With Iron Hands, Part 1 of 4

A terrorist has made a threat to unleash a nuclear bomb in the Republic of Kirkhstan. Russia has asked SHEILD to respond to the threat. In response, Director Tony Stark heads in as Iron Man with Team Alpha, a group of SHIELD suited in armor. As are air dropped over the capital city, Tony finds himself thinking about his ex-girlfriend, Bethany Cabe.[1] The situation is delicate since the Russians asked on an unofficial basis since the two nations haven’t been on good terms since the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Iron Man and his team buzz over the capital city and scan for the nuke. Monitoring the situation back on the helicarrier are Maria Hill and Dum Dum Dugan.[2] As they search, Alpha Team’s Agent Gomez things he found something when suddenly there is a massive explosion. Gomez survives but is knocked out by the blast and is recovered by one of his teammates. Tony detects another nuke in one of the government building. As he searches for the bomb he pushes out thoughts of Gomez — who was going to leave SHIELD — out of his mind so he can focus on finding the weapon. Tony finds the bomb and is surprised to see that it is a tiny cylinder. Using his scanners he is amazed by the nano-technology that was used to create such a powerful weapon. He starts performing microscopic surgery in an effort to diffuse the bomb, the most complex he’s ever seen in his life. As he focuses on the task, pushing out all distractions, a lingering memory of Bethany remains in his mind. Eventually, Tony is successful.

Checking back in with SHIELD, he learns that Gomez was burned but will otherwise recover. The helicarrier is now at the location of the explosion. Interestingly, there is no radiation on the scene. This starts sounding very familiar to Tony. That’s when a communique from the bomber himself comes in on all channels. He is a mangled man who says that he is issuing no demands and wants no ransom. He says that his goals are to get revenge against those who mutilated him, the government of his home land. When Maria Hill orders an ID on the man, Tony tells her not to bother checking with other agencies, he knows exactly who theyr are dealing with.

Meanwhile, at the Pentagon, a SHIELD technician named Nicolas Weir is being escorted down to a sub-basement storage room. His escort remembers how they used to call Weir the “Other Nick” back when Nick Fury used to run the spy agency.[3] Weir is a man of few words, only saying that he was briefed on the weapon he is coming to see by former Secretary of Defense, Jack Kooning before his death.[4] In the sealed room is an old piece of SHIELD tech called the Overkill Horn, which could detonate enemy weapons thousands of miles away. It was used once before it was deemed too dangerous and locked away.[4] Before Nicolas is allowed to examine the weapon, the guard has to phone upstairs and run it by the chain of command. While his back is turn, Weir pulls a baseball bat out of his briefcase and knocks him out before he can place the call. A strange mist then starts pouring out of his briefcase, as Weir prepares to change the world.

Back aboard the SHIELD helicarrier, they have tried to trace the source of the terrorist’s message in an effort to find out who he is, but it was too well encoded. Tony however, knows exactly who the man is. He tells them that he is Nasim Rahiov, a classical pianist whose wife one painted the finest portrait that Tony has ever seen. Stark also says that Rahiov is also his fault.

While at the Pentagon, the alarms have gone off and a team of soldiers have arrived to take Nicolas Weir prisoner. However, he has tied up his escort and holds a gun to his head. He says that he is doing all of this because his work has been neglected and ignored ever since Tony Stark became the Director of SHIELD. He brags about his genius, saying that he was able to smuggle his weapons in using nano-technology. He points to his briefcase which isn’t releasing mist, but clouds of nanites. He then points to the Overkill Horn, which the nanites are upgrading and reshaping according to his specifications to change it into a dynamic living defense grid that can adapt to any threat in an increasingly chaotic and volatile world.

That’s when he notices that the Overkill Horn is growing larger than he expected. Realizing that something is wrong, Weir bolts out of the room, leaving the guards to be assimilated by the Overkill Horn.

Recurring Characters

Iron Man, SHIELD (Maria Hill, “Dum Dum Dugan”, Agents Carstairs, Colletti, Farrell, and Gomez), Nasim Rahimov, Nicolas Weir

Continuity Notes

1. Tony and Bethany first started dating shortly after they first met in Iron Man #117. At the time she thought she was widowed until it was revealed that her husband was still alive, she left Tony to go back to him in Iron Man #152-153. Her husband died of a drug overdose in issue #211. However, the two only briefly got back together in Iron Man #319-325. Beth has drifted away since then, but she’ll turn up again in War Machine (vol. 2) #1.

2. The man who appears to be Dum Dum Dugan is actually a Skrull spy sent to infiltrate SHIELD ahead of a planned invasion of Earth. See Secret Invasion: Prologue #1, Secret Invasion #1-8.

3. The conversation makes a vague reference to the fact that Fury left SHIELD in a controversial way. At the time of this story, everyone believes that Fury left to avoid punishment for an unauthorized invasion of Latveria, as per Secret War #1-5. In reality, Fury actually went underground because he uncovered the Skrull invasion plot for Earth and is working to prevent it. See Mighty Avengers #12.

4. Kooning had died recently trying to assassinate the Mandarin after discovering he was tricked into basically handing Extremis to the villain. See Iron Man: Director of SHIELD #18 and 21-28. He was killed in issue #27.

5. The Overkill Horn was first used in Strange Tales #150-152.

Topical References

• When talking about the state of Kirkhistan, Iron Man quips that Eastern Europe has a lack of Club Meds. This should be considered a topical reference as Club Med is a real world tourism chain.

• The soldier showing Weir the Overkill Horn states that the weapon was developed during the Cold War. However, it was created around Strange Tales #150, a period of time that is subject to the Sliding Timescale, so the reference to the Cold War could be considered a topical reference.