Iron Man #323
Innocent Eyes
This story continues from War Machine #21…
In San Diego bay, Iron Man has just taken down a group of terrorists who hijacked a ship called the Eliza Jo. As he is cleaning things up he is suddenly ambushed by Hawkeye, who has come to get revenge against Tony for framing him for murders that recently happened at Avengers Mansion.[1] Hawkeye unleashes a flurry of various trick arrows which have little to no effect on Iron Man’s armor. Hawkeye explains that he had come after Tony after a high-tech hit squad came after him, War Machine, US Agent, and the Black Widow.[2]
Iron Man admits that he hopes that the evidence that Clint committed murder is incorrect. Tony has concluded that someone is toying with them all and proposes a truce so they can get down to the bottom of things and learn the truth. When Iron Man holds out his hand to shake, Clint takes it, deciding to hear Stark out.
Meanwhile, thousands of miles north, Masque and Marianne Rodgers continue to wait at Tony Stark’s secret Arctic bunker. The pair prepare a meal while waiting for Tony to finally come back under the watchful eye of Stark’s new assistant the Machinesmith. When a call comes in from Tony, Machinesmith leaves the women to take it, telling them to enjoy their meal. With their “host” finally gone, Masque decides to take off her mask and reveal to Marianne Rodgers who she really is. Marianne is shocked to discover that Masque is actually Bethany Cabe, the head of security at Stark Enterprises.[3] Cabe tells Marianne that she has come up with a plan to bust themselves out.
Iron Man is merely calling in a status update to the Machinesmith. He reminds his assistant that no harm should befall his guests and the Machinesmith should avoid any escape attempts as neither Masque nor Marianne could survive very long in the Arctic cold for very long. Soon, Hawkeye and Iron Man arrive at the Van Dyne estate, the temporary headquarters for the Avengers while their mansion is in lock down.[4] Everyone is happy to see Hawkeye has been brought to them so they can finally get down to solving the mystery of the mansion murders once and for all.
Back at the bunker, Machinesmith returns to the kitchen and notices that Marianne Rodgers is no longer wearing the psychic-inhibitor the prevents the use of her mental powers. When the Machinesmith pulls a stun gun and incapacitates Masque, he is not prepared for Rodgers to suddenly attack. In fact, Rodgers shows fighting skills that she couldn’t possible know. Once the Machinesmith is down, “Marianne Rodgers” checks on “Masque” and determines that she is still alive. As it turns out, Masque and Marianne switched outfits to fool the Machinesmith and take him out. With their jailer out of the way, Masque changes back into her costume and begins preparing her escape.
Meanwhile, at the Van Dyne estate, the Avengers are all comparing notes regarding everything that has been going on. The Swordsman relates his encounter with the Cotati Swordsman and the three individuals that attacked them. Despite the Swordsman’s efforts to stop the attackers, the absconded with the Cotati, adding yet another mystery to what’s been going on.[5] It’s during this discussion that Hercules and Hawkeye discover Luna — Quicksilver and Crystal’s daughter — hiding in the closet because she is afraid of something. The Vision notes that Luna has been acting strangely ever since the murders. Up until now, they assumed that it was due to the fact that she was grieving over the death of her nanny, Marilla. However, the synthezoid thinks that maybe Luna saw something that can help them identify the real killer, suggesting they mentally probe her with Hank Pym’s image inducer to see her memories. Although this will help solve the mysteries surrounding the killings Crysal refuses to subject her daughter to such an invasive procedure unless there is no other way.
That’s when Tony suggests that they use the device on him, since he was also present during the time of the murders and perhaps they can find some clues in his memories. The Avengers then hook Tony up to the machine and view his memories of that night. Unfortunately, they find nothing out of the ordinary in Tony’s memories that reveals the identity of the killer.[6]
At that same moment, Masque has broken out of Stark’s bunker and is trying to make her way across the frozen wasteland. Punished by arctic winds and snow, she plods onward one step at time.
