Appearing in "The Search for Tony Stark: Finale"
Featured Characters:
- Iron Man (Tony Stark) (Main story and recap)
- Ironheart (Riri Williams)
- Iron Man (Victor von Doom)
Supporting Characters:
- Tony Stark (A.I.) (As hologram)
- War Machine (Col. Jim Rhodes) (Main story and recap) (Resurrection)
- Stark Enterprises
- Friday (As hologram)
- Amanda Armstrong
- Mary Jane Watson
- Toni Ho
- Leonardo da Vinci
- Blade (Eric Brooks)
- Spider-Man (Miles Morales)
- Cable (Nathan Summers)
- Numerous Doombots
- Arno Stark
- Madison Jeffries
Antagonists:
- Hydra
- Jude
- Numerous unnamed agents
- Eric Lynch (Leaves Stark Industries)
- The Hood's Gang
- The Hood (Parker Robbins)
- Razor-Fist (Douglas Scott)
- Shockwave (Lancaster Sneed)
- Cutthroat (Daniel Leighton)
- Vermin (Edward Whelan)
- Rampage (Stuart Clarke)
- Wrecking Crew
- Crusader (Arthur Blackwood)
- Griffin (John Horton)
- Brothers Grimm (Percy & Barton Grimes)
- Deathwatch
- Jigsaw (Billy Russo)
- Armadillo (Antonio Rodriguez)
- Answer (Aaron Nicholson)
- Corruptor (Jackson Day) (Returns)
- Bushwacker (Carl Burbank)
- Mandrill (Jerome Beechman)
- Scarecrow (Ebenezer Laughton)
- Sunstroke (Sol Brodstroke)
- Graviton (Franklin Hall)
- Centurius (Noah Black)
- Living Laser (Arthur Parks)
- Crossfire (William Cross)
- Chemistro (Calvin Carr)
- Blackout (Marcus Daniels) (Deceased)
- Madame Mask (Whitney Frost)
Other Characters:
- Red Hulk (Gen. Robert L. Maverick) (Mentioned)
- Thanos (Mentioned)
- USMC (Mentioned)
- Avengers (Mentioned)
- Carol Danvers (Mentioned)
- Mazinger Z (Mentioned) (Topical Reference)
- Sue Dibny (Mentioned) (Deceased) (Topical Reference)
- Lila Cheney (Mentioned)
- U.S.Avengers (Mentioned)
- S.H.I.E.L.D. (Mentioned) (Defunct)
- Reptil (Humberto Lopez) (Cameo)
- Striker (Brandon Sharpe) (Cameo)
- Trauma (Terrance Ward) (Cameo)
- Cloud 9 (Abby Boylen) (Cameo)
- Jefferson Davis
- Rio Morales
- God (Yahweh) (Invoked)
- Howard Stark (Mentioned)
- The Hood's lawyer (First appearance)
- Wilson Fisk (Mentioned)
- Rigoletto Crime Family (Mentioned)
- Cynthia von Doom (Mentioned)
- Galactus (Mentioned)
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Mentioned) (Topical Reference)
- Leonardo (Mentioned) (Topical Reference)
- Champions
- Amara's unborn child (Mentioned)
- Tempus (Eva Bell)
- Wagner
- Wagner (Mentioned)
- The Doctor (Illyana Rasputina) (Mentioned)
- Doctor Strange (Stephen Strange) (Mentioned)
- Iron Man Sentries
- Tony Stark, Sorcerer Supreme
- Doctor Strange (Stephen Strange) (Mentioned)
- Doctor Strange (Stephen Strange) (Mentioned)
Races and Species:
- Humans (Main story and recap)
- Zombies (Mentioned)
- Robots
- Human-Vampire Hybrids
- Human-Demon Hybrids (Cameo)
- Vampires (Mentioned)
- Mutants
- Cyborgs
- Demons
- Doombots
- Synthezoids
- Human-Inhuman Hybrids
Locations:
- Prime Marvel Universe / Earth-616 (Main story and recap)
- Earth (Main story and recap)
- United States of America (Main story and recap)
- New Jersey
- Tony Stark's secret laboratory
- Atlantic City (Mentioned)
- California (Only in recap)
- Los Angeles (Only in recap)
- New York
- Project P.E.G.A.S.U.S. Facility, Mount Athena, Adirondack Mountains (Mentioned)
- New York City
- Manhattan
- Midtown
- 44th Street
- Sofitel Hotel
- Empire State Building (Cameo)
- Stark Mansion, Fifth Avenue (Mentioned)
- 44th Street
- Midtown
- Manhattan
- Virginia (Behind the scenes)
- New Jersey
- Italy (Mentioned)
- Anchiano, Tuscany (Mentioned)
- Brazil (Mentioned)
- Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro (Mentioned)
- Maracanã Stadium (Mentioned)
- Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro (Mentioned)
- Latveria
- Doomstadt
- Mount Hortwurt (Mentioned)
- Castle Doom (Wreckage, ruins, debris, fragments)
- Doomstadt
- United States of America (Main story and recap)
- Hell (Mentioned)
- Earth (Main story and recap)
- Battlerealm (Mentioned)
- 2099 A.D.
