Appearing in "Extremis (Part I of VI)"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
- Maya Hansen (First appearance)
Villains:
- Mallen (First appearance)
Other Characters:
- Stark International
- Aldrich Killian (First appearance; dies)
- Beck (domestic terrorist) (First appearance)
- Gary (cameraman) (First appearance)
- John Pillinger (documentarian) (First appearance)
- Mrs. Rennie (Behind the scenes)
- Nilson
Locations:
- Afghanistan (Only in flashback)
- United States of America
- New York State
- Texas
- Austin
- Bastrop
- D.R. Cole Slaughterhouse (First appearance)
Items:
- Extremis (First appearance)
- Iron Man Armor Model 25
Vehicles:
Synopsis for "Extremis (Part I of VI)"
Three men enter the D.R. Cole Slaughterhouse. Two of them turn and inject their partner with a mysterious chemical called Extremis. The man falls to the floor in immense pain – a bizarre physical change slowly overtaking him.
A few days later at the FuturePharm Corporation, Dr. Aldrich Killian, a man responsible for stealing the Extremis chemical commits suicide. Killian's boss, Maya Hansen finds the body upon walking into his office.
At Stark Industries, Tony Stark meets with controversial documentary film producer John Pillinger. He agrees to discuss many of SI's past involvement in the weapons industry. Tony reveals to John his involvement in the development of seedpod "cluster" bombs that were used against Al-Qaeda rebels in Afghanistan prior to the first Gulf War. It was during an inspection tour that one of Stark's own bombs detonated, sending a piece of shrapnel into his chest, nearly killing him. By the end of the interview it is clear that Pillinger is trying to paint Stark as some kind of war monger.
Later, Stark receives a message from an old girlfriend, Maya Hansen. Hansen tells Tony that something bad has been happening at FuturePharm. Tony dons his Iron Man armor and flies out to meet with her.
Meanwhile, the man who had been injected with Extremis continues to mutate.
Notes
- This series continues from Iron Man Vol III, #89.
- This issue is reprinted in the Iron Man: Extremis trade paperback.
- With this issue, writer Warren Ellis presents the reader with an updated re-imagining of Iron Man's origin. In this new origin, Tony Stark was nineteen-years-old and working alongside the United States army in Afghanistan prior to the Gulf War in 1991 (making him thirty-three as per the current publishing date). This will be the third time that Tony's origin has been updated.
- Originally, Tony Stark was well into adulthood advising soldiers in the battlefields of Vietnam during the Vietnam War when he suffered the injury that would later inspire him to become Iron Man. This was revealed in his introductory issue in Tales Of Suspense (Volume 1) #39. Many years later, in an effort to keep Tony younger, the origin was revamped in such a way that it took place several years later and in a Chinese province, rather than Vietnam. This was revealed in Iron Man (Volume 1) #275.
- Earliest chronological appearance of Maya Hansen.
- Behind the scenes appearance by Sal Kennedy. Sal will make his first appearance in issue #2.
- First and only appearance of Aldrich Killian and John Pillinger (Killian dies in this issue).
Trivia
- The portrayal of Tony Stark in this issue bears a strong resemblance to actor Tom Cruise. Media scuttlebutt at the time of publication suggested that Cruise was being considered to play the role of Tony Stark in an Iron Man feature film. The role was eventually given to actor Robert Downey, Jr.
- The Extremis story arc was adapted in a motion comic mini-series comprised of 6 episodes called "Iron Man: Extremis". The mini-series was created by Marvel Knights Animation and released on iTunes in April 16, 2010.
See Also
Recommended Reading
Links and References
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