Hardly fitting for the head of Stark Enterprises to be found parading around his office in his unmentionables... billionaire playboy image or not. 
Appearing in "...Like All Secrets, Easily Revealed"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
- Marrs Corporation
- Kearson DeWitt (Overlord)
- Cassandra (Hired agent)
- Mandarin
- Titanium Man/Living Laser
Other Characters:
- The Titanium Man (Mentioned)
- Stephen Wu
- Chen Hsu (Mentioned)
Locations:
Items:
- Iron Man Armor MK VIII
- Titanium Man MK II (Vision or hallucination)
- The Mandarin's Rings
Vehicles:
Synopsis for "...Like All Secrets, Easily Revealed"
The Mandarin summons one of his lackeys Stephen Wu to his chamber. On occasion, the Mandarin has lent out one of his alien rings to Wu so that he may act in his name. But recently, Wu had the ring switched for a false one. The Mandarin uses another one of his rings to paralyze Wu until the toady confesses as to who is responsible for the switch. Wu tells him that Chen Hsu of San Francisco-Chinatown is the one who fashioned the false ring. The Mandarin leaves Wu to die as the paralysis slowly makes its way to his heart.
Back at Stark Enterprises’ Nuke U facility, the Titanium Man (Gremlin), who had been believed killed, looms over Iron Man. Iron Man is not sure if this is actually a ghost or a hologram, but he has no time to worry about such things. The Titanium Man “ghost” is keeping Iron Man from shutting down the number Three nuclear reactor, which is moments away from going critical. Flying harmlessly through the ghost, He realizes that he no longer has time to go through the emergency shutdown procedures. He uses his repulsors to dig the reactor housing out from its moorings and flies the entire reactor out into the middle of the Pacific Trench. He buries the thing as deep as he can and then flies off before it explodes. There is a huge nuclear explosion and Iron Man is rocked backward.
Tony returns to S.E. and decides to get some rest. But a little “rest” turns into a 3-day nap. He awakens in a hotel in San Francisco with a woman he’s never met before. He has no memory of where he has been for the last three days. Frantically he calls Mrs. Arbogast who reads him the riot act. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has been hounding the S.E. offices trying to get a hold of Tony in regards to the recent Nuke U disaster. This is but another aspect of Kearson DeWitt’s plot against Tony.
Tony changes into Iron Man and flies to the remains of Nuke U. The damage costs are in the billions and the place is a sea of wreckage. As he stands surveying the damage, a laser from beneath him cuts a hole around him, forcing him to drop downward. His boot jets are clogged with molten slag from the rock, and he cannot fly. He drops down hard three stories into the nuclear facilities’ lower levels. As he surveys the area, he finds the image of the Titanium Man refracted upon dozens of vertical mirrors. The Titanium Man taunts him some more and vows revenge against him. Iron Man confesses to being responsible for the Titanium Man’s death. But at that moment, the truth behind the farce is revealed. It is not the ghost of the Titanium Man that Tony is facing, but rather it is the Living Laser.
Notes
- This issue is Chapter II of the "Armor Wars II" saga.
- This issue is reprinted in comics and books, see references for more info.[1]
Trivia
- The tagline to this issue is "Back from the Grave!"
- A clue as to the true villain in this story-arc can be found in the first letter of each word in the title "Like All Secrets, Easily Revealed. The answer is the same as the clue provided in the title to issue #258.
See Also
Recommended Reading
Links and References
- Iron Man (Volume 1) series index at Comicbookdb.com
- Iron Man (Volume 1) series index at the Grand Comics Database Project
References
- ↑ This issue is reprinted in the following comics/TPB's:
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