Synopsis / Summary / Plot
Invincible Iron Man #83 Synopsis by
T Vernon
Iron Man wakes up in a spaceship, his head heavy and his mind disoriented. Then he sees Titanium Man and starts fighting him. T-Man begs him to stop as they are on the same side. Shellhead finds the control room and a prerecorded message from Tony Stark explains everything: a comet is on a collision course with Earth. The ship has been outfitted with a laser beam that must be fired twice at very specific intervals to first, knock the comet out of its path and second, break up the debris so it does not hit Earth. The laser must be calibrated manually for this to work. Iron Man was the only man who could do it. Shellhead asks T-Man if this is true. The big guy confirms it, introducing himself as Andy Stockwell from Bude, Mississippi, working for a security company and armored using a Soviet design. They set the laser and the first shot is a success, cutting the comet in half. When Tony tries for the second, Titanium Man slugs him. He reveals he is really a Soviet sleeper agent, sent to stop the second shot so the debris will destroy the North American continent, resulting in a victory for Russia. But Tony knew he was a phony, having slipped up and used the Russian pronunciation of a word, and so has removed the key that can halt the second shot. In frustration, T-Man smashes the controls which Tony tells him prevents the beam being able to be stopped from the control room. T-Man has to go outside onto the laser and when it fires, the villain is hurled off into space. Unable to rescue him, Iron Man returns to Earth….
On return, Tony speaks with Chief of Staff Stu Conrad who tells him the mission was a success and they have no idea how Titanium Man was able to board the ship. Conrad also tells Tony that as, Secretary of Defense, Tony’s mission is now classified and no one can ever know how Iron Man saved the world….