if he is ever done with Stark Enterprises he has a place with SHIELD. Jim tells him he’ll think about it.[3]
Meanwhile, the battle between Iron Man and the Masters of Silence rages on. Tony keeps them off balance by having the holographic projectors change the field of battle. When the Masters counter this by plunging the room in complete darkness, Iron Man’s sensors can still keep track of them despite it being pitch black. By this time, Jim has gotten the information that he has been seeking from SHIELD. With it, he projects himself into the room and tells the Masters of Silence that they have been manipulated into attacking Stark Enterprises. As it turns out, the Masters of Silence only take on contracts if the cause is just and Jim has found information that proves that the incident in Japan was orchestrated by Justin Hammer and Stane International.
News that his involvement has been exposed quickly reaches Justin Hammer who contacts his co-conspirators to discuss measures to protect themselves. While his allies are willing to let Hammer go down for it, Justin reminds them that if he is defeated then Iron Man will have access to all the evidence he has gathered on them. Realizing that this could expose them, Hammer’s allies agree to provide additional support for the coming attack.
Meanwhile, Tony Stark is furious that Justin Hammer is using his former company to interfere with his current business.[4] Tony decides to take the fight to Hammer directly, but he won’t be going it alone. Not only does Jim pledge to fight by his side, but the Masters of Silence have returned and pledged loyalty to him as well. Dawning his War Machine armor once more, Tony uses his resources to track down the artificial island that serves as Justin Hammer’s home. After a quick briefing, Iron Man, Rhodes, and the Masters of Silence gear up for the assult.
Recurring Characters
War Machine, Masters of Silence (Kaminari, Inazuma, Kaze), Justin Hammer, Roxxon, Hydra, the Hand, Jim Rhodes, SHIELD (Nick Fury)
Continuity Notes
The fusion reactor catastrophe happened last issue. As we’ll learn this issue and the next, this was actually caused by a consortium of Stark adversaries including Justin Hammer, Hydra, Roxxon, and the Hand.
Recently, Tony was shot in through the spine in Iron Man #242 leaving him disabled from the waist down. He cured himself with an experimental bio-chip in issue #248. This chip was used by the Marrs twins as a backdoor to override Stark’s nervous system with an artificial one that allowed them to take control of his body. Iron Man uncovered and foiled this plot over the course of Iron Man #258-266. Tony’s condition will persist until Iron Man #290.
It will be many years before Jim becomes directly involved with SHIELD. He will join the agency to help repel an Skrull invasion of Earth as seen in War Machine: Weapon of SHIELD #32-35.
Stane International was originally Stark International, the company that Tony inherited from his family after the death of his parents (as explained in Iron Man #288). Tony lost the company due to a hostile take over by Obadiah Stane in Iron Man #173 who renamed the company after him. Despite the death of Stane in Iron Man #200, Tony decided that he wanted to start fresh and began Stark Enterprises in issue #217.
Topical References
When fighting the Masters of Silence, Iron Man quotes poet Dylan Thomas. This wouldn’t be a topical reference since his poetry is considered classical literature.
The date stamps on the data that Jim obtains from SHIELD states the year is 1991. This date should be considered topical as it is relative to the date of publication.
