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IRON MAN #257 PLOT
ARMOR WARS 2
Part One: “Nightmares & Medical Scares”
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What you are about to read was transcribed, without any change, from a hand-written plot that I uncovered in my files last month. (For those of you that might be offended by harsh language--please don't read the plot, since it is laced with several colorful terms meant for Johnny alone.) The art notations were directed to John Romita Jr. , who was slated as the penciller of the series (see the ad above from IRON MAN #254). Back when this plot was originally written, I had just taken over as writer/inker of IRON MAN and had hooked back up with JRJR as the new penciller. Unfortunately,
for those who were waiting for me to tell this story, I
gave up IRON MAN and my position at Marvel to go work for a new start-up
company--Valiant Comics. I
felt I had a chance to do something far more significant with my career at
Valiant (which turned out to be true). As a result of my departure,
this plot was never submitted to the editor or to John.
The
basic storyline of this unpublished version of ARMOR WARS
II dealt
with the after-effects of the bio-chip implant that allowed Tony Stark to
walk again, after suffering a spinal injury from a bullet. Within
Tony Stark, there already exists a similar bio-chip, implanted there by
the now-deceased Spymaster back in issue #138.
(David
Michelinie and I had always planned
to tell this story at some point and let the secret of the first
bio-chip slide for years).
It
was through this chip that Spymaster was able to obtain the secrets to
Iron Man's armor. (as revealed in the original Armor Wars issues of
Iron Man) In the storyline, the two, radically different
biotechnologies began to interact--creating horrific results. Tony
starts
to suffer from a wide range of side effects--from bizarre nightmares to
personality disorders as you'll read in this plot synopsis. The
symptoms
culminates with the birth of a bio-tech, silicone replica of Tony.
The major differences between the two is that Stark-X replica had
no human emotions or conscience (at least--not right away.). The
story's intent was to explore what makes the real Tony who he is and how
much of a potential menace Stark could be without his humanity to govern
his actions and genius. In the issues building up to #263's conclusion, Stark-X breaks away from Tony's control and begin to carve out a world of it's own making. With a ruthlessness that Tony would never consider, X overthrows an existing Marvel corporation, making it and it's resources his own. His goals are not all that different than the real Stark--but his methods makes the Roxxon oil boys look like a board room full of Gandhi's. In essence, Tony Stark has, inadvertently, created his most deadly enemy. X also creates his own suit of armor to defend his interests from the meddling of his real-life counterpart. (see illo at the bottom of the page) Eventually, Stark-X would all but bring Tony Stark and his empire to it's knees. Almost. Ultimately, the Stark doppelganger succumbs to the same affliction that had plagued Tony--substance abuse. But without the compassion and humanity that Tony possessed to overcome the grip of addiction, by the end of the story, the creature's fate would be sealed.
8/1/06
IRON
MAN #257 PLOT We
open with a nightmare sequence as Tony Stark enters his office and
everyone (Mrs. Arbogast, Rhodey, Marcy, Felix, etc.) is confronting him—AND
they are all in wheelchairs! They
thrust reports and bills in his face—demanding his attention. Tony
(dressed in his armor—sans helmet) is reacting in total shock and
dismay. (Johnny: make this scene as weird as you wish—but let the readers know
it’s a dream from the get-go, okay?) As
the wheelchairs press closer, give us a bird’s eye shot as they encircle
him—each person screaming their demands at the top of their lungs! Stark—in
a total panic by now, flies up thru the ceiling and into the clear blue
skies. As he flies over L.A.,
give us a couple of panels of a goofy “Wheelchair World” where
everyone is in a chair. Suddenly,
a powerful ray blast knocks Iron Man from the air and we see him crash
violently to the earth. As he tries to pull himself together from the impact’s effects, Tony hears a voice from off-panel saying:
“At last—you’re at my mercy, you perambulate freak!” Tony
reacts in horror as we pull back to see Dr. Doom towering menacingly in a
sci-fi high tech wheelchair! (kind of a War-Wheel chair, John.) Tony
blasts Doom with his Repulsors, causing a huge explosion that sucks Tony
into the heart of it! Searing
heat and caustic fumes consume Tony as he screams! The
next instant— He’s
sprawled out on his own bed, back in his private penthouse.
