Synopsis
After Tony Stark received a message from Maya Hansen – that she was dead, and that Extremis was loose – he used his contacts to get into the exclusive A.I.M. auction. Tony attempted to hack the system locally, but his virus upload was detected. Confronted by security check-up, he used liquid metal in a suitcase to quickly form a new suit. The three Extremis-powered A.I.M. agents attacked, however, their enhancements proved nothing to Stark's inventiveness, as they were quickly subdued by Iron Man. Threatened, the A.I.M. leader revealed he had sold four Extremis kits already, which was consistent with Iron Man's findings. With this information, Tony promised to put Maya's demons back in the bottle.[1]
The first kit was in the hands of the Circle, a group of mercenaries in charge of the protection of Symkaria. As soon as they were informed Stark was looking for Extremis, they contacted him to propose a wager: Iron Man had to face the Circle's Extremis-enhanced armored soldiers, and if he won, he could take the kit with him. During his battle against the Circle's knights, Tony tested his new suit's abilities and planned how to bypass the shield that was protecting the Extremis kit the Circle had taken to the arena. When facing Lancelot, Tony managed to use an UV laser to break through the shield and destroy the Extremis, leaving the Circle with no further availability to use the virus.[2]
The second kit is found in Colombia, in the house of a drug-dealer. Tony debuted a new stealth suit, with which he infiltrated the drug-dealer's mansion. After discovering the Extremis was being used on a young girl, Tony was detected and intercepted by the drug-dealer's hired guns, Living Laser, Vibro, and Firebrand. Tony released a cloud of sleeping gas in order to defeat his enemies, and retook investigating about the girl on whom the Extremis was being used. The drug-dealer explained Tony he was trying to use the Extremis to save his daughter from cancer. Iron Man willingly helped him reconfigure Extremis in order to successfully ensure her survival.[3]
The third kit was located in Paris, and according to Stark's readings, it was used on thirteen subjects. Expecting an army, Iron Man departed to Paris armed with a Heavy Duty Armor. Unexpectedly, he found himself in ancient catacombs, and he was attacked by an army of mindless women. Stark discovered they responded to Zodiacal symbols, and while he fought them off, he used the armor's laser to engrave around himself a combination of symbols that made the Extremis subjects stop. Considering it a mercy killing, Stark beheaded the Extremis subjects. But realizing he had only killed twelve, Tony proceeded to look for the final subject, and when he found it he discovered she didn't respond to her programming unlike the rest, and had been immobile for a long time. Upon concluding she was harmless, Tony decided to imprison her in The Raft instead of killing her.[4]
The final kit was found in Earth's orbit. Unlike the previous kits, this one was in the possession of an old friend of Tony, Eli. He had been using the Extremis to allow himself and his crew survive the harness of space and install a satellite above the planet, and planned to use the Extremis to help humanity evolve. Tony knew Eli's intentions were noble, but he also took into consideration the fact that the Extremis was too dangerous to be in the hands of anyone, and, embittered, destroyed the kit. Upon returning to his house, Stark realized that while he had experienced a lot, he hadn't been pushing himself nearly enough. Tony equipped himself with a new space armor and left Earth.[5]Issues
Notes
- First storyline of Iron Man written by Kieron Gillen. The events of this storyline leads to The Godkiller storyline. Story takes place before Tony joined Guardians of the Galaxy.