Synopsis / Summary / Plot
Rigellian Recorder 451 designed Tony Stark from birth to control the enormously-big Godkiller robot left over from an aeons-old war against the Celestials. He wants the Godkiller to protect Earth from alien empires so that humanity can one day have its own galactic empire which will be a force for peace and goodness (yay us!). But Tony doesn't want to play ball. Unfortunately 451 has hacked PEPPER, the AI of the Iron Man space armour, so he can make Tony do whatever he wants.
Fortunately 451 has a price on his head, and the just-plain-big robot bounty hunter Death's Head has come to take him in for the reward. During the fight Iron Man arranged to be pushed down a miles-long lift shaft inside the Godkiller, to get away from the Rigellian robot. But 451 has now managed to hack Death's Head, and now controls him. Now read on.
Tony tells PEPPER to switch off, leaving the Iron Man armour under his manual control. Then he discards the helmet with the AI in it (presumably so 451 has no chance to regain control).
451 only has limited access to Godkiller's systems, unlike what Stark would have. But he now has control of Death's Head. The situation is akin to what he had with Tony and the Iron man armour. He can make Death's Head's body do whatever he wants, but the bounty hunter still has independent thought and speech. Specifically, as with PEPPER, Death's Head must follow orders and not attack 451.
The 2 robots seem to find Iron Man quite quickly, and 451 sets his slave to capture Stark. During the chase Death's Head gets chatty, and informs Tony that he tracked them to the Godkiller by using a homing device in Stark's mobile armoury. He also tells him where it is within the Godkiller. This is good news for Tony, and 451 orders the bounty hunter to stop talking before he (deliberately) gives their prey any more helpful information.
Iron Man hops on a service elevator platform, heading for his armoury up in Godkiller's mouth. 451 and Death's Head follow on another platform. Apparently manual control doesn't allow Tony to use any of his armour's weapons (or his boot jets). But a bit of hotwiring gets his palm repulsors working, and he blasts one of 451's arms off, and 451 off his platform.
451 doesn't care because he can fly. But Death's Head sees another opportunity to use a loophole in 451's commands. He leaps and enfolds the Rigellian in his arms, and his weight sends the 2 plunging back down the shaft. He claims he's using his own body to protect 451 from more blasts from Iron Man.
451 orders Death's Head to let him go, and flies upwards leaving the big robot to his death-plunge. But Stark has disappeared and 451 can't find him again without Death's Head (presumably with some sort of general bounty hunter tracking skill). And if Stark reaches his armoury he will have a stash of weapons at his disposal.
The Recorder tries another tack. He uses his limited access to order the Godkiller to destroy Hope's Pustule (the mercenary planet where Death's Head learned of the bounty on 451's head last issue). He lets Stark see what is happening, knowing that he'll try to stop it. Tony knows 451 is fully willing to go through with planet-cide as he already caused the destruction of the Voldi world in #8.
Tony tries to disable the Godkiller by removing the Heart of the Voldi which powers it (which 451 stole from the Voldi in #8), but to no avail. Then, as 451 expected, Tony reluctantly puts the planet-busting robot's control device on his head. (It was established last issue that linking himself with the Godkiller will make Tony take on the Godkiller's role, partly because of what 451 did to Tony as a foetus.)
However Tony finds that he doesn't get control of the Godkiller. But 451 thinks he's bluffing. Even when Godkiller destroys the planet.
451 believes he needs to raise the stakes to get Stark to stop 'bluffing'. So he aims Godkiller at Earth.