—Guardsman (Michael O'Brien)At last, ye face me, ye bloody murderer!
Appearing in "Showdown with the Guardsman!"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
Other Characters:
- Frank
- Senator Andrew Jackson Hawk
- Jon
- Nick Fury (Mentioned)
- Simon Gilbert (Mentioned)
- Thor (Only in flashback)
- Captain America (Only in flashback)
- Black Panther (Only in flashback)
- Kevin O'Brien (Only in flashback)
- Marianne Rodgers (Only in flashback)
Locations:
Items:
- Iron Man Armor MK V
- Guardsman Armor
- Captain America's Shield (Main story and flashback)
- Captain America's Uniform (Main story and flashback)
Vehicles:
- Jasper Sitwell's SHIELD hovercraft
Synopsis for "Showdown with the Guardsman!"
Iron Man and Jasper Sitwell return to Stark International to find it on fire. A security guard tells them it was the Guardsman. Iron Man goes on the hunt and is attacked by Guardsman. Iron Man tries to fight him off, but he suffers another heart attack and collapses. In Washington DC. Senator Hawk has grown tired of waiting for Stark to arrive, and he and his assistant decide to have a subpoena issued. Iron Man crawls into his private lab and recharges, relieving the pressure on his heart. Guardsman returns to Krissy, who asks him why he's doing this. O'Brien tells a skewed version of his brother's story, claiming Stark corrupted his brother's mind and killed him, but becomes enraged when she tries to make sense of his story and storms off. In his absence, Krissy frees herself from her bonds. Recharged, Stark repairs his damaged armor and approaches the Guardsman. As they fight Iron Man tells O'Brien what really happened with his brother, making him realize the armor is driving him insane. Guardsman collapses and Iron Man vows to help O'Brien, stating that he's not evil, just sick.
Notes
- Watanabe is uncredited.
- This issue contains a letters page, "Sock It To Shell-Head". Letters are published from Gregg Stanley, Jr., Bob Johnson, Mary Anne Novoyny, and C.S. Butterfield.