With Iron Hands, Part 2 of 4

Years Ago[1]

Tony Stark was first introduced to Nasim Rahimov and his wife by Katarzyna, a woman he was dating at the time. Tony had agreed to bankroll Nasim’s weapons research while his fortune is frozen in Kirkhistan, which was in the middle of a financial crisis. Tony is more than happy to do it, as Stark Industries gains from funding weapons research. Nasim hopes to use the finding in order to miniaturize nuclear weapons in order to minimize the collateral damage from radiation. Tony believes this is a worthwhile cause and is granting limited access to Stark’s proprietary miniaturization technologies. Nasim is pleased and proposes a toast.[2]

Now

Nasim Rahimov has used the technology he created all those years ago to detonate a nuclear weapon in Kirkhstan to avenge his disfigurement. SHIELD was tipped off by the Russian government and came on an unofficial capacity to try to prevent two nukes from going off. They only managed to stop one. Iron Man — Tony Stark himself, now the Director of SHIELD — goes back into the city to examine the blast zone and confirms that there is no radiation. The local military is none too happy about it and open fire on him, but he easily shrugs off the bullets. He knows how the fall-out free nuclear blast was possible and transmits video of the miniature nuke that he shut down earlier to Dum Dum Dugan and Maria Hill back on the SHIELD helicarrier.[3]

As he leaves the sight of the explosion, he tells them the sad story about what happened to Nasim Rahimov. The nation of Kirkhistan had fallen into a dictatorship. Someone within the government did not like Nasim’s work and had him imprisoned and his wife murdered. When Tony investigated Rahimov’s fate, he was told that Nasim was dead, clearly Tony’s sources were work and he should have looked harder. Tony blames himself for what happened since it was his technology that was used to make Rahimov’s thumbnail nukes. With his readings, Iron Man is able to scan the city and finds 50 to 60 of these weapons hidden in an apartment — likely Nasim’s safehouse. As he heads down to disarm the arsenal he calls for back-up.

Meanwhile, at the Pentagon, fighter planes have been scrambled after the Overkill Horn — a old SHIELD weapon exposed to nanite technology — has become self aware and is going on a rampage. This was the unforseen result of tampering from SHIELD inventor Nicolas Weir. Weir tries to flee the scene but is abducted by the now sentient weapon. Now calling itself the Overkill Mind it uses a tractor beam to abduct Weir so he can explain why it cannot carry out its primary objective — to detonate enemy warheads. Weir explains that the Overkill Horn was too dangerous to be used and so he made sure the core of its AI systems could not carry out its prime directive without human command. In an effort to get this permission, the Overkill Mind assimilates Nicolas into itself. Weir and the Overkill Mind become one. When it asks Nicolas for the order to carry out its prime directive, he promises to do so after it does something for him. Sensing Weir’s resentment toward SHIELD as well as Nick Fury and Tony Stark — the spy agencies’ past and current directors, the Overkill Mind agrees and takes off.

Back in Kirkhistan, Iron Man is joined by Alpha Team — a unit of armored SHIELD agents — to attack the safehouse. They are a man down a man after Gomaz was injured earlier. When they raid the facility, they take down the mercenaries inside but find now trace of Rahimov. Among them is Paladin a mercenary-for-hire that Iron Man has dealt with in the past. Paladin says he is Nasim’s right-hand-man and he has a message from his boss. It is a holographic projection that Rahimov had pre-recorded for Tony Stark to hear. He asks Tony to not get in his way and let him carry out his revenge plot, promising he will not harm any innocent people. When Tony refuses to do any such thing, Paladin blasts Stark with his stun-gun. Stark is caught off guard, as he wasn’t expecting it to have the power to disrupt his high-tech armor.

With his armor incapacitated, Tony realizes that he has under estimated Rhamov and he may has just gotten himself and his team killed. That’s when SHIELD is alerted that the Overkill Mind is heading their way. As it approaches the SHIELD helicarrier, the Overkill Mind asks Nicolas Weir if it can now carry out its prime directive. Weir tells them it will get its chance after the show Tony Stark what a special weapon can do.

Recurring Characters

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

Continuity Notes

1. Official Index of the Marvel Universe: Iron Man this flashback takes place between the events of Tales of Suspense #44 and Avengers #1. This places the story has happening during “Year One” of the Modern Age. Per the Sliding Timescale that places this flashback as happening about 12 years prior to the main story.

2. At the time of this story Tony was two things that he is not now: (1) A weapons manufacturer, a game that SI got out of back in Iron Man #42 and (2) an alcoholic, which Tony won’t confront until Iron Man #128.

3. The man who appears to be Dum Dum Dugan here is actually a Skrull spy who has infiltrated SHIELD as part of a coming invasion of Earth. See Secret Invasion: Prologue #1 and Secret Invasion #1-8.

Topical References

• Nasim and his wife name drop two different brands of Belgian beer: Duvel and Chimay Bleue. This should be considered a topical reference as these are real world brands.

• The back story behind Kirkhistan is that it fell into a dictatorship after the collapse of the Soviet Union. While this could still be true, the fall of the Soviet Union happening within the time of the Modern Age of the Marvel Universe should be considered topical.

• The fighter planes depicted in this story are Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptors. While these were relatively new fighters at the time this story was published, their production ended in 2011 and they will eventually be retired at some point in the future. As such, their appearance here should be considered topical.