Heroic Interventivo

This story continues from Captain America #437…

Tony Stark is taking a United Nations delegation on a tour of the Stark Enterprises facility. This tour is facilitated by a holographic projection of Iron Man who acts as their tour guide. After the presentation, the UN council is given assurances that War Machine is no longer affiliated with the company, giving them relief about doing business with the company.[1]

After the tour, Tony then has a meeting with Peter Corbeau to finalize the deal that will see Stark Enterprises build a new space station for Starcore.[2] With the specifics out of the way, Tony tells Peter that they’ll talk once he gets back from his trip to Russia where he is opening the country’s first Stark Enterprises facility.

At that very moment, at a Russian military facility, guards are drawn to the sound of an explosion. When they go to investigate they discover that the Titanium Man has broken out of his containment facility. As they wonder what could have set him off, they step over a newspaper with a headline about Stark Enterprises’ coming foray into the country.

Back in the United States, Tony has suited up as Iron Man to assist Hank Pym and Erica Sondheim help Captain America with his deteriorating health.[3] Their initial examinations into Cap’s condition finds that there is no known cure for the condition since nobody has kept track of the effects of the Super Soldier Serum since the end of World War II. However, Iron Man has a back-up plan that will at least buy Cap some more time and restore his lost mobility. He intends to install an experimental bio-chip, similar to the one that was used to give Tony back the use of his legs recently.[4]

In order to implant the bio-chip, Iron Man suits up with over-sized medical equipment and is then shrunken down using Pym Particles and injected into Captain America’s body so he can personally install the bio-chip himself. This is a delicate operation that will require Cap’s heart to be stopped briefly before the chip is implanted. Once Iron Man is in Steve’s blood stream it is a race against time for him to reach the blood/brain barrier where he needs to work. It would be smooth sailing if it weren’t for Cap’s natural anti-bodies which view Iron Man as a threat and start attacking him. This slows Iron Man up that when Pym and Sondheim do stop Steve’s heart, Iron Man has to race to Steve’s brainstem and install the bio-chip as quickly as possible.

Once the two minutes are up, Iron Man makes a b-line for the exit but time runs out and the two doctors have to use a defibrilator to restart Steve’s heart before he dies. Still inside Captain America’s body, Iron Man is jolted by the electricity and blacks out. When he wakes up, Iron Man finds himself back at his original size in the lab. Pym explains that they were able to get him out and that the operation was a success. Tony then meets with Steve in private. There Cap admits that he doesn’t feel right having to rely on artificial means to keep his body going as he has always prided himself on staying in shape. Tony reminds Steve that its not one’s physical shape that matters, it’s what is inside, and by that measurement nothing could diminish the who Steve Rogers really is.

The following day, Tony Stark is making the last minute arrangements for his trip to Russia when he gets a phone call from his old professor, Ted Slaght. Tony is happy to hear from his former teacher. However, Ted’s call is not a social one, he needs Tony’s help on his latest experiment. When Tony asks him to send the details, Ted explains that the matter is a little more urgent. He says this as the liquid metal experiment he has been working on is exploding out of the chemical vat, forcing the facility crew to stage an immediate evacuation.

Recurring Characters

Iron Man, Captain America, Hank Pym, Erica Sondheim, Peter Corbeau

Continuity Notes

1. The UN delegation is concerned about War Machine’s past association with Stark Enterprises due to the fact that Jim Rhodes got himself involved in the liberation of the nation of Imaya, as seen in War Machine #1-4. Rhodes hasn’t been associated with Stark Enterprises since he quit in Iron Man #289.

2. The original Starcore space station was destroyed in Operation: Galactic Storm. See Wonder Man (vol. 2) #7.

3. Captain America discovered that his Super Soldier Serum was breaking down in Captain America #425, leaving him completely disabled. What is done here is merely a stop-gap measure. Cap will continue to deteriorate until he is cured by the Red Skull in Captain America #445.

4. Not so long ago, Tony was shot by a jilted lover and the bullet passed through his spine, crippling him. Tony later received a bio-chip that restored his mobility. Things got a little more complicated after that, but that’s all you really need to know at this juncture. See Iron Man #242 and 248.

Topical References

• This story is framed as though the fall of the Soviet Union, which dissolved in 1991, had happened in recent years. Any notion of the sort should be considered a topical reference.

• Here it is stated that World War II ended fifty years prior to this story. The measurement of time between the end of the war and the Modern Age of the Marvel Universe should always be considered topical relative to the date of publication. This is because the Sliding Timescale constantly pushes the Modern Age forward in time, making the gulf of time between World War II and the present day to grow larger with every passing year. See here for more details.

• Tony asks Ted Slaght to fax him the details about his latest experiment. This should be considered a topical reference as fax machines are basically obsolete.