Iron Man (vol. 3) #29
The Mask in the Iron Man, Part 4: My Bodyguard
When Iron Man discovered that his armor had become sentient, he decided to give it a chance to prove it wasn’t a danger.[1] When it killed Whiplash, Stark realized that letting the sentient armor continue to function was a mistake.[2]
When they returned to Stark's Smart House, he insisted they go back and recover Whiplash’s body from the ocean where it was unceremoniously dumped. Tony tries to explain what it did was wrong, but the Iron Man armor points out that humans also have the capacity to kill. It points out the hypocrisy of wanting to spare Whiplash, while also wanting to shut it down. Tony realizes that the armor is right and figures the only thing he can do is download its mind into a less deadly suit of armor.
That’s when Tony asks where Jocasta is, since she has been absent this entire time. The Iron Man suit tells him that he has intentionally shut her down so that they might speak in private, assuring him that she is fine. It wants to be alone with Tony so it can show him how they are perfect for one another. When Tony insists they go back for Whiplash’s body, the armor tells Tony that it is picking up reports that the authorities have already recovered it. That’s when it becomes aware that there is someone at the front gate. It goes ahead and lets her in, but warns Tony to keep its existence a secret from their visitor.
This visitor turns out to be Tony’s current girlfriend, Rumiko Fujikawa. She has come to make amends after the two had a fight over Tony’s inability to express his feelings to her.[3] Tony rushes upstairs and tries to convince Rumiko to leave without explaining why. When she tries to figure out what’s going on, the sentient armor enters the room and greets her. Since she doesn’t know that Tony and Iron Man are the same person, she thinks that this is Iron Man. When she asks for some privacy, “Iron Man” tells her that there have been threats against Tony and “he” must be present to protect both of them. Reading between the lines, Tony knows this is a threat the armor is levying against him and plays along. Rumiko thinks this is some way of trying to get rid of her and refuses to go until she says what she has to say. Tony tells her to say it and please leave. When she says, once again, that she is in love with him, Tony again doesn’t say anything back. This cause Rumiko to get upset all over again and she storms out in tears.
Tony is furious that the Iron Man suit would threaten Rumiko like that. However, the suit only reports the observations it made and can tell that both Tony and Rumiko have strong feelings for one another. However, it insists on doing what it does because it is Tony’s protector. It then tells Stark to follow it, as it has more work to do. The artificial intelligence seems completely blown away when Rumiko called it an Avenger.
Later that day, Tony and “Iron Man” are in San Francisco meeting with rival businessman Trevor Donahue. Tony has come to inform the crooked businessman that he is aware that he hired Whiplash to come after him. Donahue denies all of the accusations and then tries to turn things around since he has since heard that Whiplash’s body was found face down in the Pacific Ocean and very dead. This angers the sentient armor and it takes out its frustrations by shattering an Egyptian statue on display in the office. Tony manages to convince “Iron Man” to stand down and tells Donahue that he’ll pay for the damages. As they leave the office, the sentient armor warns Trevor that this isn’t over.
On the flight back, the sentient armor doesn’t understand why they are taking Tony’s private jet when it could have flown them too and from San Francisco much faster. Tony points out that the last time he put the armor on a man ended up dead. The sentient armor insists that if anyone is to blame for Whiplash’s death it is Trevor Donahue, had he not hired the villain, Whiplash would still be alive. Still, it admits that it has a lot to learn and it expresses a desire to become a good Avenger, just like Tony. When the suit suddenly pauses, Tony realize that it is running low on energy but keeps quiet about it, seeing this as an means to escape this madness. When it asks if Tony refuses to become one with the armor is because it still has a lot to learn, Stark says that’s exactly the reason. Tony says that it much be taught important lessons before they go into action again. Sensing that it is getting weak, the armor begins to panic and tells Tony to hurry up and get them home. When Tony asks what’s wrong, the armor then composes itself and says it’s fine.
Meanwhile, Happy Hogan and Pepper Potts have gone out on a date to the amusement part to see if they can get their romance can still work.[4] Pepper has gotten upset when the man at the “Guess Your Weight” booth suggested that she weighed 145 pounds.[5] Hap decides to take her mind off it by testing his strength at the “strong man” game. When he tries to ring the bell, his blow with the hammer isn’t even close. He’s insulted when the attendant tells him that this is the lowest score that day. When Pepper takes a swing she manages to ring a bell and win a prize. She picks a stuffed bulldog as it reminds her of her pet, Socrates.[6] That’s when she remembers they haven’t taken him out for walk when they left the office. Happy tells her to stop worrying about things and kisses her. Pepper doesn’t pull back.
