Iron Man Annual #15
Minds in Collision
Basil Sandhurst, aka the Controller, has been having a busy day manipulating the lives of others from all walks of life. From using a land developer to bribe a senator, to taking possession of a sex worker, to using an innocent man to kill a woman who turned him down years earlier. As he works, Basil thinks back to his past and how he came to be who he is. He remembers how he was bed ridden as a child due to illness and helpless to his mother’s home remedies and his brother’s stupid television shows. At a very young age he vowed that one day he would be the one controlling the lives of others, and that was a promise he intended to keep.
From his secret hideout he tests his army of Berserker cyborgs by having them fight to the death in an arena, to weed out the weak from the strong. This before an audience of his mental slaves that he forces them to cheer after every victory. Sandhurst is also multitasking, as he enjoys the sensations of his slaves out in the wild. One of them is also happens to be an employee at Stark Enterprises, who he has commanded to point a gun at Tony Stark’s administrative assistant, Bambi Arbogast. He has been sent to kill Tony Stark, but luckily Iron Man shows up to stop him before anyone is seriously hurt. He discovers that the gun was a resin composite, explaining how it managed to get past security. When Iron Man questions the employee why he went on his rampage, the Controller speaks through him.
Iron Man has the employee taken down to the medical center for examination by Erica Sondheim. She is surprised to find that none of the Controller’s usual cybernetic implants are located, leaving them to wonder how the Controller has managed make this man his slave.
What Tony Stark doesn’t suspect is that the Controller is getting around his limitations because he has hooked his mind control device to a telepath named Sarah Jessup, and has been using her powers to reach out and enslave people without the need of any gadgetry.[1]
Meanwhile, Tony is meeting with Bethany Cabe his head of security. As he suits up in his Iron Man armor he explains to her the situation with the Controller and their need to shut him down permanently, particularly after his recent attack on Stark Enterprises.[2] He has come up with a plan to infiltrate the Controller’s hideout by using an image inducer and a pilfered transponder to pose as one of his Berserker cyborgs. Unfortunately, the plan doesn’t work out and not only is Iron Man swarmed and subdued, but the Controller reveals that he knows that Tony Stark and Iron Man are one in the same.
The Controller has Iron Man brought to him and tries to use Sarah’s mental powers to subjugate the hero. Unfortunately, the Controller pushes Jessup to far and she manages to break free from his control. Turning into a being of pure psionic power and now calling herself Mindstorm, she unleashes her mental fury on both Iron Man and the Controller. The two men are then forced to relive the most painful moments of their lives.[3] Before his mind burns out, Iron Man is able to shoot one of his repulsors through the floor and blows up the mind-control machinery that is jacking up Mindstorm’s powers, obliterating her in the process.
In the aftermath of the battle, Iron Man discovers that the Controller has been left in a catatonic state. Still aware of his surroundings, Basil Sandhurst finds himself utterly trapped in his own body. Taken to a hospital, the doctors think he is brain dead and begin making arrangements to find the Sandhust’s next of kin before preparing end of life care.[4]
Recurring Characters
Iron Man, Controller, Erica Sondheim, Bambi Arbogast
Continuity Notes
Here the Controller recounts how his slave discs work and how they endow him with the abilities of those he controls. A footnote reminds readers to see Iron Man #12-13 for the original details on that.
The Controller previously attempted to kidnap Tony in Iron Man #292-293.
Of particular note here, Iron Man is shown memories of his past alcohol abuse (Iron Man #120-128/167-182) and a battle with Titanium Man (probably Tales of Suspense #69-71)
This is not the end of the Controller. He manages to regain the use of his motor functions and he’ll pop up again in Avengers Unplugged #5.
Topical References
The illness that Basil Sandhurst had as a child is identified as meningitis. This might be considered a topical reference since the illness can be better treated now thanks to advancements in medicine.
The Sandhurst family television is depicted as a CRT model that uses an antennae to pick up signals. This should be considered topical as this is an obsolete technology.
Erica Sondheim wonders if the employee didn’t have a mental break, pointing out that it happens very often quipping “just ask the Post Office”. This is in reference to a number of high profile spree shootings that took place at post offices between 1970 and 1993. This led to the term “Going Postal” becoming part of the American vernacular to explain when someone goes on a shooting spree. This should be considered a topical reference given that the term has fallen out of use.
Wargame
Iron Man is testing out his new combat simulation room by setting a course where he is attacked by an army of his enemies that includes the Mandarin, Beetle, Blacklash, the Melter, Blizzard, the Unicorn, and the original Titanium Man. Despite being out numbered, Tony is able to defeat all these foes thanks to the latest improvements he has made on his armor.
However, when he tries to shut things down, the computer instead boots up another simulation. Suddenly he finds himself being attacked by simulated targets with the safety locks on the simulation shut off. The simulation first starts sending drones, tanks, and alien ships to attack him. It then ramps things up by unleashing simulations of the Crimson Dynamo, Force, the Iron Monger, the second Titanium Man, and Firepower against him. When he defeats those threats, he is then attacked by simulations of Fin Fang Foom, Ultimo, and Technovore. Seeing that this will just continue on until he is dead or the program stopped, Iron Man remotely uplinks to the computers and discovers that someone has hacked into the simulation computers from the outside. After some mental struggle, he manages to sever the connection and shut the simulation down. As he disconnects, he is almost convinced he could hear some mechanical laughter coming from the other end of the connection.
