Synopsis / Summary / Plot
Norman Osborn as Iron Patriot has just effectively saved the world by showing Ultimo that even he had a good side. Now he has a baby Ultimo to bring up in his own image.
War Machine appears to be having a heart attack but Osborn won't let his allies Suzi Endo and Glenda Sandoval help him. Instead he has James Rhodes put in the van with the proto-Ultimo. His scientists will find out how War Machine's technology-assimilation works.
But Rhodey was only pretending to be ill. Once in the armoured transport he uses his tech-power to convert it into a giant armour for himself, and a plane for Suzi to take the baby Ultimo away. He also sends Mockingbird, Ronin, Tigra and Wonder Man off on other tasks.
Iron Patriot attacks the giant War Machine. But he has figured out how to block Rhodey's method of adding bits to his armour, and starts to whittle away at him. Rhodey himself blocks Glenda and her husband Parnell Jacobs' attempts to call the other crew members Bethany Cabe and Jake Oh for help. As HAMMER forces join Iron Patriot.
Bethany and Jake are on other missions in their alternate War Machine suits. Jake is arresting a Louisiana Sherrif William Sampleson for killing hurricane refugees (he got rid of the recorded evidence but War Machine's technology found it). Beth is freeing mistreated immigration detainees in California. Also Mockingbird and Ronin are exposing a crooked insurance company in New Mexico, and Wonder Man is closing down a toxic pig farm in Utah. They put the results online. More follow, like a chemical company dumping mercury, and the sale of salmonella-infected peanut butter.
Victoria Hand reports all this to Osborn mid-fight. He taunts Rhodes with extending his losing battle to distract him from his friends' futile antics. But Rhodey says he's been playing for time while he cracked HAMMER's codes. If his intent was to take over the HAMMER troopers' armour, it fails and they and Osborn blast his armour off, leaving only his limbless cyborg torso.
2 days later Osborn has been feted a hero. But revelations of official corruption continue to flood out leading to indictments, and the President isn't happy with Norman. So Osborn decides to distract public attention by putting James Rhodes on trial for war crimes.