World’s Most Wanted, Part 7: The Shape of the World These Days

Tony Stark is on the run from the law after Norman Osborn — the Director of HAMMER — issued a warrant for his arrest. Tony has been traveling from hideout to hideout in an effort to erase secrets from his mind that Osborn seeks to obtain.[1] Losing his intelligence in the process, Tony has been forced to wear older, more simplistic suits of armor.[2] He has now entered Russian airspace where he is shot out of the sky by surface-to-air missiles in the Arkhangelsk region.

As the armor’s system reboots and Tony recovers from the fall. He is attacked by the Crimson Dynamo (Dimitri Bukharin) who believes that he is facing an impostor wearing old Iron Man armor. Tony tries to explain that he is the real Iron Man. Luckily, when the Dynamo rips off his helmet he recognizes Tony Stark and is happy to see him. With the situation sorted out, Tony tells Dimitri that he needs his help.

Meanwhile, Maria Hill has recovered a hard drive that Tony Stark wants to deliver to Captain America.[3] Also on the run from the law, she has traveled to New Jersey incognito, but fell asleep on the bus ride. She is woken up by a security guard, startling her enough to pull a knife on him. Realizing that she’s not in immediate danger, she makes a run for it.

At that same moment, Pepper Potts has called in her former doctor at SHIELD. Since the organization has become HAMMER, the doc has been operating a mobile clinic to treat former SHIELD agents who were fired after Osborn took over. She wanted to be examined to make sure she is in perfect health, because she is about to go on a dangerous mission. That’s when JARVIS — the AI that helps her pilot the suit of armor Tony built for her. It has tracked down Tony Stark to Russia. It has also detected a grain silo explosion in Massachusets and that the workers there need rescue. Pepper likes it when the doc calls her Rescue, as the name fits the function of her armor.

By this time, Dimitri has brought Tony to a lab to try and repair his armor. Its here that he explains his mission to erase all the secrets from his mind to prevent them from getting into the hands of Norman Osborn. Tony was heading to his next secret base, located in Kirensk when he was attacked. Now his armor is damaged beyond repair and he needs to come up with another method of getting there. When Bukharin suggests jumping into a volcano and vaporize himself in moments, Tony rejects the idea because things aren’t that dire yet. He then borrows the Crimson Dynamo armor. Even though he is losing his intelligence he can still function enough to operate the suit as he still retains the ability to speak and understand Russian. Tony then starts making his way to Kirensk, tricking Russian authorities into thinking he is the real Crimson Dynamo.

Meanwhile, the newly christened Rescue has JARVIS reveal where Tony will be going next. It identifies his next stop as Kirensk. He informs her that the region has fascinated Stark ever since he learned about the “Tunguska Event”, a devastating meteor strike that hit the region back in 1908. When relations between the US and Russia softened in recent years, Tony was able to buy a parcel of land in the region.

The moment Rescue leaves US airspace, HAMMER becomes aware and begins tracking her trajectory. Learning that she is heading to Russia, Norman Osborn has his assistant — Victoria Hand — put him in touch with their contact at the Voyenno-Vozdushyne Sily Rossii. This turns out to be Dimitri Bukharin. Norman tells Dimitri that he is after two wanted fugitives, Tony Stark and Pepper Potts, and asks for permission for HAMMER to enter Russian airspace and capture the outlaws. Bukharin refuses and tells Osborn to go to hell and not to call back. This angers Osborn, who trashes his office in a fit of rage.

At that moment, in New York’s Garment District, Natasha Romanov — aka the Black Widow — gets a call from one of her contacts who warns her that Maria Hill is looking for her. Natasha doesn’t know why but decides to go out and find out. When she sets out of her apartment, she discovers that someone has painted a huge black widow on the door of her apartment. Her neighbors are puzzled by this graffiti, but Natasha (who was living her under an assumed alias) knows it was a message.[4] Looking around, she spots Maria Hill up on a nearby rooftop.

Nine hours later, Rescue is searching the area around Kirensk trying to find sign of Tony. She is then ambushed by Stark in the Crimson Dynamo armor. He no longer remembers that he built the Rescue suit and thinks that Pepper is someone sent by Norman Osborn. Thankfully, Pep manages to overpower Tony and subdue him. She then pulls off her helmet and reveals who she really is. It’s then that Madame Masque calls Norman Osborn and reports that she has a visual on Tony Stark. This is because she is observing them through the scope of her sniper rifle. With Pepper Potts in her sights, Madame Masque intends to kill the last friend Tony Stark has in the world.

Recurring Characters

Iron Man, Crimson Dynamo, Rescue, Maria Hill, Black Widow, HAMMER (Iron Patriot, Victoria Hand), Madame Masque

Continuity Notes

1. This story follows the failed Skrull invasion of Earth. It ended with Norman Osborn killing the Skrull leader and being awarded Directorship of SHIELD, which he rennamed HAMMER, as seen in Secret Invasion #1-8. On his way out, Tony Stark erased sensitive top secret information to prevent Osborn from getting access to it and has been on the run since. See Invincible Iron Man #8-12.

2. The suit that Tony is wearing here is the Model 4 Iron Man armor, it was first built in Iron Man #85.

3. This hard drive is a back-up of Tony Stark’s mind which will be integral to restoring him back to normal following his mind wipe. See Invincible Iron Man #20-24.

4. Natasha’s alias is “Ms. Heck”, this is a nod to legendary Marvel artist Don Heck, who drew many early Iron Man stories including the first appearance of the Black Widow in Tales of Suspense #52.

Topical References

• The security guard who finds Maria Hill in the back of the bus says he is employed by Greyhound. This should be considered a topical reference as this is a real world business.

• JARVIS states that Tony purchased a large parcel of land in Kirensk after the end of the Cold War, implying that event happened in Tony’s lifetime. The Cold War was considered over after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. This reference should be considered a topical reference. Modern readers should interpret this to mean that Tony bought property in Russia during a period of eased relations between the US And Russia and not the end Cold War specifically.