Synopsis
International Iron Man #1 synopsis by
Rob Johnson
Rating:
This issue is 1 long flashback top and tailed by a bit of current story.
In Sofia, Bulgaria Iron Man is down and surrounded by 5 armoured foes.
Strangely Tony Stark chooses this time to think back 20 years to when he was a university student at Cambridge UK. He and a (fellow American because he calls it soccer) pal are trapped in a crowd who are celebrating a football win. Then he spots a girl he's been looking for. He goes over and introduces himself as Tony. She doesn't respond with her own name.
Then a spilt drink turns part of the celebration into a brawl. Tony gets hit in the face, and the girl decks his assailant with her beer bottle. She drags Tony away as her burly bodyguards are distracted.
Tony tries for her name again, but she says he's been ogling her for a week so he must have asked someone about her. He says none of his friends seem to mix in her circle. She gives in and admits to being Cassandra Gillespie, and she knows he's Tony Stark.
In turn Tony admits to being in England to escape his parents. Cassandra expected him to recognise her name because of her mother - who is the reason she has bodyguards. Speaking of whom, they arrive. Cass says he should run because they'll taser him - mother's orders. He elects to stay and steal a kiss on the cheek. And gets tasered as the guards drag the girl to their car.
Next day in Advanced Economics class Tony sits behind Cassandra and 1 of her bodyguards. The guard apologises for what they did. Now he knows who Tony's family are he fears a reprisal.
Later Cass joins Tony in the cafeteria. Tony jokes that he's Googled her name but only come up with a world-class trapeze artist. The truth is that their parents are business rivals. But while Tony is estranged from his family (and paying his own college fees) Cassandra is close with hers.
They feel like they've known each other for a while. Tony asks her to marry him, or at least for a proper date if she can ditch the bodyguards. Cass responds by inviting him for dinner with her family. After a moment's hesitation he agrees.
At dinner at a restaurant, with more bodyguards, father Giorgio grills Tony about his prospects while son Alexander fiddles with his mobile phone. Tony says he's funding his college years with money from several patents he's already taken out. When papa accuses him of having no plans for his future Tony counters by saying that the world is rapidly changing so he's keeping his options open.
Mrs Gillespie keeps quiet, but after the meal she invites Tony to stay at their house. Before he can respond a car drives up and suddenly there's a gun battle between the bodyguards and Hydra.
Then the bodyguards are down, as is Mr Gillespie. A Hydra Agent is about to shoot Mrs G in the head, saying that she betrayed the cause, when Tony picks up a gun and kills him. But another Agent wings Tony in the gun shoulder. He's about to finish the job when Cassandra grabs another gun and shoots him. (I'm not sure whether her brother Alex has been hit.)
Fade to black.
In the present Iron Man's faceplate has been removed by 1 of his assailants, who is Cassandra Gillespie with an eyepatch. She tells Tony Stark to get out of her way. And that he's not going to uncover his true parentage here.