Whipsaw!

Iron Man had come to Boca Caliente — the island headquarters of Advance Idea Mechanics — to buy back or destroy nuclear equipment sold to the terrorist organization by Stane International.[1] Instead, he has found himself in the middle of a grudge match between the mutant Omega Red and AIM’s resident cyborg MODAM. Omega Red has come to believe that MODAM was once Olinka Barankova, a former KGB agent that had betrayed the mutant in the past.[2][3] When Omega Red begins using his death factor, MODAM detects that it is affecting her organic components and flees the scene.

By this time, Iron Man has recovered from MODAM’s psi attack. The pair are then ambushed by AIM commandos. Red uses his death factor on them as well. When he tells Iron Man not to get in his way, the hero is uninterested in his grudge with MODAM as he has other more important matters to attend to. After Omega takes off, Alessandro Brannex — AIM’s leader — arrives with another army of troops. He explains to Iron Man that MODAM is too valuable an asset to be destroyed and offers to pay him whatever he wants to prevent her destruction. Iron Man tells Brannex that he’ll do it for only one thing: The nuclear materials sold to AIM by Stane International. Alessandro is impressed by how shrewd a businessman Iron Man is and agrees to the terms.

By this time, Omega Red has tracked down MODAM and resumed his attack on her. When he once again accuses her of being Olinka Barankova, MODAM explains that he could be wrong as AIM doctors their records to obfuscate the true identities of their operatives. However, before he can destroy MODAM, he is ambushed by Iron Man. Annoyed that the hero went against his word, Omega Red attempts to use his death factor against him. However, since the armor is remotely piloted, it has no effect. Omega learns the truth in a very painful manner when he impales Iron Man with one of his tendrils. Although his suit is damaged, Tony then re-routs the electrical systems so that Red is electrocuted.

With the intruder down, Alessandro Brannex contacts MODAM and orders her to kill Iron Man next. However, the Golden Avenger was prepared for a double-cross and knocks her out by shattering the crystal on MODAM’s forehead that regulates her mental powers. The feedback incapacitates her instantly, ending the cyborg’s threat. When AIM comes to clean things up, Iron Man tells Brannex to have the equipment shipped out before sundown otherwise he’ll come back and cause them more trouble.

The following day, Tony Stark is having a meeting with Felix Alvarez. He is impressed how Tony was able to convince AIM to return the equipment they purchased. He has informs Stark that the District Attorney’s Office has decided to proceed with formal charges against the Controller.[4]

That’s when Bambi Arbogast, Abe Zimmer, and Erica Sondheim come bursting into Tony’s office with guns and take him hostage. At first, Tony fears that they might be enslaved by the Controller, he is shocked to discover that they are actually forcing him to attend a surprise welcome back party they are throwing in his honor. After the surprise is throne, Bambi explains that she knew the only way they could get Tony to attend his own party was at gun point and decided to do that, literally. Tony is delighted to see so many old friends come to wish him will since he rebounded from his health problems. However, Tony instantly notices that his physio-therapist Veronica Benning is not in attendence.

Tony catches up with Pepper Potts, who apologizes for how the last parted on bad terms.[5] Tony tells her that there is no apology necessary as she was within her right to tell him off at the time. Things aren’t going so well for her and her husband, Happy. Due to an economic recession, Happy hasn’t be able to find work and money is getting tight. Tony decides to help them out by hiring Hogan on as his new personal trainer to work in tandem with Veronica’s physio-work. He also meets with Rae LaCoste, Jim Rhodes new girlfriend, she tells Tony that Jim is still angry with him. Tony doesn’t blame him and asks Rae to look after him because, despite their differences, Jim is a good man. Tony also meets with a parade of old friends such as Roxanne Gilbert, Eddie and Marty March, Bethany Cabe, and Michael O’Brien among others.

