Synopsis / Summary / Plot
A large part of this issue is a compare and contrast between Tony Stark and Ezekiel Stane.
It starts with a flashback to 4 year old Zeke. His father Obadiah is trying to make him do better than Tony did at that age, and punishing him when he fails.
At a similar young age Tony has dismantled his grandfather's pistol to see if he can make it work. His father Howard refuses to help him. He started so he'll have to finish.
Cut to now in Mandarin City, and Zeke is using remote-controlled devices to remove the bomb Mandarin put in his chest. And using his hatred of Stark to overcome the pain. Eventually he succeeds.
In the present Tony has invited Justine Hammer and Gen'l Babbage to the Baxter Building to watch Reed Richards remove the Extremis armour stuff that is stored within his body. This too is painful, and he blacks out.
When he wakes up he hands over the extracted glowing golden 'liquid' stuff to Hammer and Babbage, but tells them it's dead and they won't be able to use it for anything. Pepper Potts threatens them with legal action and forces them to take their inhibitor off Tony's chest. Since he resigned as Iron Man last issue, and no longer has the Extremis armour within him, they no longer have the right to monitor him for being drunk in charge of the armour.
Justine and Babbage express some doubt about whether they have really witnessed Stark shedding the Extremis armour. But they comply with the request. Babbage threatens to come after Pepper's armour too. But she reminds him it isn't an offensive suit, but designed for rescue missions only.
That night the original Detroit Steel Doug Johnson, mentally confused after Fear Itself, breaks into Sasha Hammer's apartment. Sasha recognises him and asks him to call her mother Justine and tell her she's been drugged. But the intruder seems intent on killing her.
Meanwhile Spymaster uses his ID as Len Pimacher to enter Stark Resilient HQ overnight. He locks the site down, and attacks Pimacher's boss Carson Wyche. But he is interrupted by Security Chief Bethany Cabe, who has at last found the mole she's been looking for. Cabe sustains a flesh wound in the ensuing gun battle. But Wyche uses the diversion to KO Spymaster with a heavy piece of equipment.
Stark is recovering from the operation. He apologises to Reed for bringing his problems to the Baxter Building. Reed asks if he has a plan. Tony is evasive, but Reed recognises his chess-playing face.
Tony still has the repulsor tech chest implant which keeps his body running, but which was damaged in Fear Itself. But Pepper has a superior replacement in a box, and Tony wants Reed to replace the faulty one for him.
Pepper gets a call alerting her to the goings-on at the Seattle HQ, and Tony asks Reed to do the operation now, so he can go sort things out.
And off the coast of Somalia some pirates get backup from the armoured Firepower. Until he is downed by a new flying figure, with boot jets and firing blasts from his hands. The person inside the new suit claims it is one of Tony Stark's creations.