Appearing in "The Autobiography of Tony Stark: Chapter Two"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
- Unidentified saboteur
- Living Laser (Arthur Parks) (Main story and flashback)
Other Characters:
- Mandarin (Mentioned)
- B.O.S.S. (Voice only)
- Stark Unlimited
- Elliot Buoncristiano (Only on screen as a static image or video record)
- Jim Rhodes (Mentioned in narration)
- Avengers (Statue)
- Captain America (Steve Rogers) (Statue)
- Thor (Statue)
- Hulk (Bruce Banner) (Statue)
- Giant-Man (Hank Pym) (Statue)
- Wasp (Janet Van Dyne) (Statue)
- Unidentified Tony Stark impostor (First appearance) (Only in flashback)
- Alcoholics Anonymous (Main story and recap)
- Jan (Main story and recap)
- Unnamed members (Main story and recap)
- Obadiah Stane (Mentioned)
- Justin Hammer (Mentioned)
- Zhong Wei (First appearance) (Corpse, skeleton or other remains)
Races and Species:
- Humans (Main story and flashback)
Locations:
- New York
- New York City
- Manhattan
- Hell's Kitchen
- Greenwich Village
- East River
- Central Park
- Wall Street (Mentioned)
- Midtown Manhattan (Only on screen as a static image or video record)
- Lower East Side (Only on screen as a static image or video record)
- Tony Stark's Brownstone (Only on screen as a static image or video record) (Ruins)
- Manhattan
- New York City
- New Jersey
Items:
- Ironheart Armor Model 3
- TikTok (Mentioned) (Topical Reference)
- Iron Man Armor Model 70
- Superhuman Registration Act (Mentioned)
- Captain America's Shield (Statue)
- Iron Man Armor Model 2 (Statue)
- Mjolnir (Statue)
- Mandarin's Rings
- Postmates (Mentioned) (Topical Reference)
- Life-Model Decoy (Mentioned)
Synopsis for "The Autobiography of Tony Stark: Chapter Two"
As Tony Stark lies on the street in a stupor, surrounded by bystanders, Ironheart appears. Having been alerted by the social media traction of Tony's predicament, she has arrived to pick him up. At Tony's request, Riri brings him to his new hideout at Bronson's Cabs. He puts on his armor's chest plate to regulate his heart's arrhythmia, and B.O.S.S. deploys counter-measures against intoxication. As they briefly argue about Riri's ownership of the Mandarin's rings, Stark lies on a hammock to catch some rest. Meanwhile, the unidentified saboteur behind Tony's misfortune rejoices as he sits at a desk, watching several news outlets on numerous screens reporting on Tony's blemished reputation, with the last incident having been perceived by the public as Tony falling off the wagon. In one of them, Stark Unlimited CEO Andy Bhang is holding a press conference to remind shareholders that Tony is no longer involved with the company.
The conference is interrupted when the Living Laser breaks out of the Stark Unlimited HQ, calling out for Tony Stark. Tony has been watching the conference from his hideout, and goes after the villain alongside Ironheart. They respond to emergency calls coming from the old Avengers Mansion, and find the Living Laser defacing Iron Man's statue at the Avengers monument in the mansion's grounds. Parks is aggravated and accuses Tony of experimenting on him as they fight, leading Stark to think that the Laser is being caught up in the machinations of his saboteur. The Living Laser depletes the energy of Iron Man's armor and slices open his faceplate. Ironheart comes to Iron Man's help, and Parks grazes her arms with his lasers. In response, Riri takes off her gloves, revealing that she has been wearing the Mandarin's rings, unsettling Stark. She uses the rings to first command the Living Laser to cease hostilities, and then to make him revisit his memories, allowing herself and Tony to observe them as well. A week prior, Parks was staying at a penthouse he broke into. Somebody that appeared to be Tony Stark knocked at the door, tazed Parks, and had goons take him to a secret laboratory at Stark Unlimited. Riri corroborates that the Living Laser's memories weren't tampered with, leading Tony to ponder about this impostor. Riri uses the rings to fix the damage to Tony's statue. As soon as she shifts her attention to the Living Laser, Parks zaps them both and flees, demanding that Tony let him partake in taking down his assailant, much to Stark's disbelief.
Back at his hideout, Tony replaces his armor's faceplate. He asks Riri to keep a distance from him, at least publicly, until they know who is pulling the strings. Stark suspects that he was poisoned by the coffee he drank at the Alcoholics Anonymous he attended the previous night, and that the attempts on him are due to the Stark Unlimited stock. Nevertheless, he looks forward to meeting his new nemesis. In his narration, Tony explains that he has a personal friend named Zhong Wei with enough stock in his company to prevent a takeover, and that he doesn't have anything to worry about as long as he is safe. At his house, Wei is slumped at his office chair, dead with a hole in his chest.
Solicit Synopsis
IRON MAN VS. IRONHEART!
The assassination attempts on Tony's life continue as a familiar foe returns to take him down. It'll be up to Iron Man and Ironheart to stop him…but what secret is Riri Williams harboring from Tony? And will this change their relationship forever?Notes
- Like most Marvel comic books released on January 2023, this comic opens with a tribute to Carlos Pacheco, a Marvel Comics artist who died on November 9 at 59 years of age. The tribute includes eulogies by Tom Brevoort and Kurt Busiek.
- Although the identity of Tony's saboteur is treated as an mystery in this issue, he had been announced to be Feilong in advance before the debut of the series.[1]
- When Ironheart first mentions the Mandarin's rings in this issue, an editor's note cites Iron Man (Vol. 6) #24 to refer to her recent acquisition of them.
- The statue of the Avengers that the Living Laser defaces is the one featuring the founding members of the team. However, this version of the statue had been retired in Avengers #690 in favor of a new one.
Trivia
- The stealth version of the Iron Man Armor Model 70 that Tony wore in Iron Man (Vol. 6) #22–24 makes a cameo at Bronson's Cabs.
- As Iron Man and Ironheart are shown flying toward Manhattan, they pass by the Manhattan Bridge, which crosses the East River. However, the Manhattan Bridge connects Manhattan with Brooklyn, and Tony's hideout at Bronson's Cabs is located in Jersey City, which means that he and Riri would have to cross the Hudson River instead, entering Manhattan through the West, not the East.
- When Tony is checking up with B.O.S.S. to see what does his depowered armor have to offer, he facetiously wonders if it has the a food delivery app Postmates, so he can order takeout to entice negotations with the Living Laser.
See Also
Links and References
References
- ↑ Damor, Meagan (4 November 2022) Tony Stark Learns the True Meaning of Rock Bottom in 'Invincible Iron Man' #1 Trailer Marvel.com. Retrieved on 25 January 2023.