Iron Man (2026 series) #11

Last issue ended with back-from-the-dead(?) Happy Hogan saying that he and some other friends of Tony Stark were worried about him, and 2 of those friends Reed & Sue Richards turned up for a 'chat'.

Now in the Baxter Building Ben Grimm is hunting Johnny Storm for revenge for his latest prank. Ben and his wife Alicia had gone clubbing even though lumbering Thing hates to dance. But he thought he was doing OK even though people were pointing at him and laughing. Then he discovered that Johnny had written "It's clubbin' time" on the back of his jacket. (Blind Alicia obviously hadn't noticed.) Reed and Sue return in the middle of this, with Reed in a very bad mood because their dinner date with Tony hadn't gone well. (There's a gratuitous scene of Human Torch partially on fire and a comment about Invisible Woman's power to make someone invisible, for the few people who *don't* know who the Fantastic Four are.)

The rest of the issue is flashback.

Iron Man and War Machine are in Madripoor dealing with a giant green metal dragon piloted by the Mad Thinker. They can do this on automatic and spend most of their time talking about other things. IM's most recent foes Whiplash and Whiplash claimed they'd been paid just to distract him, and Stark Security Chief Melinda May says AIM have a new leader alongside Madame Masque consolidating all the factions. Tony can't fully trust Happy until he knows how and by whom he was brought back from the dead. James Rhodes is worried about his friend's upcoming dinner with Reed and Sue because he knows how competitive Tony and Reed can get. Tony says it'll be OK because he'll be taking a date along ...

... and he arrives at the New York restaurant with his latest girlfriend Luna Lucia. Unfortunately the table's only set for 3 so Mr Fantastic shows off his stretching power by reaching across the room for a 4th place setting. Luna thanks him and says she's incorporating ideas in her kitchens from his articles about creating a safe space for creation, and the Richards pair compliment her West Village restaurant that they frequent. Reed compares her to Tony himself - smart, curious and trying to *change the world*. Tony says he thought they'd at least get through the appetisers before the interrogation started. Sue sighs in exasperation and Reed asks about what he's teaching his students in his new science school in the desert ...

... that's the old underground Gamma Base in New Mexico where Happy and Stark CEO Pepper Potts are visiting to see Tony's 5 genius students. Rhodey and Melinda greet them. Happy apologises to James for not revealing who he was when as Citizen V he warned Stark's friends about Tony acting oddly (in #1). He also apologises to Melinda for breaking into the bunker (in #4) and is about to reveal what he stole ...

... when the lights go out and the backup generator doesn't kick in. Ever-prepared May lights a flare and they realise that all electrical devices have been neutralised which means they can't phone for help. Melinda comments that this means that most of their weapons won't work. Happy's already in his CV costume and he dons his mask and draws his sword. Rhodes takes charge and tells H & P to make sure the students are OK and search for anything to use for light or power. Then he and May head for the surface to see who's attacking them. They get to a big door built to withstand a gamma bomb blast and they wonder how to get through it without Rhodey's War Machine armour (or any of Stark's) ...

... and the question is answered as it is blasted open from outside by a group of armoured soldiers looking rather like WM. They're accompanied by regular AIM troops lead by Madame Masque who orders them to secure the place without killing anyone. James and Mel take advantage of that by subduing 2 troopers and taking *their* guns. Then a man with a metal mask follows the invaders in and says he's come to deliver a message. May tries to shoot him but he causes her gun to break into pieces, saying that he controls all man-made objects. And his message to Stark is 'join me or die'.

Back in the restaurant Reed tells Tony that his friends are worried about him. Stark counters that he understands they got a message warning them that he might do something bad in the future, and instead of talking to him about it they started having secret meetings. He further reminds Reed that the FF were created when he riskily launched his 'family' into space, and turned Ben Grimm into a monster. And the life the FF lead regularly puts their children in danger. So *they* can't judge *him*. And furthermore it's ridiculous to think that any of them could beat him.

Reed suggests White Pawn to 4F (Bird's Opening in Chess). Sue tells Luna they often play chess in their heads, and calls it pretentious. Tony agrees and suggests a game of 'what if' to see who would win in Fantastic Vs Invincible. He dares Reed to say how he would beat him. MrF says he'd use his elastic arms to crush Tony until he surrendered (and we see this with Stark in his Iron Man suit). TS replies that Reed knows he'd never surrender so he'd have to kill him. But it wouldn't get that far because his armour would electroshock him (but the illo has IM hitting MrF with repulsor blasts). Reed says he's worked out how to turn the IM armour off, trapping Tony inside. Tony suggests he'd beat him to the punch by activating an energy designed to turn the 'unstable molecules' in his uniform inert, trapping *him* inside.

However he thinks instead of physical attacks they should try to out-invent each other. He'd start by creating a version of the Ultimate Nullifier that only worked on those with 'connections to' cosmic powers. Reed suggests he could just stroke Tony's ego by telling him there's a photo op in the Negative Zone and then just leave him stranded there. But he also reminds Stark that anyone that comes after him would have to face the whole FF. Tony replies that he'd take *them* out 1st, and we see FF HQ explode. Sue breaks in here to warn him that if he tries to harm *any* of her family she'll create a little forcefield bubble in his bloodstream to give him an aneurysm. Tony agrees to keep her family out of it.

So he moves on to his grandest scheme. He'd go into space and find Galactus. Reed asks if he means to become his Herald but Tony says he doesn't work for *anyone*. No, he'd take Galactus' armour and use it as his greatest Iron Man suit, then he'd return and remove the FF's cosmic powers leaving them just human. Then he'd stomp on them. Reed's exasperated logical response to this is to point out that Big G doesn't *wear* armour, it's just part of the image that human minds create to make sense of the inexplicable thing that G really is. Tony just suggests that Reed lacks imagination and turns to Luna to suggest that they get dessert to go ...

... but finds she isn't there. Sue tells him she left a while ago. He rushes out and finds her trying to hail a taxi. He points out that it's a long way back to the West Coast and he can get her there faster but she says she doesn't need his help. He apologises for ruining the date but she counters that it *wasn't* a date, he just hoped her presence would keep things civil. And this is just 1 more proof that their lives are too different for their relationship to work. So she says goodbye and gets in a taxi. The Fantastics come out to join him in the symbolic rain (which Sue keeps off them with a forcefield umbrella). Reed takes the blame for the argument and Sue apologises for ruining his love life. But Tony says it's all down to him. He adds that someone *is* out to get him and if he wants to fight back he's going to have to do things that make them think he *has* gone rogue. Reed says that he should let the others help, and adds that he would never actually fight Tony. Stark can't resist getting in the last word as he armours up. He says that in that fight he *would* win because he has no family to lose. And he jets off.

En route he tries to contact Gamma Base but can't get any of them to respond. He pours on the speed and crashlands to see the base destroyed with no signs of life. He can tell that Madame Masque and AIM were here and swears to kill them.