Synopsis
Iron Man (1968 series) #277 synopsis by
T Vernon
Rating:
US missiles have been launched toward the USSR, thanks to the Black Widow who turned out to be Soviet sleeper agent Oktober. Iron Man now awakens from the neural zap Natasha gave him and finds himself surrounded by military security types, who demand an explanation. He points out that Code Joshua has been activated which sends the officers into a panic and necessitates informing President George (H.W.) Bush. The guards do not believe Shellhead's account of the Black Widow so he releases sleep gas and escapes, crashing though the ceiling. Catching up to the missiles, Iron Man uses a scanner to jam their guidance systems, bringing them under his power. Shellhead then steers the nukes out into space where they will orbit for the next twenty years, giving the nation some time to figure out what to do with them....
Meanwhile, Black Widow has hijacked a military jet; IM catches up to her and she again asks for his help in stopping a villain. In New York, they confront the Russian diplomat who ridiculed Natasha's fears back in issue #272, and is now revealed to have engineered the whole plot in a bid to avenge himself against the Russia that has rejected communism and incidentally seize power himself over the devastated country. Iron Man makes him confess to his crimes on a recording device by threatening to turn him over to the Black Widow....