Iron Man #116
Anguish Once Removed!
Tony Stark has been betrayed by his lover Whitney Frost, aka Madame Masque. Captured by the Ani-Men, Tony has been captured so he can use his scientific knowledge to try and reverse the rapid aging of Whitney’s father, Count Nefaria.[1] Despite being out numbered. Tony races to a hidden gun rack to find a weapon to defend himself.[2]
As the Ani-Men subdue Tony again, Spymaster — who has had infiltrated Stark International — arrives on a rooftop across from Tony’s penthouse apartment and prepares for the right opportunity to assassinate Tony Stark by activating a bomb he planted inside.
Meanwhile, Madame Masque pleads with her father not to hurt Tony anymore. Nefaria reminds his daughter of her obligations to him as her father, explaining how he managed to escape from Avengers captivity during their battle with Arsenal and quickly hired the Ani-Men to force Whitney to help him secure Tony Stark.[3] The situation quickly turns when one of the Ani-Men foolishly tosses Tony near the attaché case he stores his armor in. He quickly changes into Iron Man and begins fighting back. Unfortunately, the battle is cut short when Spymaster’s bomb goes off. The blast knocks Iron Man onto the street below wrecking his jet boots. Racing back up to his penthouse he finds no trace of Madame Masque, the Ani-Men, or Count Nefaria. However, he learns a police officer arriving on the scene that they survived and fled not long after the blast.
Knowing that Stark International is the only place with the equipment they’d need to restore Count Nefaria to his proper age, Iron Man races back to his company. There he learns that someone posing as him ordered everyone to evacuate the building. Wondering who this can be, Iron Man begins looking around until he is ambushed by the Life Model Decoy he has been using recently to help maintain his secret identity. When the LMD begins attacking him, Iron Man quickly destroys the android by using his power-pods to send a massive electrical charge through the LMD’s head.
When Iron Man finally reaches his lab, he discovers that Whitney has placed her father in a suspended animation tank to keep him alive until she can stop his rapid aging process. Iron Man can’t let her go through with it because her father is a criminal. Since Tony isn’t letting her do what she needs to, Madame Masque activates Stark’s newly designed Jupiter Lander Vehicle. As the machine was developed to withstand the hostile environment of the planet Jupiter, it is powerful and deadly. Iron Man quickly breaks free from its grasp and removes Whitney from the cockpit. However, the machine begins to run wild, threatening the lives of security guards who have arrived on the scene.
In order to save their lives, Iron Man knocks the Jupiter Lander over, unintentionally sending it crashing into the suspension tank where Count Nefaria was being held. Horrified by what happened, Tony tries to explain to Whitney that it was an accident. Torn between the love of her father and her love for Tony, the Count’s sudden death has completely changed things.[4] Promising to be in touch, Whitney tells Tony that she needs to leave him to sort out her life, telling him that it will take a long, long time.
Recurring Characters
Iron Man, Madame Masque, Ani-Men (Ape-Man, Bird-Man, Cat-Man, Frog-Man), Spymaster, Count Nefaria
Continuity Notes
Madame Masque’s relationship to Count Nefaria was revealed back in Iron Man #8. At the time of this story, Nefaria had given himself ionic powers. However, he discovered they came at a price: He was rapidly aging and is now an old man. See Avengers #164-166 and Iron Man #114 for details.
Here, Tony states that these weapons are left over from when Stark International used to make munitions. The company built weapons until Iron Man #46, when Tony began seeing what his weapons have done and shifted focus to more scientific pursuits.
Iron Man and the Avengers fought Arsenal in Iron Man #114.
This is not the end of Count Nefaria, he manages to cheat death and restore himself to his proper age. However, this turns him into a vampire of sorts, needing to absorb the life forces of those powered by ionic energy. See Iron Man Annual 1999 for all the details.
