I am alive. I am angry. I am no longer apologizing for anything. Not my machines. Not my decisions. Not my deeds. I am going to win this fight. I am the one who wins. Korvac thinks he is God. But I am Iron Man. 
Appearing in "Dreams of Deicide"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
- Tony Stark's Team of Allies
- Hellcat (Patsy Walker)
- Scarlet Spider (Ben Reilly) (Revealed to be alive)
- Misty Knight (Revealed to be alive)
- Halcyon (Revealed to be alive)
- Frog-Man (Eugene Patilio) (Revealed to be alive)
- Gargoyle (Isaac Christians) (Revealed to be alive)
- War Machine (Jim Rhodes) (Joins)
Antagonists:
- Unicorn (Milos Masaryk)
- Blizzard (Donnie Gill)
- Controller (Basil Sandhurst)
- Michael Korvac
- Guardsman
Other Characters:
- Galactus (Galan) (Mentioned)
- God (Yahweh) (Referenced)
- Avengers (Mentioned)
- Captain America (Steve Rogers) (Mentioned)
Races and Species:
Locations:
- Earth
- United States of America
- New York
- New York City
- Manhattan
- Halcyon's Garage
- Bronx
- Port Morris
- Overstock Warehouse (Ruins)
- Port Morris
- Manhattan
- New York City
- New York
- Hell (Illusion or holographic simulation)
- United States of America
Items:
- Iron Man Armor Model 70
- Cat Suit
- Scarlet Spider's Suit, Utility Belt, and Web-Shooters
- Leap-Frog's Suit
- Control Disks
- War Machine Armor Model 8
Vehicles:
- Taa II (Mentioned)
Synopsis for "Dreams of Deicide"
Brief Synopsis[]
Hellcat manages to overcome her psychological injuries at Korvac's hands to help Iron Man, whose neck has been broken by Korvac, get to Halcyon's garage. Halcyon and the rest of Stark's allies survived the explosion at Korvac's trap due to Gargoyle using his bio-mystical energies to create an energy shield, though it leaves him heavily injured. As Korvac prepares to leave to Taa II on his spaceship with his acolytes, Guardsman convenes with him. When Jim Rhodes manages to escape from Korvac's grasp, Guardsman gives chase.
At Halcyon's garage, Tony is injected with a mix of drugs to stay alive while Halcyon tinkers with his armor, repairing it and fastening parts of it to stabilize Tony's fracture. In his manic state, Iron Man decides to become unapologetic as he sets out to stop Korvac. Korvac still attempts to manipulate Hellcat to join him, making her doubt if he is wrong. Tony assures her that Korvac isn't right, and even tells her he thinks he can create a better universe than Korvac, alarming her. Clad in his War Machine Armor, Rhodey arrives at Halcyon's garage and attempts to get Tony and his allies to stand down while other heroes take care of Korvac. They are interrupted by Guardsman, but Tony defeats him ruthless and effortlessly. Rhodey concedes, and agrees to help Tony go after Korvac.
Detailed Synopsis[]
A page, shattered like glass, shows Iron Man and Hellcat in each of their current predicaments. Tony is lying on the floor with his neck broken, and Patsy is sitting in fetal position. Some of the shards form broken images of each of their faces in pain. In their monologue, both are dwelling on their pain. Tony asserts that he has to fix the situation, while Patsy questions if she can. Tony decides that he is done being polite, and both are interrupted when they think of each other. Tony tries to stand up as Patsy manages to dash into the laundromat. She helps Iron Man get back up, but she swats her away as he tries to walk away, leaning on the washing machines. Patsy pulls up a cart and storms out of the building with Tony lying on it, and rushes in front of a taxi to stop it. One of the cart's wheels rolls off the sidewalk, rocking the cart and causing Tony to scream in pain. Hellcat places Tony on the backseat and orders the driver to go. Tony insists not to go to a hospital, explaining that his armor is holding his broken neck together, and that he needs a technician like Halcyon.
In the ground of the destroyed Overstock Warehouse, Iron Man's allies, Halcyon, the Scarlet Spider, Misty Knight, and Frog-Man regain consciousness as they find themselves surrounded by an energy dome. Misty points out to the Scarlet Spider that he has a spider-sense, and he explains he had assumed it was going off because they were about to run into Korvac's acolytes. The two turn to find Gargoyle projecting the energy dome from behind, and is badly hurt. He dissipates the energy field and collapses. Frog-Man explains that Gargoyle used bio-mystical energies to create the shield, which he draws from his own life force. As he cradles Gargoyle, the Scarlet Spider says that they need to find help before he dies.
In a different warehouse, the engines of Korvac's spaceship are activated. Unicorn buckles his seat belt, Blizzard prepares the controls, the Controller is taking weapons from an armory, and their hostage, Jim Rhodes remains cuffed to a pipe with several Control Disks on his forehead. Korvac, who has shaved his hair and covered the damaged half of his face with a partial mask, asks Blizzard for their time to launch, and he responds with over four minutes. The Controller informs Korvac he finished checking the weapons inventory. Korvac steps down the ship, stating that they will need it all once they reach Taa II. As he prepares to kill Rhodey, Korvac is approached by Guardsman. Korvac welcomes him and invites him into the ship. Rhodey struggles with the pipe until he manages to break it with his foot, and begins to take off the Control Disks on his head. Korvac exclaims that he won't tolerate that, and both he and Guardsman fire energy blasts at Rhodes as he is running away. They tear a hole in the wall in front of Rhodey, allowing him to escape. Korvac warns Guardsman that he can't have Rhodes alerting anybody else, and Guardsman convinces his master to let him go after Rhodes. Korvac commends Guardsman's faith and tells him not to fail as he charges forward.
