A giant reptilian monster
rises from the ocean and attacks a Quinjet piloted by Tigra who
manages to crash land on a small island. The monster is under the
control of its erstwhile enemy Dr. Demonicus who is up to no good....
James Rhodes offers the Iron Man armor
back to Tony Stark, who refuses it, saying he doesn't want to be Iron
Man any more. Tony refers Rhodey to Hank Pym as the first step in
diagnosing and curing his headaches....
Shortly thereafter, Tony appears at the
headquarters of the West Coast Avengers in his recreated original
gray armor, bearing a message. Hawkeye and Mockingbird are suspicious
(mostly Hawkeye) and Tony must unmask before he can tell them that
Rhodey has taken a leave of absence from the team. Just then, a call
for help from Tigra comes over the radio and the two Avengers swing
into action but Tony declines, saying he is no longer a superhero,
offending Hawkeye. After they leave, Tony broods over a possible
connection between being Iron Man and his drinking problem then
second-guesses himself and takes another Quinjet out to follow the
others....
As Hawkeye and Mockingbird approach the
island they deduce that Dr. Demonicus is behind it all and discover
his underwater lair. The villain fires missiles at them and the
Quinjet goes down. Tony arrives in his Quinjet to rescue his two
teammates....
Dr. Demonicus and henchmen arrive on
the island looking for Tigra; they encounter a native village and the
villain commands his sea monster to destroy it. Tigra swings into
action to lure the monster away from the village....
Interlude: In New York City, Bethany
Cabe is looking for Tony Stark....
The heroic trio finds Tigra in the
clutches of the monster and Hawkeye fires an explosive arrow into its
mouth, causing it to drop Tigra. Landing, Mockingbird takes down Demonicus'
two henchmen while Hawkeye is seized by the behemoth. It's up to
Tony, in his primitive armor to come to the rescue. He exerts his
strength to pick up the monster and fly off with it, hoping to dump
it in the ocean far away...if he can make it. Demonicus has escaped
and … the story ends abruptly.