Synopsis
Invincible Iron Man #19 synopsis by
Rob Johnson
Rating:
Tony Stark comes to see CEO Pepper Potts at their company Resilient to apologise for being absent a lot, even after he returned from space. He tells her he's planning to build a futuristic city on the ruins of Mandarin City, on its private island off the coast of China.
We flash back 12 hours to Iron Man flying into the city to root out the Triads that have taken it over. During the action we get a voiceover explaining things. Mandarin acquired the island from the Chinese by mind-control. Since he died at the end of the last series its ownership has been indeterminate, but Stark has now been allowed(?) to use(?) it (that's my best guess at what the waffle means). But the gangs have access to Mandarin's weapons, and Iron Man gets blasted to bits.
At this point we learn that that armour was a drone flown remotely by Arno Stark, along with several others. The real Iron Man now pops up at ground level in a grey armour (reminiscent of War Machine) and tasers the gangs to submission. He announces that he's running the city now.
Back in the present, at Tony's California house, Pepper discovers that the AI in his current armour is called PEPPER, and obviously modelled on herself. At 1st she's indignant, but when she sees how the AI criticises Stark, she quite likes her. However Tony says he's taking the AI out of his armour anyway.
Tony now introduces Pepper to his brother in his iron lung. He explains that Arno is the real son of Howard and Maria Stark, while he himself was adopted. They tell her that Arno had to stay hidden up till now, but they haven't time to explain why (that it was because of Recorder 451).
Tony takes the PEPPER AI to his secret Core installation, and installs her in a lovely big computer there. He renames her HELEN, and says she's going to run Troy.
Stark then takes Pepper on a tour of the construction site that is Mandarin City. She thinks he might have a PR problem in America about rebuilding a Chinese city. Pepper recommends Tony use Resilient's current freelance PR guy, her fiancé Marc from #16.
We next see Tony and Marc at the opening of the Troy Core demonstration unit (which I presume is in Mandarin City). Marc has a warning word with journalist Abigail "Red Peril" Burns, who hates capitalists. Arno is monitoring security from the Troy Information Hub (wherever that is in relation to the demonstration unit and the Core), and can't detect any hostiles.
But when Tony starts to make a speech he is interrupted by a rumble from the ground. Abigail asks the ring she acquired last issue if it caused that. But the Mandarin Seven ring says no, but the Mandarin One ring did it! As a giant earthen fist rises from the ground, wearing a ring.