Iron Man (vol. 3) #88

Mar 17

Mar 17 Iron Man (vol. 3) #88

The Singularity, Part 3

It’s not a good time to be Tony Stark. After threatening the Latverian Ambassador, and surviving an all out attack on Avengers Mansion, Tony has just witnessed his girlfriend Rumiko Fujikawa get murdered by someone wearing his armor.[1] Tony hasn’t even begun to process Rumiko’s death when he is attacked by his impostor. As Iron Man rants and raves about how Tony Stark is only where he is by blind luck.[2]

As if proving this, when Iron Man tosses Tony out a window, a news helicopter arrives to get some b-roll of Stark’s mansion. Not wanting witnesses, the other Iron Man then uses his repulsors to blow up the chopper, killing everyone on board. Tony still can’t believe what he is seeing as he maintains a tentative hold on reality after everything he has gone through. With witnesses out of the way, Tony Stark’s would-be killer continues to rant and rave. Apparently, he has been put up by a benefactor who had a more detailed plan. However, this killer did his homework and decided to come up with a plan of his own. This is because of Stark’s constant string of good luck. His relentless attack is supposed to keep Stark off his feet until he is dead.

It’s only when the faux Iron Man begins tossing explosive discs around that Tony realizes that this is all real. He gets ahold of himself so he can run upstairs and get his spare suit of Iron Man armor. Although this suit needs an overhaul, it’s better than nothing. The ensuing clash ends up spilling out onto the front lawn again. Another news cameraman has shown up on the scene, and with Tony Stark not wearing the face covering of his helmet. The phony Iron Man is disappointed that the cat is out of the bag, but is satisfied with killing Stark on life television.

The news travels fast, much to the delight of Pepper Potts, who is relieved that Tony is innocent. She brings Happy back to Stark Enterprises with an impostor having gotten ahold of a suit of Tony’s armor, Pepper knows how to stop him. She and Happy head up to the Stark Enterprises offices, despite the fact that the place is a closed crime scene, following the murder of the Board of Directors. She explains that Tony prepared for a day that someone would abuse his technology or use it for evil purposes. She takes him up to a secret room within Tony’s former office. It is here that there is a “war room” that monitors all Starktech. As Pepper begins firing up the computers, the TV feed of Tony’s battle with his impostor suddenly cuts out.

This is because a contingent of soldiers — decked out in refurbished Iron Man armor — have arrived on the scene and shut down the media. This is because they are under strict orders from the Pentagon that they are to standby until the fight is over. They are ordered that no matter who the winner is, neither Iron Man is allowed to live.

Meanwhile, Tony scrambles to get his face plate on, but it is snatched away and blown up by the impostor. The fake Iron Man then begins mocking Tony for revealing his identity to the public, pointing out how it put his loved ones at risk.[3] This reminds Tony of Rumiko and renews his attack. However, his temper gets the better of him and his opponent manages to short out his armor. The fake Iron Man saying that this is revenge for Tony’s interference in Fallujah. Tony hits the ground hard and weakly asks who his attacker is. That’s when the fake Iron Man lifts up the faceplate in his armor, revealing a horribly mangled face underneath.

Recurring Characters

Iron Man, Clarence Ward, Happy Hogan, Pepper Potts

Continuity Notes

This story happens after the Scarlet Witch decimated the Avengers. See Avengers #500-503. Rumiko was fridged last issue.
Next issue we’ll learn that the impostor in the Iron Man armor is Clarence Ward. Here he mentions a benefactor, their identity is also revealed next issue. Ward is working for Temugin, the son of the Mandarin.
Just a reminder that Tony revealed his secret identity to the world in Iron Man (vol. 3) #55.

Topical References

The scene with Happy and Pepper in Times Square depicts a number of real world businesses, particularly electronics companies LG and Sony. This should be considered a topical reference as these are real world businesses.