Back in warmer climates, Crystal and Quicksilver finally relent and allow the Avengers to probe Luna’s mind to see what she knows about the murders. As they replay the events of that evening, the Avengers learn that Luna witnessed the murder of Yellowjacket as she had a direct view from her bedroom window. The young girl was watching when Yellowjacket was murdered by Iron Man. The Avengers are horrified to discover that the killer is one of their own. With the cat out of the bag, Tony tells his friends that they must die.
Elsewhere beyond time and space, within a massive fortress, Mantis looks up at the stars around the evening sky. She can hear the far off sound of battle between Iron Man and the Avengers and she laughs in triumph.[7]
… This story continues in Avengers #393.
Recurring Characters
Iron Man, Machinesmith, Marianne Rodgers, Masque, Avengers (Black Widow, Giant-Man, Wasp, Hawkeye, Quicksilver, Vision, Hercules, Crystal, Swordsman, Deathcry), Edwin Jarvis, Luna, “Mantis”
Continuity Notes
There is kind of a lot going off here off the top. Here are the very confusing details:
The murders in question were the death of Marilla (nanny to Luna), Yellowjacket, and Gilgamesh which happened in Avengers: The Crossing #1 and Avengers #391.
Hawkeye was framed for these murders in Force Works #17. As we’ll learn later this issue, Tony was the actual killer. The Crossing posits that Tony has been a sleeper agent working for Kang the Conqueror since after his first battle with him in Avengers #8.
However, the entire Crossing event is part of a grand deception created by Immortus, creating busy work for the Avengers as he continues manipulating their destiny. This is all revealed in Avengers Forever #8.
Hawkeye was attacked by the Anachronauts in War Machine #21.
Actually, this woman isn’t Bethany Cabe at all, but an impostor. In Age of Innocence: The Rebirth of Iron Man #1, we learn that Masque is a shapeshifter. However, her true identity won’t be revealed until Avengers (vol. 3) #32. That story explains she is actually a rogue bio-duplicate created by Madame Masque to act as her proxy in the real world as a means of self-preservation. That same story explains that Masque had the ability to imprint the appearance of someone close to her intended target, hence why she appears to be Bethany Cabe here.
After the killings and multiple attacks on the Avengers, the Black Widow ordered Avengers Mansion quarantined. See Avengers #391.
This is another deeply complicated set of circumstances. The Swordsman encountered the Cotati and a trio purporting to be followers of Kang the Conqueror in Avengers #392. The details:
The “Cotati Swordsman”, also known as the Prime Cotati, was the chosen to be the mate to the Celestial Madonna to produce an offspring the so called Celestial Messiah. This chosen woman turned out to be Mantis. In order to finalize their union, the Prime Cotati took on the form of the Swordsman, the former lover of Mantis who sacrificed his life to save her. See Avengers #130-135 and Giant-Size Avengers #4 for all the details.
However, it is later revealed that this entity was not the Prime Cotati, nor were the attackers the children of Kang the Conqueror as it is stated. They were all Space Phantoms in disguise, all set pieces for the grand deception being instigated by Immortus. See Avengers Forever #8 for the details on that.
These memories replay events seen in Avengers: The Crossing #1. Here, the narration recounts how the Beast was at the party and notes that he is a “too seldom a visitor these days.” The Beast was a member of the Avengers, joining the team in Avengers #137. He was a mainstay on the group until issue #211. Around the time of this story, the Beast had rejoined his original team, the X-Men, in X-Men (vol. 2) #1. Hank has been pre-occupied trying to find a cure for the Legacy Virus, an illness that specifically targets mutants, that was unleashed upon the world in X-Force #18. This illness will eventually be cured in Uncanny X-Men #390.
Like all the other villains in this story, Mantis is actually another Space Phantom in disguise as revealed in, you guessed it, Avengers Forever #8.
The Crossing Reading Order
Avengers #390, Iron Man #319, Avengers: The Crossing #1, Force Works #16, Iron Man #320, Avengers #391, Iron Man #321, Force Works #17, Avengers #392, War Machine #20, Iron Man #322, Force Works #18, War Machine #21, Iron Man #323, Avengers #393, Force Works #19, War Machine #22, Iron Man #324, Force Works #20, War Machine #23, Avengers #394, Avengers: Timeslide #1, Iron Man #325, Avengers #395, Age of Innocence: The Rebirth of Iron Man #1