Iron Man (vol. 3) #21
Burning Need
After an explosion at a Roxxon facility, Iron Man and Warbird have arrived to help get injured employees out of the fire. While Iron Man has no love for Roxxon, saving lives is more important. As the two work to evacuate the workers, Iron Man is determined not to lose any lives. This stems from the fact that he was once again called in to identify a body by the Seattle police. Once again the victim appears to be Whitney Frost, aka Madame Masque. Since Tony has already identified her body twice before, the mystery surrounding these lookalikes way heavily on his mind.[1]
After everyone has been evacuated, the fire crews tell Iron Man and Warbird that the emergency shut offs for the refinery failed. In order to prevent a massive explosion a manual shut-off needs to be initiated but the fire is keeping fire crews away from the system. As Carol flies back into the fire to accomplish this, Tony can hardly believe how much hurt she is hiding. Stark is well aware that Warbird is dealing with alcohol addiction.[2] In fact, before they came to help with the fire the pair were out to dinner in their civilian identities. When the waiter came to take their drink orders, Carol almost ordered an alcoholic beverage out of habit but stopped herself from giving in to the temptation. When Tony asked her how long it has been since her last drink, she tells him that it’s been a few weeks but she is struggling with the temptation. It was when they were leaving dinner that they were contacted by Jocasta — Tony’s new AI assistant — who told them of the fire at the Roxxon refinery.
As Warbird goes into the fire, she is also thinking about her current addiction issues. While Tony recommended that she go to Alcoholics Anonymous, Carol believes she doesn’t need their help as she has been a self-made woman her entire life. When her father refused to let her enroll in college, she joined the Air Force and excelled so much she was the youngest person to be assigned as security at NASA. It was there that her life drastically changed as she got involved with Captain Marvel, a Kree soldier who eventually came to defend the very planet he was charged with spying upon. On one of her adventures with Mar-Vell, she was caught in an Psyche-Magnatron explosion that turned her into a human/Kree hybrid. Gaining powers of her own, Carol — as Ms. Marvel — eventually earned a position in within the ranks of the Avengers. It’s here things started taking a turn. First she was gaslit, raped, and used as a broodmare for Marcus Immortus, something her fellow Avengers did nothing to prevent. Once she was free from Marcus’ control she was dealt another blow when her memories and powers were stolen by Rogue. Although her mind and powers were eventually restored, she thinks it was crazy trying to rejoin the Avengers.[3] Thinking about all this past trauma makes Carol yearn for a drink.
As the pair try to activate the manual shut off they start running out of time. With two of the fuel tanks secured there is only one left. However, Iron Man cannot shut down the intake pipes in time and they explode, igniting the final tank. Before it can explode, both he and Warbird work together to rip the tank out of the ground where they are able to toss it high enough into the air where it harmlessly explodes. However, despite this victory, the pair begin to argue when Carol suggests she could have handled the situation better if she had a drink. When Tony tells her that is a terrible idea, she points out that regardless of her sobriety, he didn’t trust her enough to handle things on her own that they just barely prevented a catastrophe. She then flies off annoyed with Iron Man, leaving Tony to fear that Carol is going to repeat the same mistakes he made in the past with his own drinking problem, and hopes she wises up before she does something she regrets.
Recurring Characters
Iron Man, Warbird, Jocasta, Roxxon Corporation, Madame Masque (corpse),
Continuity Notes
The Madame Masque situation is quite complicated as she has been apparently killed multiple times:
The mystery first began when the original Madame Masque, aka Whitney Frost, was seemingly murdered by a mystery woman who later took on her costumed identity back in Iron Man #238.
Not long after this, a woman calling herself Masque showed up circa Iron Man #320. However, she went missing in Avengers #399 before anyone could find out who she really was.
A second dead woman was later found who exactly resembled Frost in Iron Man (vol. 3) #11.
It’s later explained in Avengers (vol. 3) #32 that Madame Masque had actually gone into hiding due to a fear for her own mortality. She then started using a string of bio-duplicates starting in Iron Man #138. Once a bio-duplicate outlived its usefulness a replacement was sent to kill its predecessor and steal its identity.
With all that in mind: The first bio-duplicate was the one killed in Iron Man #238. The second bio-duplicate was the one found dead in Iron Man (vol. 3) #11. Masque is the third known bio-duplicate and went rogue and it was the real Madame Masque who had her captured. The body found here is a fourth bio-duplicate responsible for killing the 2nd and taking its place.
Carol was revealed to have a drinking problem in Avengers (vol. 3) #4, when called on it in issue #7 of that series she quit the team. Tony has been trying to help her get sober since Iron Man (vol. 3) #7, finally convincing her to get sober after a disastrous battle with Golden-Blade and Sapper in issue #18. Tony’s desire to help her is due to his own struggles with alcoholism. See Iron Man #120-128 and 167-182.
Lots of Carol Danvers history on display here. Let’s break it down:
We first saw Carl Danvers when she was already established at NASA. It was in this appearance when she first met the original Captain Marvel, circa Marvel Super-Heroes #13.
