Synopsis
Invincible Iron Man #519 synopsis by
Rob Johnson
Rating:
We pick up where we left off last issue, with an armoured Ezekiel Stane attacking Mandarin in his office in Mandarin City. Zeke has been building up to this rebellion for a while, in #517 removing the bomb Mandarin planted in his chest. But Mandarin's rings easily nullify the threat, and Mandarin calmly returns to telling Chemistro and Mauler to go assassinate Tony Stark.
In Seattle Tony and Pepper Potts pay a hospital visit to the Stark Resilient employee Tim Cababa. He's recovering from the attack in #516 by Spymaster, who he knew and lived with as Len Pimacher, another Stark employee. It appears that, although Spymaster stabbed Tim multiple times, Len Pimacher was careful to spare his life.
Other main players at Stark Resilient were also attacked. Carson Wyche is in surgery and Security Chief Bethany Cabe was shot in the arm. Walter Macken wasn't involved, and is comforting Mrs Arbogast, who was the one who actually shot Spymaster in the end.
Cabe blames Stark for the casualties. She complains that he wouldn't let her do her job. Tony takes it as a resignation, and asks here to hold on for 12 hours.
Meanwhile in a another room in the hospital Spymaster commits suicide by cop.
Doug Johnson, the original Detroit Steel, kidnapped his replacement Sasha Hammer last issue. He now brings her to Hammer Industries as a hostage to bargain for access to his old armour.
Sasha's mother Justine has just overseen a coup d'etat in (probably) a South or Central American country.
Justine agrees to Johnson's demands, and he lets Sasha go. Justine leads him to a Detroit Steel suit. But she intends to remote-detonate it as soon as he gets inside.
Mauler and Chemistro are tailing Stark as he meets with his lawyers and severs all connection with Stark Resilient. (This is why he told Bethany to wait 12 hours before resigning.) Chemistro tries to shoot him, but is stopped by the new Iron Man (James Rhodes).