Iron Man wakes up asking himself a question; "The drink... or the dream?" and ponders that it's something he once asked and still asks himself. He is lying and sees Misty Knight and Halcyon through his armor's eye slits, and thinks about how Misty is about to inject him with a preparation of steroids and hydromorphone. Tony thinks about being an addict and knowing what these drugs could do to him, but acknowledges he will die without them due to his injuries. Misty injects Tony with a needle through an exposed thigh while Halcyon has the chest of Tony's armor connected to several cables. Tony begins to lose consciousness as he asks himself the previous question, and reformulates it as "The drink... for the dream?" As Halcyon is using a welding torch on the side of the neck of Tony's armor, Stark thinks about how he is currently fusing together the rings of suit's cervical column to stabilize the spinal injury and prevent him from suffocating. Halcyon moves to the front of the neck with a different tool, and Tony thinks to himself that Halcyon is torquing the interior chassis structure of the neck to 113 foot-pounds, which will further stabilize the fracture, reducing Tony's head of range to 50 degrees of rotation. As he is being helped to sit upright by Misty and Halcyon, Tony thinks how the pain from the cumulative trauma would send him into show without the medicines. Tony stands up, and contemplates how he can't take off his armor until he can go to surgery, and that even removing his helmet would prove fatal. Iron Man hunches forward and clutches his fists as he thinks to himself that he is alive and angry. In his inner monologue, Stark declares that he is no longer apologizing for anything, and asserts that he is going to win this fight. He states that Korvac thinks he is a god, but he is Iron Man.
Stark turns to the Scarlet Spider and Frog-Man as they are tending to Gargoyle, who is laying on a couch. The Scarlet Spider tells Tony that Gargoyle is still regenerating, but is still in bad shape. Tony asks for an estimated time for recovery, but the Scarlet Spider sardonically tells him that he doesn't know. Iron Man informs them that they are leaving the planet in two hours, and if Gargoyle isn't viable, he is a waste of time and they will leave him. Tony walks away, leaving Frog-Man and the Scarlet Spider to talk behind his back.
Hellcat finds herself in Hell, and asks not to go back. Telepathically, Korvac tells Patsy that she doesn't have to. He tells her that he forgives her, and asks her to follow him. Hellcat asks Korvac to where, and asks him what does his paradise look like. The scenery turns to a meadow in some kind of alien planet. Korvac tells her that it's peace and harmony everywhere. Patsy describes that the breeze is sweet and warm, and Korvac asks her what did she think his universe would look like. Iron Man steps into the office where Hellcat is sitting to ask her how does she feel. Patsy tells him that she's medicated with olanzapine, and that she can generally know where she is, but Korvac is still in her mind. Patsy questions if Korvac could be right, but he reaches to her shoulder and assures her that Korvac can't create the perfect universe, declaring that he could create a better universe than Korvac, which alarms Hellcat.
Outside the office, Misty Knight complains to the rest of Tony's allies that they are headed on a suicide mission. The Scarlet Spider points out that if Iron Man and Hellcat go alone, they will get themselves killed. Frog-Man comments that if they all go, there is a better chance at stopping Korvac. The Scarlet Spider asks why don't they call the Avengers, but Misty call tells her that by the time they are ready, they will be light-years away. Frog-Man turns to Halcyon and translates for him when he asks if don't super heroes sometimes work with people from outer space. The Scarlet Spider acknowledges that someone off-world could intercept them, and Misty suggests getting out a covert signal once they leave Earth. Rhodey interjects, telling them that nobody is leaving Earth. He steps in, clad in his War Machine Armor, telling Tony's team that he is going to call out for help against Korvac instead. Iron Man walks into the room and insists that it is his fight, but War Machine tells him that he is the last person who should be taking on Korvac. The Scarlet Spider interjects to mention Tony's neck injury. Rhodey informs Tony that he has already called in backup, but Stark tells him that since energy weapons are useless against Korvac, he will try brute force. Rhodey insists that Tony needs to back off, but Tony warns him not to get in his way. Guardsman suddenly crashes through the skylight, landing in front of Tony and his allies. He threatens Rhodey, but also realizes the rest of Tony's allies are still alive. Iron Man walks towards Guardsman as Rhodey tries to stop him. Guardsman prepares to fight, and Iron Man abrupt and silently lands him a punch, sending him flying through a line of cars into a wall, and knocking him out. Tony turns to War Machine to tell him that he will be his pilot. Rhodey points out that he told Tony that others are gonna handle it, but Tony tells him that he knows Rhodey won't stop him, so he is either with him or not. Rhodey concedes, supposing that he can at least stop Tony from getting himself killed. Tony tells Rhodey to bring him the most sophisticated spacecraft he owns since they are going to make up for lost time.
Solicit Synopsis
BOOKS OF KORVAC: BOOK TWO BEGINS!
After receiving a near-fatal injury from Korvac, Iron Man lands in emergency triage with his life on the line. Halcyon and Misty Knight work quickly to lock Tony in his armor and stanch his injuries…but now he can't take it off or else he'll die. With pieces of metal literally holding his body together, Tony regroups with his allies, all while trying not to give into his rage over being bested by Korvac. With Hellcat on the psychological ropes and his other hero compatriots recuperating from their own near-death experiences, can Tony muster what he needs in order to chase Korvac out into space and stop the mad demigod's quest for ultimate power? Perhaps War Machine is just the friend Tony could use in this moment…but James Rhodes might only be there to bench a manic and battered Tony from action so that he doesn't get killed. Still, as always, Tony has never been good at taking no for an answer…Notes
- Most of the drawings of War Machine in this issue appear to heavily rely on reference from different images of the War Machine Armor MK II from the Marvel Cinematic Universe, either from screenshots of its appearance in Iron Man 3 or promotional photos of action figures of it, as it can be seen here.