Iron Man #295
Into the Void
Infinity Crusade continues from Infinity Crusade #1….
Iron Man has ventured aboard the Stark Enterprise space station to investigate after communications had been cut off. There, he had discovered that a team of scientists working for Cauwfield Multichemical had accidentally created a parasitic technorganic lifeform. This parasite assimilated the entire crew and merged into a singular insectile being calling itself Technovore.
As Iron Man — remotely piloted by Tony Stark on the ground by telepresence rig — fights for his life, Technovore continues to grow larger from assimilating materials from the space station.[1]
Back on Earth, Felix Alvarez is starting his brand new task as Tony’s new Vice President of Operations at Stark Enterprises. His first order of business is going through all the work left behind by Jim Rhodes when he was CEO of the company, and it is a huge undertaking because Jim was not very good at the job.[2] Seeing how late into the evening Felix is working, Bambi Arbogast tells him to go home and get some rest. Felix points out how Bambi’s hypocrisy since she also works late every night. She gruffly tells him that if she went home at 5 pm ever night, Stark Enterprises would fall apart.
At that same moment, Iron Man is snared by Technovore, which tries to absorb his robotic form into its body. Fighting back, Tony re-routs power to charge his exo-skeleton and shocks the creature bad enough to break free. In order to get distance from the creature, Iron Man flies outside the space station. This only makes the situation worse as the Technovore beings consuming what is left of the station to increase its size.
At that same moment, Felix asks Bambi to get him the files on Stane International. What he sees concerns him and when she asks if anything is wrong, he tells her to go home or she’s fired.[3] Bambi goes back to her desk and puts in a call to someone, telling them that everything for Friday has been set up.[4]
In orbit, Tony now faces a Technovore that is the size of a space station. Realizing that the only way to stop the monster is to sacrifice himself, Tony lures the monster further out into space in order to keep it from entering Earth’s atmosphere. There, he allows the creature to capture him. As Technovore attempts to assimilate Iron Man’s body, Tony begins prepping the self-destruct system even though the sudden explosion may cause feedback through his telepresence connection and potentially kill him. Realizing what’s happening, Technovore quickly tries to hack into the suit’s programming to stop this from happening. This causes the mind of Tony Stark to meld with the Technovore. It’s alien intelligence threatening to override his own mind, Tony finds himself in a battle of wills between it and the creature. It is a battle that Tony wins, ending with the destruction of his Iron Man suit and the Technovore.[5]
Instead of death, Tony’s soul is saved by the Goddess, who is trying once more to recruit him into her holy crusade to bring peace to the universe.[6] She has hoped that Tony’s encounter with the Technovore and her sparing his life would teach him to renounce his faith in science and join her cause. However, he still rejects religion and his encounter with Technovore has done anything but waver his devotion to science. He tells her that technology and science are neither good or evil, and that the Technovore was a victim of evil men who were only concerned with greed and power. He tells her that he knows that kind of evil when he sees it and he sees it right now. The Goddess takes offense to this, calling Tony a blasphemer and heretic. She vows that he will pay with all the wicked once her religious jihad wipes away all those she considers evil. She then banishes Tony’s soul back to his crippled body to wait for her ultimate victory.
Back in his body, Tony admits to himself that had the Goddess not been so intolerant and evangelical, he would have told her how close to being right she actually was. Tony now has a new appreciation for technology, knowing that it is a double-edged sword that can destroy as easily as it can created. This renews his need to make sure that technologies like that which created the Technovore never rear its ugly head.
The following day, Tony is in the middle of a hydro-therapy session with Veronica Benning when they are interrupted by Felix Alvarez. The two meet in Tony’s office where Felix tells him how Jim Rhodes — during his brief tenure as CEO of Stark Enterprises — ordered the company and all its subsidiaries to devest anything connected to nuclear power. This has come back to bite Stark in the ass, as Stane International decided to sell off their nuclear assets to the terrorist organization known as Advanced Idea Mechanics. Preventing the technology from falling into the hands of AIM is no easy order, as the first shipment of materials already left for AIM’s private island of Boca Caliente the week before.