Items:
- War Machine Armor Model 8
- Iron Man Armor (Main story and recap)
- Iron Man Armor Model 29
- Iron Man Armor Model 51 (Model-Prime Armor)
- Iron Man Armor Model 8 (Main story and recap)
- Iron Man Armor Model 4 (Main story and recap)
- Iron Man Armor Model 31
- Iron Man Armor Model 1 MK I
- Iron Man Armor Model 42
- Iron Man Armor Model 26
- Iron Man Armor Model 16
- Iron Man Armor Model 34
- Iron Man Armor Model 2
- Iron Man Armor Model 1 MK II
- Iron Man Armor Model 21
- Iron Man Armor Model 15
- Iron Man Armor Model 14
- Iron Man Armor Model 13
- Iron Man Armor Model 37 (Bleeding Edge Armor)
- Iron Man Armor Model 28
- Iron Man Armor Model 25
- Ironheart Armor Model 2
- Rampage's Suit
- Wrecker's Crowbar
- War Machine Armor Model 7
- Spider-Man's Suit and Web-Shooters
- Blade's Sword
- Ms. Marvel's Suit
- Sternbots (Behind the scenes) (Unnamed)
- Cloak of Levitation and Eye of Agamotto
- Arc Reactor
Events:
- Civil War II (Mentioned)
- Iraq War (Mentioned)
- Secret Wars (Mentioned)
Synopsis for "The Search for Tony Stark: Finale"
Brief Summary[]
Having exhumated Jim Rhodes's body, Tony Stark manages to return him to life, jump-starting a reboot of his biological systems in a similar way he had survived death. In the meantime, the Tony Stark A.I. reflects on his ideals, and decides he doesn't want judge humanity. Ironheart and Toni Ho are welcomed by Leonardo da Vinci to a facility where he plans on building something to stand in S.H.I.E.L.D.'s place. After da Vinci explains he wants to recruit Tony Stark as well and that he was behind the search for him, Riri encounters other recruits, like Blade, Miles Morales and Cable. Meanwhile, Tony's biological father Jude reveals himself to have been resurrected by Hydra some time after his death, and forces Amanda Armstrong to lure Tony into a trap.
The Hood's attempt to coerce Eric Lynch into handing him over control of Stark Enterprises is interrupted by Victor von Doom and an army of Doombots. Fortuitously, Iron Man and War Machine join the fight against The Hood, armed with a battalion of remotely-controlled Iron Man suits. Lynch apologizes to Tony and swears to leave the company. Victor takes on the demonic entity possessing The Hood, and his face is scarred in battle.
Mary Jane Watson arrives to Amanda's rescue, and shoots Jude in the shoulder. This prompts him to decloak a troop of Hydra agents backing him up. Ironheart, Leonardo da Vinci and his allies arrive to confront Hydra. In the middle of the fight, Jude tries to shoot Amanda from behind, but Iron Man arrives and knocks him out. Around this time, Victor returned wearied to the ruins of Castle Doom, and a beam of energy flashes from inside the building. The Tony Stark A.I. wonders what does the future hold for Tony's allies, but asserts he knows the path Tony Stark is headed to. At an unspecified point in the future, Doctor Anthony Stark is shown to be the Sorcerer Supreme.
