Synopsis
International Iron Man #2 synopsis by
Rob Johnson
Rating:
Like last time this issue is split between the present and a flashback, but this time the fb comes 1st.
20 years ago when Tony Stark was in college in Cambridge UK he fell in love with mysterious Cassandra Gillespie. After a meal with her family he took a bullet to save her when Hydra assassins attacked them all.
Now he wakes bandaged in a mansion in Spain. He goes downstairs and shares a drink with Mrs Gillespie who thanks him for saving her daughter's life. She describes her upbringing in Sofia Bulgaria, in an orphanage and on the street. This taught her how to fight for survival. But she wonders how pampered rich Tony got so brave. Despite the Stark Company being her family's rival, Tony is the 1st of Cassandra's boyfriends who she thinks is worthy of her.
The young lovers then have some moments together.
2 days later, arm in a sling, Tony returns to college. But his angry father Howard hustles him into a limo. He says the Gillespies are arms dealers to terrorists. And strongly suggests that Cassandra was a honey pot luring him into their web.
The present day action is actually in Sofia. Last issue we saw Iron Man defeated by a bunch of Mandroids led by Cassandra Gillespie, now sporting an eyepatch. He was apparently there trying to track down his biological parents.
Despite being down and unmasked, Stark tries to arrest Cassandra for what daddy accused her family of - selling illegal weapons to international terrorists. In reply she says she'll let him live because she doesn't want vengeful superheroes on her trail. But she'll take his armour in compensation for the disruption to her business. And she threatens dire consequences if he comes after her again.
She also warns him he's better off not finding out who his real father is.
Cassandra tells her men to remove Tony's armour, and then starts to leave in a VTOL aircraft. But Iron Man has been pretending to be in more trouble than he actually is. Despite being very low on power he can fight off the Mandroids and chase the plane. But it disappears, the Mandroids catch up with him and break through his defences.