Tony then gets Abe Zimmer and hacker Philip Grant to investigate this recent breach of security. Philip recognizes the code as the same used by the mystery voice that was using Marcy Pearson to hack into Stark Enterprises’ computers.[1] This time, they are able to follow the hacker’s trail across the Internet to its point of origin. Deciding to face this threat directly and get some answers, Tony orders Zimmer to prepare a rig that will allow him to traverse cyberspace and stop the hacker from their point of origin. Little does anyone know that the machine responsible is observing and that they are playing right into its hands.
… This story is continued in Iron Man #307.
Recurring Characters
Iron Man, Abe Zimmer, Philip Grant, VORTEX
Continuity Notes
After Marcy was fired from Stark Enterprises in Iron Man #284, she became obsessed with getting revenge. She had been manipulated into trying to ruin the company, first by unsuccessfully framing Jim Rhodes for murder in Iron Man #288, then hacking into Stark Enterprises’ computers and leaking the information to the media in Iron Man #298-300. Marcy was busted in Iron Man #306. The whole time she has been manipulated by an artificial intelligence called VORTEX who has been attacking Stark Enterprises in an act of pre-emptive self-preservation, as we’ll learn in Iron Man #307.
Topical References
In this story, Iron Man credits hiring the “Crew from T2” to assist him in building his combat simulator. This is in reference to the film Terminator 2: Judgement Day which was released 1991. At the time, was credited for using state-of-the-art practical and digital effects that were revolutionary at the time winning the movie an Oscar. This should be considered topical since we’re referencing a movie that is now over 30 years old and movie special effects have gotten so much better.
The Media Takes on Tony Stark
A series of clippings from Tony’s recent appearances in print media. They include an interview with Playmates magazine, where he talks about a number of issues regarding his fame, success, Iron Man,[1] his various foes, corporate responsibility, alcoholism, the future of genetic engineering, and his recent brush with death.[2] This is followed by an article in Business magazine that talks about the recent troubles Stark Enterprises has encountered due to their recent acquisition of Stane International. It details how hacked information about Stane landed Stark in hot water and how he turned it around by reinventing his entire corporation.[3] It also includes a feature about how Stark Enterprises is working to rebuild the town of Futura, California after it was decimated by Ultimo.[4]
There is also a page from a television listing an upcoming television interview. There is also a clipping from a celebrity gossip section about an evening where Tony was out with Bethany Cabe.[5] Lastly there is a magazine article about other companies trying to imitate Stark Enterprises by coming up with super-hero mascots of their own.
Recurring Characters
Tony Stark
Continuity Notes
Tony jokes about taking the Iron Man armor out for a spin once and having to fight the Trapster, noting that he wasn’t really in any trouble. This is in reference to Iron Man Annual #12. That wasn’t the original Trapster (Peter Petruski) but a Roxxon employee named Larry Curtiss who got ahold of some of the Trapsters’ gear.
Tony led the world to believe he had died in Iron Man #284 when his central nervous system needed to be completely replaced. The entire time he was in cryogenic suspension. He would resurface in Iron Man #289.
Stane International was one Stark International, Tony’s original company. It was taken from him in a hostile takeover by Obadiah Stane in Iron Man #173, who renamed the company after himself. After Obadiah committed suicide in Iron Man #200, Stane International fell into the hands of Justin Hammer, another Stark rival. Tony later forced Hammer to sell the company back to him for a dollar in Iron Man #283. This turned out to be a poison pill after Stane’s shady business practices were leaked to the media in Iron Man 300. This led to Stark revising his entire business operations in issue #306.
Ultimo destroyed the town of Futura during his rampage in Iron Man #298-300.
Tony clips a note to the gossip piece and tells Bambi to show it to Beth, but not to Veronica. This is because Tony and Beth dated from Iron Man #117 through 153. Veronica just started dating Tony in Iron Man #300, and has been jealous of Bethany due to her past romance with Tony.
Topical References
Bambi Arbogast jokes that there is a pool in secretarial going on if Tony will appear in an issue of Playgirl magazine. Playgirl was the opposite of Playgirl, featuring nude photos of men. This should be considered a topical reference not only because Playgirl is a real world publication, but also since it ceased publication in 2016.
In his Playmates interview, Tony speaks about being jealous of actor Patrick Stewart for his role of Jean-Luc Picard on the TV show Star Trek: The Next Generation. This should be considered topical as the show ran from 1987 to 1994 and was at the heights of its popularity at the time this issue was published.
Also in the Playmates article, there it is stated that Donald Trump commented that Tony Stark’s faked death was a tax dodge. This should be considered a topical reference as Trump is a real world person.
The television interview Tony is scheduled to appear on is identified as Larry King Live which was a popular news interview show that aired on CNN. This should be considered topical as it is a real world program that ended its run when King retired in 2010. More over, King has since passed away in 2021.
The magazine article about company mascots references Reddy Killowatt (an electricity mascot) and Speedy Alka-Seltzer (a mascot for Alka-Seltzer tablets) These should be considered topical as these mascots are for real world products.
The article also references a company preparing for the year 2000 and a bio about a mascot that states he was divorced in 1990. These dates should be considered topical as they are relative to the date of publication.