In Siberia, the mutant cyborg known as Omega Red has come looking for a female operative named Barankova. His search has led him to a small cabin where a man named Arkady tells him that Barankova has defected to the west and joined up with AIM. Omega Red kills the informant, apologizing for the haste as he has a plane to catch.
… Infinity Crusade continues in Warlock and the Infinity Watch #18.
Recurring Characters
Iron Man, Technovore, Felix Alvarez, Bambi Arbogast, Abe Zimmer, Veronica Benning, Goddess, AIM, Omega Red
Continuity Notes
Long story short: Tony was shot in the spine and crippled. He had an experimental bio-chip implanted there. It was hacked and his nervous system ruined by enemies. He then went into cryo-stasis for a time until a cure could be fashioned. He was thawed out but lacks full mobility at this time. See Iron Man #242, 248, 258-266, 284 and 289 for the harrowing drama. Tony will be fully back on his feet in issue #300.
After Tony faked his death in Iron Man #284, he put Jim in charge as CEO of the company. After Tony was cured and revealed to be alive in issue #289, Jim quit on the spot because he felt betrayed that Tony kept his survival a secret from him. Tony make Felix Alvarez his new VP in Iron Man #293.
Stane International was originally Stark International until it stolen from Tony in a hostile corporate take over inacted by Obadiah Stane in Iron Man #173. Although Stane died in issue #200, the company continued to operate on its own, eventually falling into the hands of Justin Hammer. Tony forced Hammer to sell the company back to him for a dollar in Iron Man #283. What Felix is discovering here is that Stane International has been involved in a lot of shady business, some of which (such as importer storage of nuclear materials) were first hinted at in Iron Man #287-288. The full scope of Stane’s past wrong doings will come back to haunt Stark Enterprises in Iron Man #301-306.
Bambi is secretly planning a welcome back surprise party for Tony. She’ll spring it on him in Iron Man #297.
As of this writing (August, 2022), the Technovore remains among the deceased.
For more on the Goddess’ holy mission see Infinity Crusade #1-6 and various other Marvel titles published at the time (full listing is below)
Topical References
Tony states that his space station cost 500 million dollars to produce. This should be considered a topical reference due to a number of financial factors. Adjusting for inflation, $500 mil would be a little over 1 billion dollars in 2022 money. That said, the construction of a space station is incredibly expensive. For example the International Space Station’s initial operating costs were 150 billion dollars at the time it was launched. Sending shit into space is expensive.
Infinity Crusade Reading Order
Infinity Crusade #1, Iron Man #294-295, Warlock and the Infinity Watch #18, Doctor Strange Sorcerer Supreme #54, Alpha Flight #122, Marc Spector: Moon Knight #56, Terror Inc. #13, Thor #463, Avengers West Coast #96, Thor #464, Warlock Chronicles #1, Infinity Crusade #2, Web of Spider-Man #104, Doctor Strange Sorcerer Supreme #55, Thor #465, Alpha Flight #123-124, Darkhawk #30, Warlock Chronicles #2, Warlock and the Infinity Watch #19, Cage #17, Web of Spider-Man #105, Marc Spector: Moon Knight #57, Infinity Crusade #3, Doctor Strange Sorcerer Supreme #56, Avengers West Coast #97, Darkhawk #31, Silver Sable and the Wild Pack #16-17, Warlock Chronicles #3, Warlock and the Infinity Watch #20, Silver Surfer (vol. 3) #83, Infinity Crusade #4, Warlock Chronicles #4, Silver Surfer (vol. 3) #84-85, Infinity Crusade #5, Deathlok (vol. 2) #28, Web of Spider-Man #106, Warlock Chronicles #5, Thor #466, Warlock and the Infinity Watch #21-22, Infinity Crusade #6, Deathlok (vol. 2) #29, Thor #467