Iron Man #114
The Menace of Arsenal!
Following his battle with the Unicorn, Iron Man has brought his foe to Avenger Mansion. There he hopes his teammate, Yellowjacket can cure his foe of the very powers that are killing him.[1] Standing guard are their fellow Avengers: the Vision, the Beast, and Wonder Man. Wonder Man quips that their headquarters is becoming crowded with convulsant villains, as they are also keeping Jason Beere and Count Nefaria prisoner as well.[2] The Beast questions why they are trying to save the Unicorn. Iron Man explains they have no choice if he is to learn who sent the Unicorn to attack him in the first place.[3] As the device needed to cure the Unicorn uses a powerful amount of radiation, the Avengers have to leave the lab while it does its work. Moments after they are gone, the radiation bombardment revives the Unicorn, who then breaks free from his restraints.
Meanwhile, Whitney Frost — aka Madame Masque — returns to Tony Stark’s penthouse after an afternoon of shipping. She is in a great mood as she has finally found true love in her relationship with Tony Stark, little knowing how her life is about to take an unexpected turn.
At that same moment, the Unicorn’s master detects that his slave is awake and orders his pawn to start attacking the Avengers. In the ensuing battle, the Unicorn’s helmet sustains damage which interferes with his master’s ability to communicate with him. Without the voice to direct him what to do, Unicorn panics and begins fleeing through the mansion’s sub-levels to the Avengers river access. Its here that a secret door opens and the Unicorn is attacked by a massive robot calling himself Arsenal.[4] Unable to make connection to his central computer for orders, Arsenal decides to make a proactive search for his enemies. Arsenal then finds the Avengers hunting for Unicorn and attacks them. The group discovers that this robot is not only incredibly strong, but is decked out with all sorts of weapons that can counteract their abilities.
While back at Stark Industries, a spy that has infiltrated the company has infiltrated the systems analyst facility. This gives him access to the company’s secret files bringing the spy a step closer to what he is looking for which will spell the end of Tony Stark.[5]
Back at Avengers Mansion, the battle rages on just as Captain America and the Scarlet Witch return to the mansion. With everyone but Iron Man incapacitated the are a much needed additional to the battle. Unfortunately, Arsenal knocks out the two newcomers. Iron Man refuses to surrender and attacks the robot with all his might. Realizing that it cannot continue a battle against Iron Man, Arsenal unleashes a blinding flash of light, allowing the massive robot to disappear without a trace. With no idea where Arsenal came from or why it attacked the Avengers, the team searches for Unicorn and finds him in serious condition. With no way of getting information out of him now, Iron Man decides to take his old enemy back to Stark International where he will be kept on life support. When the Vision wonders who was responsible for both attacks, Iron Man vows he will find out.
Recurring Characters
Iron Man, Arsenal, Avengers (Captain America, Yellowjacket, Scarlet Witch, Vision, the Beast, Wonder Man), Madame Masque, Unicorn, Titanium Man (unidentified), Count Nefaria, Spymaster (unidentified)
Continuity Notes
Since receiving a power upgrade in Iron Man #4, the Unicorn’s life span has been drastically reduced. Iron Man mentions how Yellowjacket previously saved his allies after they were all turned to gold by Midas, see Iron Man #103-108.
Jason Beere, aka the Eternity Man, wanted to take out the world when he died by connecting his heart to powerful nuclear weapons that he hid all over the world. To prevent this from happening, Iron Man put Beere in suspended animation to keep him alive for an indefinite period circa Avengers #169. More recently, the Avengers battled a ionically powered Count Nefaria who was defeated when he discovered that the process that gave him his powers was causing him to rapidly age, as seen in Avengers #164-166.
The Unicorn’s master is only referred to as the “Other” here. He is identified as the Titanium Man in Iron Man #134.
Arsenal’s origins and purpose are not explained here. Avengers Annual #9 reveals that Arsenal was invented by Howard Stark as the last line of defense if America ever lost a war. What war? It’s a whole complicated thing involving the Sliding Timescale, see my summary on the Avengers annual for all the dirty details.
This spy is later identified as Spymaster in Iron Man #116. The following issue reveals that he was hired by rogue SHIELD agents trying to learn the identities of Stark International’s shareholders in a scheme to force the company back into munitions manufacturing.
Topical References
The Beast makes a quip about the Blue Cross, a federation of 35 major health insurers that operate in the United States. This should be considered a topical reference as this is a consortium of real world businesses.