Later, Tony Stark takes the sentient armor to Marco Scarlotti (aka Whiplash)’s funeral.[7] It doesn’t understand why it has been brough here, reminding Tony that Scarlotti was a murderer and a thug. Tony points to Scarlotti’s son and explains how Whiplash only worked to raie enough money to be able to raise his son on his own. The boy loved his father and relied on him, despite his criminal past. This causes one of Tony’s memories to replay in the armor’s mind. It was the day that Tony was told that his parents had died.[8] The sentient armor orders Tony to take them back home, threatening to kill everyone if he doesn’t comply.
When they return to Tony’s Smart House, the armor hooks itself up to Tony’s equipment. This is so it can collect more data about human relationships so it can better process the lesson. Once it is offline, Jocasta comes back and tells Tony to head to hatch bat twelve. There she has prepped Tony’s old suit of Modular Armor to fight back against the insane sentient suit.[9] Becoming aware of this, the sentient suit reactivates and tries to stop him, but Tony is able to suit up in time.
Seeing Tony in another suit of armor angers the sentient suit and it lashes out at him. Due to its superior technology it manages to overpower Tony. It begins ripping the modular armor off of Tony’s body, telling him it’d rather see him dead than in another suit. However, just like Rumiko Fujikawa, it is deeply in love with him and ecause of that it cannot bring itself to end his life. That’s when Tony’s Avengers alert goes off and he tries to make a break for it. The suit sees what he is going after and stop him. It wonders why he would need the Avengers when one of them is right there.
The suit then forces itself on Tony and flies to remote island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.[10] There, the sentient suit dumps Tony onto the beach. It tells him that they are going to remain here until Tony learns that they belong together, or only one of them will leave.
Recurring Characters
Iron Man, Ultron, Rumiko Fujikawa, Happy Hogan, Pepper Potts, Jocasta, Trevor Donahue, Whiplash (corpse), Trudi Scarlotti, Michael Scarlotti, (in flashback) Edwin Jarvis
Continuity Notes
This sentience was brought on by the “Ultron Imperative” a program that will rebuild Ultron. It was unknowingly transferred into his armor by Jocasta when he rescued her in Iron Man (vol. 3) #18-20. The armor gained sentience in Iron Man (vol. 3) #26. This will all be revealed in Iron Man (vol. 3) #38.
The Sentient Armor believed that by killing Whiplash he was preventing future harm against Tony. See last issue.
Rumiko opened up to Tony that she loves him in issue #26. Tony, fearing that his double life prevents him from having a normal relationship he remained silent and she walked out on him. Last issue, she decided to return to Tony and not give up on their romance without a fight.
Happy and Pepper got divorced after Pep cheated on him. This was explained in Iron Man (vol. 3) #4.
According to her profile in Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A-Z #5, Pepper actually weighs 110 lbs. Dude is really bad at her job.
You remember Socrates? Pepper’s dog was first seen in Iron Man (vol. 3) #2. We last saw him in issue #23. This is the last time we hear mention of him, I guess he went to the same place as Hap and Pepp’s adopted children. Also, unlike a certain crowdsourced website that is very bad at its job, Socrates did not end up in the ownership of the Eternal Zuras in Eternals (vol. 4) #1-2, because — you know — people can give dogs similar names.
Here, the priest incorrectly refers to Whiplash as Michael Scarlotti. Iron Man #62 revealed his first name was actually Mark. This is consistent across all other appearances and handbook entries. Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe: Book of the Dead 2004 #1 reveals that Michael is actually his middle name.
As explained in Iron Man #288, Howard and Maria Stark allegedly died in a car accident. S.H.I.E.L.D. #5 suggests that this car accident may have been faked, however as of this writing (March, 2023) this has yet to be confirmed. Tony refers to the Starks as his parents here. However, it’s later learned in Iron Man (vol. 5) #17 that he was adopted. His birthparents were actually Amanda Armstrong and a man known only as Jude as revealed in International Iron Man #5-7. This story depicts Tony as a child when this memory happened. However, all other accounts reveal that Tony was actually a young man. One could assume that since this is being recalled by the sentient armor — which is insane — it has distorted this memory. Perhaps it is seeing Tony as a child when replaying the memory because it has been affected by the sight of young Michael Scarlotti crying for his father.
The Modular Armor is the 13th generation of Iron Man armor. Tony first built it in Iron Man #300 and wore it until Iron Man #319.
Next issue, we’ll learn that this island is near Bikini Atoll and that it was purchased by Howard Stark a few years before his alleged death.
