Synopsis / Summary / Plot
Tony Stark has been missing for a month and AI Friday has been running Stark International in his absence (which she tends to do in his presence too). Now the Board Of Directors led by Mr Lynch intend to take over, and they've hired the Ghost to bypass any special Stark security measures.
Lynch refuses to recognise the existence of Friday but at the same time asks her to let them into Stark's lab. When she refuses he sends Ghost in. As Ghost phases through the door Friday's hologram melts away too. Ghost opens the door from the inside to let the Board members in.
Inside, as well as Iron Man armours and Stark's machinery, they find Mary Jane Watson. When Lynch has checked she's not another hologram she explains that Tony has sequestered himself somewhere quiet to work on some new inventions to turn the Company's finances around. And he's left her as Executive Administrator. Friday reappears to back her up. Lynch's support drains away.
Meanwhile 2 cons have escaped from New Mexico State Penitentiary in an armoured truck with police cars in chase. Suddenly they see an armoured form in front of them who stops the truck with a fist through the engine. The cons fly through the windscreen and the truck flips into the air over their assailant.
But also for some reason her armour falls off revealing a black female teen. The cops don't know whether to arrest her or congratulate her. Riri Williams introduces herself as a 1st time superhero.
Now for the main event. War Machine has returned to Osaka. Zhang reports this to her boss Tomoe, and says the female Thor is here too. Tomoe says this was what she was afraid of when Madame Masque forced them to come out into the open and they had to kill Tony Stark. The American superheroes will come in force.
Tomoe doesn't want to lose face by hiding, and she knows by experience she can beat James Rhodes. But Thor is something else again. But she orders a surprise attack.
Stark of course isn't really dead - he's working undercover in Tomoe's organisation as ex-SHIELD Agent Richard Franco. But when he sees Vision flying overhead he goes to an agreed meeting place to find Rhodey. Tony didn't want the Avengers brought into this, but Jim has done it anyway.
But Tony can tell this isn't the real Rhodey, and Ms Marvel stops her shape-shifting impersonation. And Stark switches off his biotech disguise. But then Kamala sends a phone message to say "I have him" .....
.... and SHIELD and the ANAD Avengers including Captain America (Sam Wilson), Nova and Spider-Man (Miles Morales) attack Tomoe's HQ. When Tony and Ms Marvel arrive it's all over.
But Stark isn't happy. He went undercover to find out all about the organisation and their plans - and he was nowhere like finished. Rhodey says they've captured the leader, but it turns out to be Zhang not Tomoe the Techno Golem.
Tony establishes that they haven't revealed he was Franco, and gets himself thrown into a cell with Zhang. He looks like he's been beaten up, but possibly that's more biotech disguise. Zhang says her boss set the gang up to fight the Avengers and then betrayed them by slipping away. And she says there's more of the gang still free - and Tomoe is even more powerful than she's shown so far.
Tony tells Rhodes that he still doesn't know what Madame Masque stole way back in #1, and why Tomoe's biohack ninjas compromised their anonymity to come after it. And then Friday rings up to tell him about the new teen 'Iron Man'.