Synopsis / Summary / Plot
Iron Man crashes into a seemingly deserted science lab in Nevada, in search of M.O.D.O.K. who has been reported alive after his apparent death at the hands of the Yellow Claw in IRON MAN #75. Shellhead is greeted by several robotic guards which he smashes to pieces. But the base’s purpose was to siphon energy and direct it into a cradle—but the cradle is empty and M.O.D.O.K. is gone. Needing allies, he decides to turn to the nearest ex-Avengers, Black Widow and Hercules who are with a new team called the Champions. Heading to their L.A. HQ, Iron Man arrives low on power and, desperate for a recharge, he smashes though their defensive shields. Ghost Rider, rushing to investigate, startles Shellhead, who, not recognizing him as a hero, blasts him with a repulsor ray. The rest of the team hurries to GR’s defense and a brief fight breaks out. Black Widow shouts some sense into everyone and Iron Man gets to the point of his visit. He shows them a picture of M.O.D.O.K. and list three sites in the area where A.I.M. activity has been reported. They split up into three groups to investigate these leads….
Black Widow, Hercules, and Angel head to the Petrified Forest, where they are attacked by A.I.M. agents concealed in the trees; the heroes fight valiantly but are captured in the end….
Ghost Rider, Iceman, and Darkstar head to an underwater base beneath San Francisco Bay where A.I.M is mutating sea life to create monsters. The villains flood the base and the heroes are defeated by the sea monsters….
Searching the Mojave Desert, Iron Man reaches a Franciscan mission where he is greeted by a friar. As he enters, though, the doors are sealed and the padre reveals himself as Stryke, a warrior given steel-hard skin by A.I.M. Shellhead does what he can but his foe is too powerful for him. Suddenly the hero realizes he has been duped; he takes off, leaving Stryke to glory in his “victory,” and contacts the Champions. Black Widow’s team had allowed themselves to be captured as a means of reaching M.O.D.O.K., and Ghost Rider’s group burns its way out of the underwater base, though Darkstar has been seriously injured. They all rendezvous at the Nevada lab, where M.O.D.O.K., who had rendered himself invisible on Shellhead’s first visit, has simply been delaying them while he powered up his Doomsday Chair. The heroes battle an army of modified humans called the “Once-Men” while the mastermind takes off into the sky. M.O.D.O.K. then emits a mental blast that causes the building to collapse, trapping the heroes. Iron Man manages to link his armor to the cradle and receives a superhuman amount of energy. Stronger than he has ever been before, the Golden Avenger vaporizes the mountain and heads after the fleeing villain. He tries to take control of M.O.D.O.K.’s damaged flying chair but the monstrous baddie resists and his chair explodes. The Champions rush the injured Darkstar to the hospital and Iron Man heads off to get some rest.
Story #2Death Lair!
Writer: Roger Stern. Penciler: Jeff Aclin. Inker: Don Newton. Colorist: Nel Yomtov. Letterer: Howard Bender.
Synopsis / Summary / Plot
This is a story of Master of Kung Fu character Midnight meeting an old Iron Man baddie Half-Face.