(still in the armor—sans
helmet). His hair is soaked in his own sweat. He
painfully pulls himself up and, in front of the full-length mirror by his
bed, begins to doff the armor.
(Don’t actually show his skin yet, JR) Pan
in for an extreme close-up as we see him scream once more! In
the mirror, he see the length of his naked body covered in pulsating
micro-circuits, a transparent chest window with a throbbing semi-organic
reactor for a heart inside—and anything else like that that you can
think of, John. Suddenly,
the reflection in the mirror begins to move independently, its eyes are
cold and lifeless as a shark’s (similar
to BWS’ creature in issue #233.). Tony
is frozen in fear as the terrifying image says to him: “ “I am everything you fear to be.” Cut
to Stark Enterprises’ Advanced Science labs (on
LEVEL 3) as we see Dr. Erica Sondheim in a high-tech operating
theater. On the computerized
lab table, we see an unconscious Tony Stark—face down. His
gown is open to his waist and there’s a sizable pressure bandage on his
back. In
the glass-enclosed viewing area above the room stand Rhodes and a group of
top level scientists. (Rhodey should
look very concerned.) Erica says that Mr. Stark is fighting the
effects of the anesthesia—his E.E.G. readings suggest some sort of
mental agitation. Rhodey shouts, “Just what the fuck does that mean,
Bitch?!” (Well…not really, JR. But-- it would be great, eh?) Erica calmly looks up and states: “It means that Mr. Stark is having…a bad dream, Mr. Rhodes.” As Erica turns her attention to the incubator device to one side of Tony, Rhodey asks: “What the Hell is that thing that you removed from the Chief?” With
that, Erica gives a short explanation of the bio-cube that had formed on
Tony’s back. (Johnny: give me a flashback panel or two of Tony in Erica’s examining room—one panel showing us the mass that has formed on his back after his spinal operation and be sure even ever-calm Erica reacts in shock. The second panel should be a close-up of a grim Tony Stark ordering her to: “Cut it off!”.)
Back
to present as Erica explains to Rhodes that the bio-mass cube is
continuing to grow geometrically—but has not yet taken on any
recognizable form. Close-up on a grimacing Jim Rhodes as he says with a growl: “Destroy the damn thing, Doc!” Dr.
Sondheim says that will be a decision that Mr. Stark will have to make
when once he’s up and around. Cut
to another section of the Advanced Science labs where the more menial
tasks are performed (i.e.:
janitorial, storage, mail, requisition forms etc.)
There, we see a couple of workers going about sorting mail. One
worker, (a curly-haired blond man in
his early thirties—who will turn out to be an uncover Blacklash) is
jubilant over receiving his Columbia Record Club ‘selection of the month’.
The other worker asks why he had it send to the S.E. address instead of
his home. The blond man says
that his wife gives him a hard time about his choice in music—so he
keeps his collection in his car and at the office.
As the other worker loads his pushcart and proceeds on his rounds,
‘Curly’ quickly opens that music cassette package, dismantles the
cassette and removes an electronic ‘framastat’
from it. He unlocks his desk
drawer and places the part next to others just like it in the desk. While
he’s doing this, I’ll take the time to explain that Curly had been
placed inside S.E as a ‘sleeper agent” for Justin Hammer, in order to
retrieve the experimental bio-chip data and technology for Tony Stark’s
arch rival Since normal security procedures would detect his cyber-whip, he’s smuggling in parts slowly into Stark Enterprises, where he can assemble the weapon once he’s ready to make his move. (tell no one, Johnny!)
Just as he’s closing the drawer to lock it, a techno comes in and asks Curly if he’s gotten that PH-362 conductor he ordered. Curly says: “Oh—yeah!” |
and
gives him the package. As he
hands him the box, Curly notices that the techno has a LEVEL3 clearance
badge. Conversationally, Curly asks him what going on down on that level.