Detailed Summary[]
The Tony Stark A.I. presents himself in a digital projection. He discloses he struggled with his own existence, since he was the embodiment of Tony Stark's intellect and ego without the fragility of a human body to hold him back, and labels the rest of humanity as highly problematic. He shifts the conversation to Tony Stark, stating that everybody wants to know where is he, and reveals he does know. The A.I. details in a narration how did Tony Stark return, specifically that secret modifications performed on his own DNA in order to pilot the Iron Man Armor caused his body to reboot instead of dying. As Tony cradles the lifeless body of Jim Rhodes, which was outfitted in his War Machine Armor, the A.I. reveals that Tony hopes something similar could've happened with his best friend, and that he wants to bring him back because he feels guilty of his death at the hands of Thanos. As Tony works in his lab on a procedure to jump-start Rhodey's body, the A.I. explains Tony pondered about the morality of doing so and if Rhodey would approve of what he was doing, and points out that he considered not only how much Rhodey loved life, but also how many lives Rhodes had saved in just the last handful of years. The A.I. comments on his own struggles being a disembodied entity, and how difficult humans have made their own lives. After a flash of light, Rhodey's armor opens and he emerges startled from it. After Tony ensures nothing is wrong with Rhodey, they hug and begin to banter.
Before he moves on to talk about Riri Williams, from inside her helmet, the Tony Stark A.I. recognizes that his initial feelings about humanity were in tumult, in part due to coming from a culture with countless of stories in which artificial intelligence goes haywire. However, he realized he didn't want to be a "bodiless cliché" and that he couldn't judge the human race. Instead, he decided to continue doing what he was created for, assisting Ironheart. Meanwhile, Riri and Toni Ho are being greeted by Leonardo da Vinci. He reveals he set up the group to search for Tony Stark, and explains that since S.H.I.E.L.D. is gone, he believes it's past time for a new thing. Da Vinci explains he is alive in the present due to manipulating time and space, and leads Riri and Toni throughout the facility to Blade, who is training recruits Reptil and Striker. After Blade knocks down Riri following her comments that combat training was not necessary for her due to her armor, she is approached by Miles Morales and his family, who had just arrived after being recruited by Cable. Miles is equally startled by the situation.
Meanwhile, the A.I. narrates about Amanda Armstrong's life as she's looking over the rooftop of the Sofitel Hotel. Tony's biological father Jude stands behind her while she reluctantly makes a call asking Tony to come back. After Amanda corroborates that he's alive, Jude explains his resurrection was Hydra's doing. He reproaches Amanda for having killed him, but makes a point of never having tried to seek retribution even though he continued operating from the shadows and even kept an eye on Amanda. Amanda pleads Jude to leave Tony alone, and somebody suddenly interrupts them.
Somewhere aboard a yacht, Eric Lynch begs The Hood to no avail to stop from forcing him to sign over control of his interest in Stark Enterprises, since The Hood is trying to follow the Kingpin's footsteps on building an empire. When Lynch prepares to sign the papers, members of The Hood's Gang express frustration at something coming. An battalion of Doombots suddenly open fire on the boat, starting a fight. Right in the moment The Hood locks on the real Doom among his duplicates, Iron Man, War Machine and an army of remotely-controlled Iron Man Armor fortuitously join the brawl. To Victor's surprise, Tony assists him in battle, and admits he wants to know why is Doom dressed as him. As the battle continues, Tony receives the voice message Jude forced Amanda to leave him.
The Tony A.I. narrates about Doom's relationship with his mother, and Victor stands dumbfounded in front of Tony. The Hood turns into a demonic entity and takes down War Machine, causing him to fall into the water. Iron Man tries to help Rhodey, but The Hood grabs him. At the same time Rhodey emerges from the water, Doom lunges at The Hood and flies away with him. Iron Man and War Machine return to the yacht to Lynch. He apologizes to Tony and promises to let go of the company. Eric flees in terror, and Iron Man and War Machine resume fighting back-to-back, with none of them being able to track down either The Hood or Doom.