Carol was caught in the Psyche-Magnatron blast in Captain Marvel #18. However, her powers did not develop until Ms. Marvel #1. Here, it is believed that being caught in the blast with Mar-Vell caused some of his Kree DNA to combine with her making her a hybrid. However, years later, we’ll learn that Carol is actually the child of mixed relationship between a human and a Kree. In reality, the Psyche-Magnatron didn’t transfer Kree DNA to her, but awoke the dormant genes in her body. See Life of Captain Marvel (vol. 2) #1-5.
As Ms. Marvel she joined up with the Avengers in issue #183 of their series. The whole cringe story involving Marcus Immortus making himself his own rape-baby was shamefully chronicled in Avengers #199-200.
Carol’s loss of memories and powers was covered in Marvel Super-Heroes (vol. 2) #11 and Avengers Annual #10.
The Eighth Day Prologue: Strange Things Done in the Midnight Sun
In the waiting area at Saskatoon International Airport, a chartered pilot named Samantha McGee is watching the latest television interview with Tony Stark. In this interview, Tony announces that Stark Solutions will be assisting an archeological dig that will be happening in the Nunavut Territory of Northern Canada. She is impatiently waiting for her customer, Tony Stark himself, and she’s not exactly pleased with it. On the flight out to the dig, Tony is blown away by the majesty of the Arctic region. Sharon, however, doesn’t see things that way since she is stuck her living a life of a chartered pilot, a job that she has grown to despise. She absolutely hates the cold, something that she has never gotten used to no matter how many layers of clothing she piles on.
When they finally arrive at the site, Tony is introduced to Doctor J. Vernon Mann, the lead scientist on the archeological dig. He takes them to the site, which is beneath a crack in the ice sheath that was recently unearthed by an unusual earthquake. Taking a truck down into the fissure, Tony is shocked to discover an impossible ancient temple buried in the ice, which Mann calls the Temple of Balthakk. Once at the site, Tony is surprised to see Abner Little — a renown treasure hunter — and believes he was deceived as to the nature of the dig. Still, Tony can’t help but be interested in the technical challenges required to open the temple and agrees to figure out a solution.[1]
As Tony examines the tomb, he discovers that this will be more difficult than the time he gained access to King Hatap’s tomb in Egypt.[2] After some initial scans, Tony says he needs some time to rest, but this is merely a cover for him to change into Iron Man and make the presence of Tony Stark’s “bodyguard” known by people in the area. The following day, during a coffee break, Vernon has discovered runic carvings that are similar to another temple that was found in Korea.[3]
Suddenly, they are attacked by a flying ship, prompting Tony to tell Samantha to get to safety. Ducking behind some crates, Tony changes into Iron Man to face the attackers. They turn out to be associates of Abner Little in the Council of Antiquarians, which include Princess Zanda, and Adreas Zorba. With the ship incapacitated, Iron Man disarms Abner and demands to know what’s going on. Zorba explains that he and the others are furious that Abner managed to secure Tony Stark’s assistance on this temple dig on his own, particularly after Zorba tried to hire Stark earlier.[4] In all the confusion, Vernon accidentally uncovered a switch that opened a doorway into the temple. While the others are bickering, Vernon rushes to tell them what he just discovered. While he’s explaining everything, Samantha is beckoned into the temple by the light shining from within.
Inside she finds the flaming Brazier of Balthakk and feels an urge to go up and touch the flames. When she does so there is a sudden explosion within the temple. This prompts Iron Man to rush inside and see what happened. There he is attacked by Samantha who has been transformed into Inferno, Avatar of Balthakk. She says she has answered the call that the Eighth Day is approaching and on that day the world will tremble!
… This story continues in Thor (vol. 2) #17.
Recurring Characters
Iron Man, J. Vernon Mann, Council of Antiquarians (Princess Zanda, Abner Little, Adreas Zorba), Inferno, Dianne Cummings
Continuity Notes
Abner Little first attempted to hire Tony in Iron Man (vol. 3) #18. Here, Tony recalls how he heard about Little in the past from his friend, T’Challa, aka the Black Panther. Little once recruited the Panther to help him find the long lost King Solomon’s Frogs in Black Panther #1-7.
Tony’s experience with King Hatap’s tomb is the reason why he has been requested to assist in this dig. See Tales of Suspense #44 for that story.
This would be the Temple of Cyttorak, the location where Cain Marko was famously transformed into the Juggernaut as we saw in X-Men #12. As we’ll learn over the course of the Eight Day event (see below), mystical entites set up temples on Earth with idols that would transform ordinary humans into their avatars. Once one was discovered the others would resurface and over eight days the avatars would be chosen to fight for supremacy and in the aftermath will have the Earth carved up into eight kingdoms for them to rule over. The reason why there is a lag between when the Juggernaut was awoken and the others is because when the Temple of Cyttorak was shelled by enemy soldiers it knocked the mystical runes out of alignment, delaying the surfacing of the other temples.
Zobra did just that in Iron Man (vol. 3) #16. At the time, Tony was not interested and turned Zobra down.
Topical References
Samantha McGee is watching the Tony Stark interview on a portable CRT television that receives a signal from an antenna. This should be considered a topical reference as this is an obsolete technology.
The Eighth Day Reading Order
Iron Man (vol. 3) #21 <— You Are Here
Juggernaut (vol. 2) #1