The techno looks at him with contempt and says: “I should report you for asking. You know that it’s none
of your business.” As
the snotty techno walks away, Curly thinks: “Oh—that’s
where you are mistaken, my friend!”
Cut
to an establishing shot of a high-tech hospital room (on
Level 3) where we see Tony (still
asleep) resting comfortably after the surgery.
We see Jim Rhodes entering the room with a very sexy Rae LaCoste.
Rae thanks Jim for allowing her to enter the building without the
normal, tedious security checks. Rhodey says that he thinks the Chief would like to see a
gorgeous face when he wakes up—instead of a puss like his. Rae
smiles warmly as Rhodey backs out of the room, leaving her alone with
Stark. Rae
stands by the bed and thinks about all that poor Tony has gone thru over
the last few months. (Johnny:
maybe a couple of flashbacks here of Tony being shot by Kathy Dare, his
bitter time in the wheelchair and the strain of the trial.) As
she places her hand on Tony’s hand, he begins to stir.
Still
groggy, Tony looks up and says;
“I’ve only got this room until 8:30—so we’ll have to
make it a quick one!” Rae
kisses him and replies: “I know that you’re
probably capable of it—but I think you’d better get what rest you can,
Darling.” Cut
to the next morning and an establishing shot of the Administration
Building, then--cut to Tony (dressed sharply) entering his office with
Mrs. Arbogast in tow. Felix Alverez is waiting for him inside his office.
Tony sits down and (sipping
his coffee) asks Felix: “So—what
brings you in here so early in the day?” Felix
explains that Winston Cauwfield (the
chemical magnate from last issue) has requested a press blackout about
the acquisition of the Stark Space Station—for obvious security reasons.
Alverez goes on to explain the Ms. Marcy Pearson doesn’t share
Mr. Cauwfield need for discretion. Felix
hands Tony a memo and says: “I intercepted
this on its way to Pubic Relations.” Tony
looks grim as he says: “I’ll deal
with it, Felix.” Tony
gets up and hands his coffee cup to Mrs. Arbogast and says: “Hold all of my calls and cancel my appointments.
I’ll be in the Advanced Labs for the rest of the day.” Walking
out with him, Mrs. Arbogast replies: “Okay, Buster—but
Mr. Trump is going to be real pissed-off!” As
Tony reaches the elevator (briefcase
in hand), Marcy Pearson (all
young, brown and yummy) confronts him, accusing Alverez of
over-stepping his authority. I mean—she’s mighty pissed. Johnny! Tony
tells her to meet him in his office at 10 a.m. tomorrow morning and the
two of them will discuss Marcy’s unhappiness with her job of late.
As Tony enters the elevator and the doors are closing, Marcy
continues with her complaints. But
Tony just sighs and groans out with a pained look on his face: “I
said…tomorrow, Ms. Pearson.” Cut
to a large (perhaps a half-page
shot) of the LEVEL 3 labs. Stark
and Sondheim are standing in front of a huge viewscreen.
On the screen are multiple views of the bio-cube (schematics,
CGI images, the incubator—whatever you think is dramatic, Johnny.) The
room is buzzing with activity as multiple experiments are taking place to
determine the origin and nature of the bio-cube.
Erica explains to Tony her theory as to what went wrong.
The big screen switches images to a computerized model of Tony’s
internal structure. She shows
him that another bio-chip had been implanted in Tony’s brain and been
there for some time now. When
the second bio-chip (with a
differing chemical structure) was introduced into Tony’s spine to repair
the damage from Kathy Dare’s bullet, the two chips began to interact
with each other—creating a bio-technical mutation! (John: show this one
the screen, if possible.) Basically—the
two chips mated and went on a honeymoon in Stark’s body. Stark
is stunned—but quickly realizes that the chip in his brain came from
Spymaster. It had to be the
method that he used to extract the secrets of the Iron Man armor
technology. (implanted in an unconscious Tony in issue#138) Somehow—Spymaster
implanted that original bio-chip in Tony’s brain and all desired
information was relayed to Hammer’s central computer system.
All during the “Armor Wars”, Tony tore his private labs apart—looking
for an electronic bug and found nothing. It
was in his head the entire time. Erica
elaborates that both chips, having merged into a single organism, have
left his body and formed this bio-cube.