Somewhere up high, The Hood and Victor face off, and the faceplate of Doom's armor breaks, exposing his face. Robbins confesses he no longer wants to kill Victor since it led him to try diving into Tony Stark's world to see his goals through, because Stark's influence could do much more than money. As they continue struggling, the demon possessing The Hood threatens Victor if he damaged his vessel, and suggest that he could use Tony Stark instead. Doom conjures a spell to fight the demon, and in retaliation, it presses its hand against his exposed face, burning him while demanding to know why would he help Stark and what does he want with him.
Back at the Sofitel Hotel, Mary Jane Watson holds Jude at gunpoint and shoots him in the shoulder. This prompts him to decloak the battalion of Hydra soldiers accompanying him. Mary Jane reveals she didn't come alone either, and Ironheart appears together with da Vinci and all of his allies. In the middle of the confusion, Jude grabs Mary Jane's gun and prepares to shoot Amanda in the back. However, he's knocked out with a repulsor blast from Iron Man, who arrives with War Machine. After Amanda explains the man Tony just took down was his biological father, Tony thanks all of his friends for their assistance. Riri informs Tony about da Vinci's plans, and Stark accepts the invite. The Champions arrive while Tony is trying to process what just occurred, additionally, both he and Rhodey have no idea of where did Doom go. As the Tony A.I. wonders why did Doom turn good, and claims nobody will ever know why did he do it and what did he sacrifice for Stark, Victor wakes up in the ruins of Castle Doom in Latveria, with his face scarred once again. A pink energy trail begins to envelope the remains of the building, and a flash of energy lights up.
Returning to the digital projection of Tony's A.I., he declares he learned to love humanity's madness instead of giving into his instincts as an A.I.. He states that he loves the uncertainty, and muses on the future of Leonardo da Vinci, Riri, Rhodey and even Doom. However, the A.I. asserts he knows the path Tony Stark is headed to.
At an unspecified point in the future, Eva Bell rushes to the Sanctum Sanctorum. After subduing the worried manservant, Wagner, by placing him in temporal stasis, she enters the building and calls for Doctor Strange. She's instead greeted by Doctor Anthony Stark, the Sorcerer Supreme. Eva falls on her knees, and Stark approaches her offering his help.
Solicit Synopsis
BRIAN BENDIS ENDS HIS MARVEL TENURE WITH THIS VERY SPECIAL OVERSIZED ANNIVERSARY ISSUE!
Tony Stark is back, but in what form? At least five huge surprises await new and old fans alike. Industry legend Brian Michael Bendis drops his final Marvel Comic to end an era, and he’s going out big! This super-sized anniversary extravaganza features artistic contributions from a bevy of Bendis’ collaborators from over the years, including Jim Cheung, David Marquez, Mike Deodato Jr., Mark Bagley, Leinil Francis Yu, Daniel Acuña and a few other surprises! All this and a huge new villain arises! And the futures of Tony, Riri Williams and Victor Von Doom are all revealed!Notes
- This comic marks the end of writer Brian Michael Bendis's 18-year-long career at Marvel Comics. This issue features a two-page spread of a collection of pictures chosen by Bendis to celebrate his tenure at Marvel, as well as a thank you note.
- The main illustration in Olivier Coipel's variant cover was originally commissioned as the package artwork for the Iron Man Modular Armor action figure from the Wave 12 of Hasbro's Marvel Universe 3.75" toyline.
- The Iron Man Armor Model 8, Model 14 and Model 21 appear miscolored. They sport the default color scheme of the Iron Man suits instead of their proper colors.
- War Machine starts the issue wearing the War Machine Armor Model 8. When the art switches to Mark Bagley during the fight at the yacht, his armor switches to the Model 7.
- This issue's final sequence set in 2099 A.D. was originally presented in All-New X-Men Annual #1.
Trivia
- The panel layout and shots of the scene that depicts Tony Stark working on resurrecting Jim Rhodes parallel the scene of Tony Stark working on the Model-Prime Armor from Invincible Iron Man (Vol. 3) #1.