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Quote1 Ah, Rhodey. Sure, I'm swell. Quote2
Iron Man

Appearing in "Stark Wars, Chapter VI: The Day the Hero Died"

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  • Stark's Porsche

Synopsis for "Stark Wars, Chapter VI: The Day the Hero Died"

Jack Taggert, in the experimental Firepower suit, is using a simulator which allows him to practice fighting Iron Man in a virtual environment. He is being observed by Edwin Cord, Senator Boynton, and General Meade. He is also being coached by a Dr. Abrams, an apparent employee of the Senator, but Cord convinces him to stop, saying, “My man has worked the Firepower Simulator dozens of times these past weeks! He’s quite capable of concluding this test without external interference!”

Meanwhile, Taggert handily finishes off Iron Man, but General Meade is critical: Taggert used a missile that would have destroyed half of downtown Detroit. He goes on to stress that he wants to avoid fatalities, and then reveals that, “The government financed you development of the Firepower weapons system ostensibly for use by our soldiers in the next war. But in reality, we wanted a ready defense against the country’s so-called “super heroes,” should they ever get out of line!”

He suggests that Iron Man’s destruction take place in a sparsely populated area. Meanwhile, at the California headquarters of Stark Enterprises, Tony Stark is feeling melancholy after the recent death of Titanium Man, even though he had “succeeded in destroying the armors that were based on my technology and used for evil purposes.” Jim Rhodes does his best to buck him up, and the duo head off to Accutech Research and Development, a subsidiary of Stark Enterprises, in a company helicopter. There they are greeted by Abraham Zimmer, who tells them that he has perfected “the tapeworm” – a computer virus which will replicate itself in virtually every database in the world, erasing all data concerning the stolen Stark technology that was being used by terrorists.

In Las Angeles, at Transcorp, a front organization for Justin Hammer (the man who had bought and sold Tony Stark’s secrets), all of the stolen information is erased.

Elsewhere, Firepower is undergoing a practical test in which he must defend himself against tanks and jet airplanes. He destroys them all easily, even faster than the 12 second computer estimate. The men who were watching him earlier are congratulatory, but Boynkin worries about Taggert’s zeal, and wonders if he’s the right man for the job. Cord reassures him.

At Tony Stark’s Pacific Coast estate, he puts on his Iron Man suit and prepares for a confrontation, because he is afraid that “one armored bad-guy could still be on the loose.”

He heads into space, and enters an orbiting satellite that he had once intended to be a global research station before it was contaminated with an anaerobic plague by Advanced Idea Mechanics. He uses the stations advanced monitoring capabilities to find that someone is indeed using his stolen armor circuitry.

He heads back to earth, where Boynton and some men from the Defense Department convince him to help destroy Iron Man, inadvertently giving away an ambush that they have set for Iron Man using Firepower. Even though he knows that he is heading into a trap, Iron Man heads for the desert, where Firepower is.

The next day, Tony approaches the ambush site in a Stark Enterprises helicopter. When it gets close, he exits in his Iron Man suit. After a lengthy fight with Firepower, Iron Man is defeated. He is almost killed, but Rhodey picks him up in the helicopter just in the nick of time. The helicopter is surrounded, and we next see the Iron Man suit flying away. It is hit by one of firepower’s missiles, and blown to bits. A lone Private, Alvin Barnes, watches as the pieces of his suit fall to the ground. The story closes showing Iron Man's blood smeared, shattered helmet.

Solicit Synopsis

The United States government has decided that it wants Iron Man dead— and they've sent the one-man nuclear attack Firepower to do the job! By the time the smoke clears, either Iron Man or Firepower will be dead — and it's not the one you expect!

Notes

  • This issue contains a letters page "Printed Circuits". It includes Mark's Remarks as well as letters from Chareles Novinskie and Jim Hintzen.

See Also

Recommended Reading

Links and References

Armor Wars I
Part I: Iron Man #225 Part II: Iron Man #226 Part III: Iron Man #227 Part IV: Iron Man #228
Part V: Iron Man #229 Part VI: Iron Man #230 Part VII: Iron Man #231 Part VIII: Iron Man #232

References

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