The Singularity, Part 4

Tony Stark’s life has been turned upside down. His career as Secretary of State is ruined, the Avengers have been decemated, and an impostor has murdered his company’s Board of Directors and his girlfriend Rumiko Fujikawa. Fighting back in a defective suit of armor, Tony is easily overpowered by his opponent. It’s only now that the impostor reveals his secret identity. Removing his face plate, The man’s face is horribly disfigured. Crawling with small robotic grasshoppers, Tony’s attacker introduces himself as Clarence Ward.[1]

However, Tony Stark — even on death’s door — mocks his foe, saying he doesn’t remember who Ward is. While the killer fumes, Tony points his legs at Ward and full throttles his jet boots. The force of the ignition sends Clarence flying across the property. As Ward recovers, he mocks Tony, saying that when he murdered Rumiko, she thought he was Stark. This angers Tony all over again and the two continues brawling.

Observing nearby are a team of soldiers in refurbished Iron Man armor. They have been deployed to secure the battle. Their commanding officer reminds them that their job is to make sure that neither man survives this battle. Even if that survivor is Tony Stark!

At that moment, Pepper Potts and Happy Hogan have entered a secret room inside Stark Enterprises. Pepper explains that the computers here connect with Stark’s satellite network. Stark had the forethought to prepare for a day when someone would abuse his technology. To prevent this, he created a kill switch that once activated, will use the satellites to download a virus that will brick all of the targeted Starktech. Using the computers, Pepper localizes the radius of the transmission to the circumference of Tony’s Virginia mansion. That’s when the scanners detect multiple active suits of Iron Man armor. Horrified, she recalibrates the target to affect them as well.

By this time, Tony has managed to overpower Clarence Ward. He tells Ward that he blames himself for Rumiko’s death. He was too busy trying to change the future that he wasn’t paying attention to the here and now. He decides that that is about to change. Using his repulsors, Iron Man than overloads his opponents armor, fusing it all together. That’s when the satellite beams down the virus, causing everyone’s armor — except the suit worn by Clarence Ward — to fall off. When the leader of the military team asks how Stark pulled this off, Tony tells him he doesn’t work for the government anymore and to get the hell off his property. Clarence Ward, meanwhile, is trapped in his armor and pleads for the soldiers to free him. The commander instead tells Ward that what makes Tony Stark a superhero is the fact that — no matter what — he will not use lethal force on a foe. As a member of the military, he doesn’t have such a code and shoots Ward in the head, killing him.[2]

One Week Later

Tony Stark has travelled out to Kyoto, Japan to pay his last respects to Rumiko Fujikawa. He apologizes for not being there for her when she needed him the most.

A few days later, Tony Stark is holding a press conference in New York City. He is officially stepping down as Secretary of Defense. More, he tells the audience that he is retiring as Iron Man and as an Avenger as well. He will be stepping down these roles to focus on his business. He assures people that there will always be an Iron Man as he already has someone else in the suit.[3]

In reality, Tony is just deceiving the public again, he has gone back to operating as Iron Man in secret. Riding back home with Pepper and Happy, he explains that he has done this so that his loved ones are no longer targets. Still, Tony worries even if Happy and Pepper assure him that things are going to be fine. When Pepper asks why Tony just doesn’t give up being a superhero as well. Stark thinks about it for a moment and explains that he can’t just sit back and do nothing. They soon arrive at the head office of Stark Enterprises. Tony is nervous to go inside, but Hap and Pep assure him that its going to be fine. When Tony walks in the front door, people start greeting him warmly, like he never left.

Meanwhile, at the Palace of the Star Dragon in China, Temugin — the son of the Mandarin — is informed that, as he predicted, Clarence Ward failed his mission to destroy Tony Stark. Temugin is unsurprised, now with an army of mechanical grasshoppers, he is willing to wait for the right moment to strike.[4]

Recurring Characters

Iron Man, Clarence Ward, Happy Hogan, Pepper Potts, Mandarin

Continuity Notes

1. The Avengers were decimated and Tony ruined his career as Secretary of State in Avengers #500-503. Clarence Ward has been making Tony’s life a living hell over the last three issues.

2. As of this writing (April, 2023), Clarence Ward is still considered among the deceased.

3. This somehow back pedals Tony’s public revelation in Iron Man (vol. 3) #55. However, the genie doesn’t remain in the bottle for very long. Tony will reveal his identity to the world yet again (this time for good, at least time of this writing) in Civil War #1. Also, in case you forgot, Tony had become the Secretary of State in Iron Man (vol. 3) #78.

4. Here, Temujin seems to go back on his pledge to not go after Tony Stark again, a promise he made in Iron Man (vol. 3) #69. However, since this story he has gone on to other things, as seen in Super-Villain Team-Up: MODOK’s 11 #3-5 and Agents of Atlas (vol. 2) #1-11.

Avengers Disassembled Reading Order

Iron Man (vol. 3) #84-85, Thor (vol. 2) #80-81, Captain America and the Falcon #5, 6, 7, Captain America (vol. 3) #29, Avengers #500, 501, 502, 503, Iron Man (vol. 3) #86, 87, 88, 89, Captain America (vol. 3) #30, 31, 32, Fantastic Four #517, 518, 519, Spectacular Spider-Man (vol. 2) #15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, Thor (vol. 2) #82, 83, 84, 85, Avengers Finale #1, New Thunderbolts #1