In Shining Armor, Part 2

Iron Man has used his new experimental time machine to go back in time to the year 1002 AD. In the present day, Pepper Potts is visited by archeologist Ellen Mallory and her assistant Martin Black. They had discovered Iron Man’s helmet buried beneath the Celtic Stones in Wales. Bringing them to New York, Ellen has just revealed that the helmet contains a human skull, likely the final remains of Tony Stark. Pepper doesn’t understand what this means, as Tony explained the possible results of time travel. Either nothing will happen as the past can’t be changed, or it will create a divergent reality. Ellen says that whatever happened, it seems like Tony Stark made the wrong choice.

In the distant past, Tony Stark has been captured by a sorceress named Aislin. She has him strung up in her dungeon and demands that he reveal the secrets of his armor. Tony says that this is going to be impossible given that it contains technology from over 1000 years in the future. When he tries to explain some of its functions she believes that he is playing her for a fool. Aislin then leaves Tony at the mercy of her master of torture.

Back in the present, Pepper begins to panic about what to do and is annoyed that Happy hasn’t come back from his lunch break. This is because, Hap has gone to a bar to drink. Deciding to make an executive decision she orders Friday — Tony’s personal AI — to fire up the time machine again, intending to go back in time and rescue Tony from the past herself. Ellen doesn’t think that’s a good idea and recommends going instead. She reminds Pepper that her credentials as an archeologist will assist her in finding Tony in that era, and if she ends up being stranded as a result, she knows how to live in that era without adversely affecting the timeline.

In the past, Tony is subjected to enough torture but doesn’t talk. Aislinn has him tossed into a cell to recuperate. He discovers that the man in the cell next to his is the knight who attacked him when he first appeared in this era. The soldier got captured after Tony knocked him out and stole his horse. He laments how he was in the middle of a quest to fetch a sword from Wayland for his king and now he will not fullfill this quest.[1]

As Pepper is sending Ellen Mallory into the past, Tony convinces his fellow prisoner to help them escape. With a length of rope, the soldier manages to rope the gauntlets of Tony’s Iron Man armor. Putting them on, Tony is able to rip the bars off his cell and frees his compatriot. As he suits up, Tony learns his newfound ally is named Brann Mak Arn Mak Minyfordd Mak, but answer to Brann for short. The pair fight their way out of the dungeon and make their way into the castle court yard. That’s where they witness Ellen Mallory appears from the future. Tony figures that she came to help him return to the present. However Ellen is quickly confronted by Aislin and the captain of her guard.

Suddenly, Ellen and Aislin merge together. As it turns out, “Ellen” was actually Aislin’s future self. Although she survived into the future, her magical power had diminished over time as humanity poisoned the Earth. She had manipulated events in the present so she could used Tony Stark’s time machine to return to the past and regain her full power.

While she revels, Iron Man and Brann recover the sword that Brann was sent to obtain. They fight through the guards and get to the stables and steal some horses. In order to slow the two heroes down, Aislin summons a powerful rainstorm. It soon becomes too treacherous to press on, so Tony and Brann take shelter in a cave. There they start a fire to keep warm and dry.

During their downtime, Brann talks about the sword he was sent out to collect. While it is intended to be used in the coronation of a new king, it is more to Brann than just that. It is the legacy for his long lived life. At fifty years old, Brann has lived longer than most, he would have rather died in glorious battle than make it to this age. Tony impresses upon the need to get back to the present before the charge on his mechanical heart runs out of power and he dies. As the two men sleep for the night, Aislin watches them through a magic crystal.

She decides to give them a rude awakening and casts a spell to awaken a slumbering dragon to kill both Tony and Brann as they sleep.

Recurring Characters

Iron Man, Pepper Potts, Happy Hogan, Friday, Ellen Mallory, Aisilin, Martin Black

Continuity Notes

1. As revealed next issue, this sword is the legendary Excalibur, the legendary sword wielded by King Arthur Pendragon.