Reconnecting with all of these familiar faces makes Tony realize how much he has isolated himself and figures that perhaps it is time to focus on bringing people closer and focusing on matters of the heart. He then tries calling Veronica Benning to find out why she isn’t attending the party. However, Veronica is avoiding his calls because she finds herself conflicted over the ethical conflicts of being Tony’s physio-therapist and the growing emotions she has developed for him.

Suddenly, the festivities are interrupted by an earthquake that strikes the region. The source appears to be coming from a Stark Enterprises geo-thermal power plant that is in development. The crew on site tries to get things under control by the tremendous build up of pressure is too much to compensate and there is suddenly a massive explosion.

Recurring Characters

Iron Man, AIM (Alessandro Brannex, MODAM), Omega Red, Felix Alvarez, Abe Zimmer, Bambi Arbogast, Erica Sondheim, Happy Hogan, Pepper Potts, Veronica Benning, Rae LaCoste, Roxanne Gilbert, Eddie March, Marty March, Bethany Cabe, Michael O’Brien

Continuity Notes

1. Jim Rhodes was briefly appointed CEO of Stark Enterprises when Tony faked his death in issue #284. His decision to devest Stark Enterprises and its subsidiaries of all nuclear interests happened after he discovered that Stane was unsafely storing nuclear waste in Iron Man #287-288. He quit shortly thereafter out of anger when he discovered that Tony kept his survival a secret from him in issue #289. Tony learned that Stane sold off their nuclear equipment to AIM last issue.

2. The revelation that MODAM might be a woman named Olinka Barankova contradicts stories that previously established her as someone else. West Coast Avengers (vol. 2) #36 and Solo Avengers #16 state that she was previously Maria Trovoya, the first wife of Hank Pym who (up until that point) was believed to have been murdered by communist agents years earlier, as depicted in Tales to Astonish #44. The possibility that she is Barankova is further confused when MODAM states later in this issue that AIM often falsifies records regarding their recruits to obfuscate their true origins. A profile for MODAM appears in Captain America: America’s Avenger #1 which indeed states that the Trovoya identity was a falsification. However, does not confirm or deny her true identity.

3. While most references to the KGB, Soviet Russia, and the Cold War are typically considered topical references. In the case of Omega Red, they are factual. As detailed in X-Men (vol. 2) #4-7, Red was placed in suspended animation during the Cold War and was only recently thawed out. This creates some implications for MODAM however, which I will discuss in more length below.

4. Iron Man had recently clashed with the Controller when the villain attempted to kidnap Tony Stark. See Iron Man #292-293.

5. Pepper was particularly upset when her husband, Happy Hogan, was injured by Spymaster when going to ask Tony for a loan. She told Tony to stay out of their lives from now on. See Iron Man #210.

Theories: MODAM of the KGB?

The issue with MODAM potentially being the real Olinka Barankova is the alleged connection between a KGB agent going by that name and Omega Red. Per Wolverine: Origins #7-8, Omega Red was put on ice in 1963. As the Sliding Timescale pushes the Modern Age of the Marvel Universe forward in time it becomes increasingly difficult to explain someone who was alive during the height of the Cold War.

Marvel has yet to provide an official explanation and given how little we’ve seen of MODAM in the last 30 years, I somehow doubt anyone is going to get around to explaining it any time soon. However, look at how the fiction has treated other characters, some theories could be posited to explain all of this. These of course are all speculation on my part.

The only possible explanation is that if MODAM really is Olinka Barankova, then the only way she could have remained relatively young into the Modern Age is due to some process that slowed or stopped her aging process. It wouldn’t be a stretch to assume that Barankova was also part of Russia’s Red Room program which created the Black Widows and had access to processes to extend a human lifespan, as detailed in Black Widow (vol. 3) #4-6. The Red Room frequently recruited female operatives from the KGB.

However, I think the simplest explanation is always the best and I think that Omega Red is suffering from a case of mistaken identity. It would be less trouble to explain this away if you accepted MODAM’s statement that AIM falsified documents about her true identity. This would explain how she has been mistaken for both Olinka Barankova and Maria Trovoya.