Synopsis
Invincible Iron Man (1998 series) #6 synopsis by
T Vernon
Rating:
Iron Man swims underwater through the Great Barrier Reef off the coast of Australia to keep a rendezvous with a mysterious client. He surfaces to find Black Widow waiting for him on a small boat. While Tony and Natasha eat caviar, she explains the mission she needs his help on: a number of scientists who work with micro-electronics have been abducted; Nat wants Tony to be the bait in a trap SHIELD is setting for the bad guys. One catch: Tony has to leave the Iron Man armor behind....
Back at the New York HQ of Stark Solutions, Pepper Potts is feeling a bit jealous at the attention pretty staffer Doreen is paying to ex-husband Happy Hogan—except we know Doreen is a corporate spy....
For a week, Tony Stark is seen all over Sydney in the company of Natasha Romanoff, waiting to be kidnapped. Suddenly at a fancy club, the assassin Iron Hand Hauptmann appears and Nat takes him on and tricks him into sticking his electric hand into a bowl of punch, electrocuting him. And while she is distracted, Tony is snatched....
Tony awakens to find himself in a desert fortress where he meets his captor, Commander Araoha Tepania, who shows him the secret lab where the abducted scientists are building electronic devices for her mysterious employer—and they have removed Tony's tracking device so he will not be found by SHIELD. Soon Tony has joined the assembly line and he manages to rig a distress beacon that alerts Nat to his position. Soon Black Widow breaks into the facility, taking on the guards while Tony snatches a gun to join her. Commander Tepania demonstrates her own special ability as she transforms into a giant lizard-woman called Tuatara. The Widow takes her on while directing Tony to his armor which she has brought along. Soon it's Iron Man versus Tuatara and he finds her nearly as tough as the Hulk. He manages to get through to her with some sonics but not for long; they are enjoying their battle but when SHIELD forces arrive, Tuatara tunnels into the ground and away....
As they talk the mission over later, Tony talks about how he enjoyed the challenge of Tuatara while he and Natasha vow to identify her mystery employer and take him down....
CharactersGood (or All)Plus: Iron Hand Hauptmann, Tuatara.