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Appearing in "Yesterday...and Tomorrow"

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  • Stark's private yacht
  • Fixer's tank

Synopsis for "Yesterday...and Tomorrow"

Tony returns to the offices of Stark Enterprises ready to do business. But his board of directors are uncomfortable around him and are unsure how to deal with their wheelchair bound CEO. He discusses plans to develop a sonic scanner out of their Barstow Electronics subsidiary.

Meanwhile, Tony's corporate rivals swarm to take advantage of Stark's recent injury. Jonas Hale, CEO of the Roxxon Oil Corporation plans on making a strike against Barstow Electronics. He hires the Fixer to destroy the Barstow facility before the sonic scanner can reach the final stages of development.

At Barstow, Rhodey asks employee Clay Wilson (Formerly known as Force) to substitute as Iron Man, while the real Iron Man is "off on a special mission". Clay is very loyal to Tony Stark and jumps at the chance to help him. Clay dons the black hued Mark VIII stealth armor and stands ready to defend Barstow. They learn that an act of corporate sabotage is expected to take place at Accutech Research And Development (another S.E. subsidiary).

The Fixer breaks into Accutech but finds Iron Man and Rhodey waiting for him. Iron Man flies towards him, but the Fixer binds him with a pair of electrically charged bolas. Wilson doesn't fair badly in the Iron Man armor, but his lack of experience and lack of knowledge of the Fixer allows the villain to escape.

Tony meanwhile, is doing his best to reinvigorate his social life. He tries calling his old galpal, Brie Daniels, but Brie fakes being busy so that she doesn't have to be seen publicly with the crippled Stark. Even Rae LaCoste is having a busy schedule. But Rae senses that Tony believes that she is blowing him off because of his injury when in fact, she really does have a tight schedule. Not wanting to send the wrong signals, Rae cancels her appointments to spend the day with Tony.

Tony learns of the Fixer's attack and realizes that a mere Iron Man substitute is not going to get the job done. He modifies his standard Iron Man armor so that he can have lower mobility by way of cybernetic commands without actually physically moving his back or legs.

The Fixer attacks Barstow Electronics and Jim and Clay snap back into action to stop him. The Fixer sets off several charges, which explode injuring dozens of workers. But out of the sky comes Tony Stark - the original Iron Man! The Fixer commandeers a battle tank and tries to take Tony down with the cannon. But Tony's armor absorbs the blast, re-channeling it into his reverse magnetic array and sending it back at the tank. The machine is crushed and the Fixer is trapped inside, unconscious.

The second story features a flashback tale introducing one of Tony Stark's first loves, former fiancee Joanna Nivena. Stark runs into Joanna in New York and immediately remembers some of his early days as Iron Man. After his injury which caused him to don the Iron Man armor, Joanna eventually shared his secret identity, and she urged him to overcome his "handicap" and use his armor to help others. This eventually occurs. However, Joanna and Stark agree to end their relationship. Joanna knows that, although she wants Tony to lead the life of a public hero, she cannot stand in his way. Flashing forward to their chance meeting in New York, The two part with Joanna introducing Stark to his husband and children. As Stark reflects at the end of the story, he resolves to fight on through his present injuries, running Stark Enterprises to better society, and being he hero that he had formerly resolved to be.

Notes

  • The armor that Carl Walker wears in this issue is the Iron Man Stealth Armor, first featured in Iron Man #152.
  • This story is broken into two distinct, self-contained stories. However, the creative teams are the same.
  • Some continuity problems occur in the second flashback story. Iron Man is wearing the Mark VIII armor, but is working for "Stark International", apparently in Long Island. Stark International ceased operations in Long Island in Iron Man #173. Also, during that time period, Anthony Stark wore the Mark V armor. Possible Solutions include:
    • Stark erroneously refers to Stark Enterprises as "Stark International" and is visiting Long Island.
    • The armor is incorrectly depicted.
    • Stark wore a prototype of the Mark VIII model to this event.

Trivia

  • Cover layout is loosely modeled on or a possible pastiche of the cover layout of Iron Man #144.

See Also

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