Production
Chief Creative Officer
President
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Never! Gnnn! I won't give up my humanity. I swear to you, Hank-Ultron-whatever you are... I'll never be like you! I'm getting all this artificial junk out of my system! Because I know what really matters! I know what makes me... me.
- -- Iron Man
Appearing in "The Ultron Agenda - Part Three: The View from the Inside"
Featured Characters:
- Iron Man (Tony Stark) (Separated from Ultronbuster Armor)
Supporting Characters:
- Stark Unlimited
- Wasp (Janet Van Dyne)
- Jocasta Pym (Possesses Friday's body)
- Edwin Jarvis
- Wonder Man (Simon Williams) (Separated from Vision)
- Vision (Separated from Wonder Man)
- Machine Man (Aaron Stack)
Antagonists:
Other Characters:
- MNN
- Numerous unnamed New Yorkers
- Avengers (Mentioned)
- Friday Stark (Body possessed by Jocasta's mind)
- Maria Stark Foundation (Named only)
- Baintronics Inc.
- Arno Stark
- Sunset Bain (First appearance)
- Dr. Victor Frankenstein (Mentioned) (Topical reference)
- Frankenstein's Monster (Mentioned) (Topical reference)
- Maria Stark (Mentioned)
- Howard Stark (Mentioned)
- "Maria Stark" (First full appearance)
- "Howard Stark" (First full appearance)
- God (Yahweh) (Invoked)
Races and Species:
- Humans
- Cyborgs
- Zombies (Mentioned)
- Robots
- Cats
- Synthezoids
- Shrews (Mentioned)
- Flies (Mentioned)
- Dogs (Mentioned)
Locations:
Items:
- War Machine Armor Model 8
- Wasp's Suit and Bio-Synthetic Wings
- Pym Particles (Behind the scenes)
- Iron Man Armor Model 65 (Ultronbuster Armor) (Separated from Tony Stark)
- Iron Man Armor Model 58 (Nano Armor)
- Frankenstein (Mentioned) (Topical reference)
- Iron Man Armor Model 4
Synopsis for "The Ultron Agenda - Part Three: The View from the Inside"
Brief Summary
War Machine and the Wasp continue fighting Ultron Pym's brute cyborgs in the streets of Manhattan. They're joined by Wonder Man and Vision, who have been recently split apart by Dr. Shapiro's separation process. They tell the Wasp to get to the Stark Unlimited HQ to help Tony, who is using the Nano-Iron Man Armor on his own body to ionically tag all the parts that are machine inside his body. The Wasp joins the Nano-Iron Man but they are attacked by a miniature remotely-controlled Ultron. Meanwhile, the main Ultron manages to defeat War Machine, Vision and Wonder Man.
During the fight inside his body, Tony discovers even his organic body is artificial, finding Maria Stark Foundation manufacturing labels on his red blood cells. In the meantime, at the Baintronics Headquarters, Arno Stark has used the same process that brought Tony back to life to create duplicates of Howard and Maria Stark. After Tony finishes the ionic tagging, Shapiro begins the separation process, expelling everything from Tony's body that isn't himself including the Ultron drone. Out of spite, Ultron tries to fly into Tony's head like bullet to kill him, but is stopped by Jocasta, who had her consciousness uploaded into Friday's body to save her life. Still reeling from the separation process, Tony suits up on the Classic Armor to take down Ultron since Stark Unlimited lacks a functional A.I. assistant to help pilot a more modern suit.
Detailed Summary
In the ravaged streets of Manhattan, an MNN reporter is covering the rampage of Ultron Pym's cyborgs as they take innocent bystanders and force them into Ultimate Makeover Spa. A cyborg grabs the reporter from behind, but he is gunned down by War Machine, who orders her to get away. She runs away with her cameraman while the Wasp covers them. Standing in the middle of the war zone, Ultron contemplates the chaos in delight.
At the Stark Unlimited HQ, Tony Stark lies on a lab table, still painfully merged to his Ultronbuster Armor. He is surrounded by Jocasta, Andy Bhang, Jarvis, who is now cured, Bethany Cabe, and Dr. Shapiro. Jocasta insists they fix him before it's too late, but Shapiro explains his condition is worse than that of Jarvis or Wonder Man and Vision, who walk into the room having been previously split. Jocasta continues pressing her allies, but collapses. Andy notices her systems are failing and decides to see to her. Vision and Simon decide to join the fight against Ultron, and Shapiro instructs them to send for the Wasp. Tony tries to get up and continue fighting, but Bethany and Jarvis insists he lays down. Holding the Nano-Iron Man Armor on his paw, Shapiro tells Tony to take it into his system.
Inside the Avengers Mansion, Aaron Stacks has crawled his way to the lobby, and is not surprised to find he has been left behind. He notices several dead cyborgs, maimed and dismembered, and criticizes whoever in his side caused the damage. Back on the streets, War Machine continues firing at the cyborgs indiscriminately. The Wasp notices his behavior, and he explains he is trying to do his best despite being back in the armor giving him a panic attack. However, he assures her he is only shooting to disable hoping Ultron's victims can be saved with the newfound cure. Ultron grabs War Machine from behind and condemns him, but Rhodey breaks free and fires at him. His gunfire has no effect on him, and Ultron declares he's far stronger than any of his offspring. Vision retorts Ultron while barging him from behind, and is followed by Wonder Man punching the villain. As he holds Ultron down with Wonder Man and War Machine, Vision tells Wasp to aid Stark. Ultron cries out against splitting Tony, calling him his finest creation, and fires a miniature projectile from the palm of his hand on her direction. Vision notices it, but states it was to small and fast to properly read it.
