Synopsis
Invincible Iron Man #15 synopsis by
Rob Johnson
Rating:
Tony Stark has been kidnapped by Rigellian Recorder 451 to operate the super-giant Godkiller armour/robot, which 451 had programmed him for before he was born. 451 intended the Godkiller to be Earth's best defence, and lead to a human galactic empire, but Tony didn't want to play ball. Last issue it turned out that the Stark couldn't actually operate the Godkiller. But 451 thought he was bluffing, and has set Godkiller on a course to destroy Earth to call that bluff.
Stark, in the Iron Man space armour (and he seems to have found time to retrieve his discarded helmet), races to Godkiller's mouth/entrance where Death's Head left the Iron Man Armoury. He switches to a different armour (the one he wore on Earth in #1-5), and downloads a backup of the PEPPER AI from before it was taken over by 451 on the Voldi World.
451 is also ready for battle. He's created a weapon from his stolen Rigellian database, which in turn creates energy duplicates of himself. But Iron Man also isn't alone. He's got other armours, including the space one, directly linked to his own by cables so that 451 can't hack them via comms channels.
Battle is joined as Godkiller enters the Solar System. The Iron Men try to destroy the 451 duplicates while they in turn try to physically break into the suits so 451 can control them. But if any 451-dup succeeds, the Iron-suit self-destructs taking the dup with it.
451 changes tack and sends all his duplicates to attack Iron Man himself, reasoning that that suit at least won't commit suicide. But all the while PEPPER has been diagnosing 451's innards and tracing his 'hacking unit'. When she does Shellhead drills through it with a laser.
Then IM activates another suit of armour, a large one loaded with weaponry, which destroys 451's dupes as fast as he can create them, and then rips off the arm which holds the duplicating device.
Even though he's beaten, 451 refuses to stop the Godkiller's approach to Earth. He still thinks Stark is lying about being unable to pilot the giant robot. So Tony goes to a nearby control console and shows him that nothing happens. 451 orders the Godkiller to accept Stark as pilot, but finally has to admit that his genetic manipulation of Tony-as-a-foetus has obviously failed.
But now 451 goes into a state of mental paralysis. He had abandoned his role as a Recorder, and chosen to act instead. His 500 year plan would have led to galactic peace under human rule. And all the lives he took along the way (including the Voldi) were worth it. But now that his meticulous plan has turned out to be flawed, he no longer dares take any action, even stopping Godkiller destroying Earth.
Tony talks him out of his frozen state just in time, and 451 turns the giant robot away from Earth. But now the Recorder has realised that the Godkiller is too dangerous to leave lying around. And so is his 'creation' Tony Stark! So 451 orders Godkiller to exit this reality taking Iron Man with it, and then wipes his own computer brain.