Synopsis
Iron Man (1968 series) #117 synopsis by
T Vernon
Rating:
In the middle of a dark night, a bullet crashes through an office window and hits Tony Stark in the head, killing him instantly. Hired killer Spymaster, congratulates himself on a job well done and moves along to phase 2 of his mission. Back in the office, Iron Man surveys the dead Tony—actually the Life Model Decoy which has been his tool and enemy for many years. Shellhead pursues the departing craft and boards it only to discover it is a trap. He avoids the explosion and races back to Stark Industries. This has not been his day….
He muses over how he was evicted from his apartment by request of the other tenants in the wake of the bomb blast in his penthouse (last issue). To set a trap for his would-be assassin he attended an ambassadorial party where he met the gorgeous Bethany Cabe and spent some time talking with her. The Spymaster followed him home with the results seen at the start of the issue….
Arriving at Stark Industries, Iron Man follows a trail of unconscious guards to find Spymaster in the labs. The villain blasts Shellhead with an anti-Iron Man shot gun and heads further into the complex. Spymaster rams the hero with a flying jetcart but IM is able to shoot it down with a huge chunk of ripped up floor. The mercenary then fires an advanced heat-seeking missile at his foe but Iron Man is able to easily extinguish the fire. As the baddie tries to escape via monorail, Iron Man derails it and faces Spymaster who is armed with electric nunchakus. Iron Man merely crushes the things in his hands and punches the villain’s lights out. Shell head then discovers that the spy was trying to make off with a file containing the names of all of Stark’s stockholders….
We then learn that the whole episode was being watched by a quartet of sinister men lead by one Buck Richlen who had hired Spymaster to steal the file so they could bring down Stark. The big surprise comes when the villains leave the room to attend a SHIELD meeting where Nick Fury addresses them as the security team….
CharactersGood (or All)Plus: Bethany Cabe (
Bethany Camilla Cabe von Tilburg), Tony Stark LMD.
Enemies
Buck Richlen, Spymaster (Spymaster 1).