The Best Defense, Part 3: Technology

Tony Stark, aka Iron Man, has just announced his desire to become the next Secretary of Defense. He made the bold statement that with his revolutionary technology he will make it so nobody dies in war again. To show how committed he is to this lofty goal, Tony puts on a public demonstration of his militarized Iron Man tech. With actors, he demonstrates how Iron Man armor and repulsor technology will help soldiers in the field neutralize threats without any loss of life or collateral damage.

After the demonstration, Tony takes questions. When asked how serious he is about this decision, Tony reveals that he has divested himself of all his business interests so he can focus entirely on the task of being Secretary of Defense. This has created a circus at Stark Enterprises. Pepper Potts is left with the task of figuring out how to manage the company.

The conference is watched closely by official at the Capitol Building. One official thinks that Tony Stark sounds like a politician to him. At Avengers Mansion, Henry Gyrich — the team’s liaison — wonders how Iron Man fits in on the team now that they are a UN sanctioned agency.[1] Captain America reminds him that the Avengers have had royalty from Asgard, Wakanda, and Atlantis on the team, they’ll be more prepared for this.[2]

The interview is also being watched by prisoners at a maximum security penitentiary. One of the inmates is remembered as a guy who went up against Iron Man in the past. The crook was once known as the Termite and he is so embarrassed he hopes someone changes the channel so they can all stop talking about it.[3]

Not everyone is paying attention to Tony Stark’s press conference. Undersecretary Sonny Burch has unveiled a new surface-to-air missile launcher that the military had developed by GilberTech. The company based their design on unsealed Stark designs from back when he designed weapons for the military.[4] However, the only reporter there is too busy listening to Tony Stark’s speech. When Sonny asks if the reporter has any questions for them, the reporter asks Simon Gilbert — the owner of GilbertTech — what he thinks about his former rival running for Secretary of State.[5] Gilbert only gives him a dirty look.

That’s when a representative from the FAA shows up and tells Burch that he can’t set up the missile launcher, but he assures her that the proper clearances have been made. He then checks in with Commander John Rayburn to make sure the installation is going well. However, the technician working on the electronics is having a hard time trying to figure out Stark’s designs. Even though they are old, they are beyond anything she can understand. Burch tells them to do their best as he has to leave for a meeting with Oscorp soon. As he leaves, he admits to Simon Gilbert that he is trying to get as many patents unsealed as possible, even though he is certain that Tony Stark won’t get the Secretary job because he will do something to embarrass himself.

At that very moment, a reporter named Christine Everhart for the Daily Bugle starts asking Tony if he has been hit too many times on the head by the Mandarin. Seeing this as a trap, both Artemus Pithins and Stuart Conrad manage to end the conference and get Tony away from Everhart before it becomes obvious that the famous playboy was just hitting on a female reporter. When they get into the limo to head to the Congressional hearing, they catch a news report from Christine Everhart. Before trying to ambush Tony at the news conference, she uncovered old footage of when Tony was brought before a Senate committee by now-retired Senator Harrington Byrd. In the footage, Tony suffered a heart attack and it was revealed that he worse some kind of chest plate to keep himself alive.[6] Stu and Artie are mortified that this was dug up on the day before the hearing.

With reporters surrounding their car, Tony has had enough of playing things by the book. Changing into Iron Man he picks up the Presidential limo and flies it to the Capitol Building. When they are back on the ground, Stu and Artie are freaking out over this stunt. Tony, changing out of his armor, says he it’s time to stop pretending to be something he is not. He stopped lying about being Iron Man, he is not going to start lying to the public. He wants to become Secretary of Defense because he feels that he can do more for the world than protecting it as Iron Man. With that, Tony heads into the Capitol Building to face the Congressional hearing.

Recurring Characters

Iron Man, Stuart Conrad, Artemus Pithins, Pepper Potts, Friday, Sonny Burch, Simon Gilbert, Avengers (Captain America, Scarlet Witch, Vision, Black Panther, Warbird), Henry Gyrich, Termite, Marcia Donaldson, John Rayburn

Continuity Notes

1. At the time of this story, the Avengers had just been given UN clearance in Avengers (vol. 3) #61.

2. Captain America is referring to Thor (who joined in Avengers #1), the Black Panther (who joined in Avengers #52), and lastly the Sub-Mariner (who joined in Avengers #262).

3. The Termite fought Iron Man in Iron Man #189, however he technically didn’t fight Tony Stark, but Jim Rhodes who was wearing the Iron Man armor at the time. The Termite isn’t referred to by his real name here. Iron Manual Mark 3 #1 identifies him as Neil Donaldson.

4. Stark used to build weapons for the military until Iron Man #42. The patents and designs for these inventions were classified top secret and would remain sealed unless Tony Stark unveiled them to the public. After Tony revealed his true identity to the public in Iron Man (vol. 3) #55, Sonny used this as a loophole in the law to start unsealing Tony’s old patents. See Iron Man (vol. 3) #73.

5. Simon Gilbert was once on the Stark Industries Board of Directors. He attempted a coup to remove Tony Stark from the company. When Tony found out about it, he had Gilbert fired instead. See Iron Man #45.

6. Tony had collapsed in the middle of a Congressional hearing in Tales of Suspense #84.

Topical References

• This story was written during the early days of the War on Terror and the US invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan that were in response to the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. As such, a lot of the attitudes and depictions of the United States government are influenced by this particular point in time. While these themes are merely implied, they should be considered topical.

• There are a number of references to then recent politics. Stark states that President Bill Clinton worked with William Cohen a few years prior. Those observing figure that over the last few elections Stark voted for Clinton once, and George W. Bush once. One quips that he could have also voted for Carrot Top. Carrot Top is a prop comic who was famous at the time this story was published. As all of these references are relevant to the date of publication they should be considered topical.

• The TV in the prison is depicted as a CRT model television. This should be considered topical as this is an obsolete technology.

• The only reporter at Sonny Burch’s presser is listening to Tony’s speech on a pocket radio that have wired headphones. This should be considered a topical reference as these technologies have fallen out of common use.

• The military technician trying to figure out Tony Stark’s designs says that it is like 19th century blacksmiths trying to figure out how to build a Toyota. This should be considered a topical reference as Toyota is a real world business.