The
good news is that they repaired the damage to his spinal cord (as
any efficient machine would.) before they were removed.
The
bad news is that she hasn’t got a clue as to what the cube is—on what
it’s trying to become! Cut
to late that same night as we see gloved hands assembling the cyber-whip. (John: don’t let on that it’s Blacklash or his whip just yet.
Remember that the readers don’t know who Curly really is.) As
the device begins to take shape, we pull back to see the full figure of
–Ta-Da—BLACKLASH! And
he’s ready for action. At
that moment, in the Incubator Room, Tony and Erica are working at their
computers and monitoring the cube. They
both look exhausted but continue to debate the fate of the cube. The
pragmatic side of him says “destroy
it” but the scientist in him won’t allow it.
Erica, taking off her glasses and rubbing her eyes, suggests that
Tony gets some sleep. After
all, he’s still recovering from surgery.
Tony reluctantly agrees but demands that Erica summons him if any
changes occur in the bio-cube. With
attaché in hand, Tony exits.
Cut
to a monitoring station outside of the LEVEL 3 complex as we see the
techno (from the mailroom scene) talking on the phone. Connected to the
phone is a small device—designed to scramble that conversation and
prevent eavesdropping or tracing. The
techno is speaking Russian as he reports on the bio-chips progress.
Suddenly,
the phone shatters as the whip (from
o.p.) strikes it. We hear a voice from off-panel saying: “It seems our intelligence reports were correct, eh-comrade?” The
whip encircles the Russian’s throat—choking off any cries for help. With the Ruskie’s eyes almost bulging out of their sockets
from the constricting cable, Blacklash brutally slams his face down upon
the retina eye scanner that unlocks the door to LEVEL 3.
While doing this, Blacklash will explain Mr. Hammer discovered the
presence of Russian sleepers in Stark’s organization (I’ve
read that in real life, they’re all over Silicone Valley these days,
JR.) and that a Techno Sleeper will make a perfect patsy to cover his
clandestine activities. That
is—as long as the Sleeper isn’t alive to tell his side of the story.
When that said, Blacklash constrict the whip tighter—strangling the
Russian. Concealing the body somewhere clever, Blacklash walks
casually into the LEVEL 3 complex.
Cut
to Tony—lying down in the employee’s lounge—unable to sleep. Give me
a few thought panels—some soul-searching moments with the character.
Then,
cut back to—the ‘dead’ Russian sleeper—who’s not quite dead.
In typical Blacklash form—he did a fuckin’ sloppy job and left
the sleeper agent alive. The Sleeper is badly hurt and crawls out from a
broom closet or whatever place of concealment you choose, John. Gasping
and coughing up blood, the techno crawls to the monitoring station and
sets off the alarm. (better to
protect the cube than to let it fall in to hostile hands, eh?) A
klaxon sounds, which startles Tony out of his soul-searching mode!
Tony thinks that whatever the problem is, it might be better met by
IRON MAN! Cut
to the main labs as Blacklash is collecting disks with all the current
data on the mysterious bio-cube. All
that’s left for him to do is abscond with the cube itself!
But, before Blackie can make a move to do that, in flies the Golden
Avenger himself! Blacklash
is immediately on the offensive—having gotten his ass whipped too many
times to trifle with this powerhouse! (John:
Let’s talk about this fight. I’ll
need about 2 pages of nifty fight stuff.
Blackie should be using the whip in several new, interesting modes
that we can discuss.)
Iron
Man will order the security forces to stay back and protect the lab that
has Erica and the Bio-Cube in it. Just
as the battle is reaching its full fury, a screaming Erica Sondheim bursts
from the lab where the bio-cube is. She
has the look of someone who has just gone mad! She’s
grabbed by a S.E. security team, but she fights like a wildcat to get free
of them—shrieking that she must summon Mr. Stark at once! The
last shot will be a close up on her eyes—maddened by fear as she hisses” “…The c-cube…it’s
c-changed--! Next
issue: Armor Wars II/Part II “Birth
& Death”
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