Somewhere else, Jocasta suddenly comes back from a black void to find Andy Bhang standing in front of her while her vision boots up. Andy explains Jocasta's body was failing, but he had managed to download her consciousness into a spare robot body. Initially thinking that Tony had a backup body for herself, Jocasta looks down her body to find she's inhabiting Friday's body. Jocasta reacts indignant, comparing it to putting Tony's mind in a human corpse, but Andy clears up that he only did it since it was the only way to save her life. Looking at her original body, Jocasta wonders if she brought this to herself for wishing to be more human.
Inside his own body, Tony is piloting the Nano-Iron Man Armor, and asks Dr. Shapiro how to restore the human parts that appear to be gone from his body. Shapiro clarifies that they are not gone, but merged at a molecular level, and tells Stark to use ionic energy to tag everything that needs to be separated from the rest of the body. Trying to distract himself from the situation, Tony asks how is the fight against Ultron going. He's surprised to find Janet back on the lab, getting ready to join the exploration into Tony's system. Tony warns her not to come just as a needle perforates into his body, but it turns out to simply deliver Janet herself. When Tony's allies are settling down, an alarm goes off. Bethany states it's a security breach, but nothing appears in the room. Ultron's projectile suddenly penetrates into Stark's body, revealing itself to the Nano-Iron Man and the Wasp as a miniature remote-piloted Ultron. Tony continues the ionic tagging while Janet takes on the miniature Ultron. Shapiro tells Tony he has five percent of his body left to tag, which is still a lot, and suggests Tony to use his own body to make antibodies to fight the tiny Ultron. However, Tony can't find the way to do so.
Ultron overpowers the Wasp, but she expresses confidence that she managed to distract Ultron, allowing the heroes fighting his main body to defeat him. Ultron responds that he is good at multitasking, as his main body stands on top of Wonder Man with Vision and War Machine unconscious on the ground. The Nano-Iron Man strikes Ultron, and Tony tries to reason with his Hank Pym side, telling him that the fusion is killing him. Ultron insists that is only because he's fighting the process. Tony refuses to give up his humanity, and declares that he will never be like Ultron. Stark tells him that he will get the artificial parts out of his body because he knows what really matters and what makes him himself. Tony quietens when he notices that a red blood cell floating above him sports the Maria Stark Foundation logo and a barcode.
In Arno Stark's laboratory at the Baintronics Headquarters, two mechanical pods with the same labels engraved in their surface lie in the room. Arno and Sunset Bain stand in front of them in anticipation as they open to reveal duplicates of Howard and Maria Stark coming out of them. Despite Howard claiming that he is the original in every way that matters, Sunset points out that they are legally dead, thus unable to claim their fortune. Arno tells her that since they have his parents' thoughts and memories, they know their secrets. He assures Sunset that as for their fortune, they are just as valid a life-form as Tony currently is since he used the same process that brought his brother back to life. As Arno embraces his parents, Sunset says to herself that they just as valid, or rather, just as invalid.
Back inside Tony's body, Tony stands aghast. He snaps out of the shock abruptly, tags Janet and orders Shapiro to start the separation process despite Shapiro warning there is still three percent left. Outside, Tony's body begins to glow red and the robotic parts blue. Accompanied by a flash of light, the armor starts to fall off the agonizing Tony. Wasp, Ultron and the Nano Armor are also expelled. Vengeful, Ultron propels his miniature body towards Tony's head with the speed of a bullet. He's intercepted by Jocasta's hand. She grabs Ultron with precision, and condemns him before destroying his body.
Tony stands crouched, reeling from the separation, with the remains of his armor surrounding him. Shapiro and Andy try to tell him to rest, but he reminds them that Ultron is still out there and express that he needs armor. Janet helps him to the armory with his allies following them. Andy mentions that they lack a functional A.I. assistant to help with any of the suits. Tony him and takes out the Classic Armor, replying that he is all the A.I. the armor needs, calling himself an echo of Tony Stark, and only the idea of him. Now fully suited up, Tony declares that whereas Ultron thinks he is Hank Pym, he knows what he is, and in the fight that makes him invincible.
Solicit Synopsis
“THE ULTRON AGENDA” continues! Chapter 3: Inner Conflict
While Rhodey and friends fight the robot war topside...
...a literal war rages on INSIDE Tony Stark! It’s the Wasp and a remote piloted Nano Iron Man versus a shrunken Ultron/Pym inside Tony’s physical body!
Notes
- Jim Rhodes finished last issue suiting up in the War Machine Armor Model 9; however, in this issue he appears sporting the slimmer War Machine Armor Model 8.
- The Vision calls Wonder Man his "brother." In his creation, the Vision's neural processors were endowed with Wonder Man's brain patterns, the reason they regard themselves as "brothers."
- Jocasta has her consciousness uploaded in the empty body of Friday, whose programming had been erased by Motherboard in Tony Stark: Iron Man #7.
- Tony Stark returns to the Iron Man Armor Model 4 due to its analogue and unsophisticated nature. Similar instances have ocurred in Iron Man Vol 3 #31, Invincible Iron Man #24, Invincible Iron Man Vol 2 #14, and Invincible Iron Man #527.
- It is be revealed in Iron Man 2020 Vol 2 #4 that between the previous issue and this one, Arno Stark secretly replaced Sunset Bain with a duplicate.
Trivia
- Arno Stark paraphrases and explicitly mentions the 1931 horror film Frankenstein when the duplicates of Howard and Maria Stark emerge from their creation cradles.
- The composition of the final four panels, which consists of a column of three panels of Tony suiting up to the left of a borderless panel of Tony in armor, appears to be a homage to the cover of Tales of Suspense #39.
See Also
- Write your own review of this comic!
- Discuss Tony Stark: Iron Man Vol 1 18 on the forums
- 28 Image(s) from Tony Stark: Iron Man Vol 1 18
Footnotes
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