Synopsis
Iron Man (1968 series) #18 synopsis by
T Vernon
Rating:
Iron Man joins Captain America, Nick Fury and a team of SHIELD agents in their assault on a Hydra stronghold. After the successful completion of the mission, the armored Avenger returns to Stark’s factory and reveals his secret: "he" is a Life Model Decoy of Tony Stark, impersonating both the millionaire industrialist and his heroic alter ego. Its goal was to see if it could fool two men who know the real Tony Stark well and, having proved that, it now aims to kill Stark. But what of the real Tony Stark? Branded an impostor by the LMD, he has been captured by Madame Masque and Morgan Stark at the behest of the villainous Mordecai Midas, a grotesquely obese man in an automated hover-chair, who schemes to become the world’s richest man. Morgan Stark having played his part in the plan, Midas zaps him into amnesia with a shock blast from his chair. (Elsewhere, scientist Alex Niven is pursuing his scheme to seize control of Janice Cord’s company and challenge Stark Industries.) Back at Midas’ island, Tony, who is assumed to be an impostor, is asked by Midas to impersonate Stark in the villain’s plan; Tony agrees, as this is the only way he can get back into his factory to confront the LMD. Madame Masque trains Tony in commando tactics though he is unaware that Masque will be accompanying him on his mission to kill him if the fails. On the designated night, Tony and Madame Masque enter Stark’s factory and are confronted by the Iron Man LMD. Tony protects Masque in the battle and she finds she can’t bring herself to shoot him. Tony evades his foe until a pair of security guards arrive who, hearing the LMD call his quarry "Stark," realize that it is the Avenger who is the bad guy. The distraction by the guards gives Tony enough time to don the original Iron Man armor and fight his more modern counterpart, though the effort puts a severe strain on his weak heart. The LMD attempts to throw Tony into a vat of molten metal but the Avengers, summoned by the guards, arrive to the rescue. Tony causes the LMD to lose its balance and the mad android falls to its destruction in the vat. Tony explains that the Iron Man they saw was not the real hero but a rogue LMD, then collapses from a heart attack. The Avengers rush Tony to a hospital, while Midas rejoices in the outcome. Madame Masque, however, sheds a tear for the one man who treated her humanely.
Characters:
Plus: Goliath (
Clint Barton), Janice Cord.
Enemies
Additional Enemies: Mordecai Midas, Morgan Stark, Tony Stark LMD.