Iron Man #165
Endgame
While investigating who has been attacking Stark International, Iron Man has followed a lead to the castle of the Laird of Glen Travail in Scotland. Falling into a trap, Tony Stark’s friend and pilot Jim Rhodes was captured while Iron Man battled the Chessman known as the Bishop.[1] Confronting the Laird for answers he learns that Jim has been stashed in one of the castle’s rooms filled with venomous spiders. The Avenger has an hour to find Jim before he dies from the venomous bites of the spiders.
The Laird then triggers a spear launcher, distracting Iron Man long enough to escape. Needing to find Jim as quickly as possible, Iron Man finds a cable he believes is hard wired into the camera in Jim’s room and begins to follow it.
Little does he know that this is all part of a trap of Rook, another one of the Chessmen. Reporting to his master, the mysterious King, the Rook assures him that he will succeed where the Knight and Bishop failed before him.[2]
Following the cable, Iron Man enters the a room with the first trap set by Rook, a massive chunk of granite suspended from the ceiling. While this pins Iron Man to the floor, the strength of his armor saves his life and he is able to lift the block off his body, although this seriously drains his suit’s power supply.
As Iron Man continues his search for Rhodeny, the King is informed by one of his minions that Tony Stark’s investigation is getting close to uncovering his true identity. The King tells his minions to keep him informed.
Back in the United States, Vic Martinelli goes to Tony Stark’s office to learn the boss is still gone. He tells Bambi Arbogast — Tony’s secretary — that he has been able to connect the recent attacks on the company to a consortium of eastern industrialists who want to form an organization by exploiting loopholes in various anti-trust laws. They have been trying to pressure Stark into joining them, but he has refused to do so and now they are trying to take over the company.
Meanwhile, in Scotland, Iron Man steps into another one of Rook’s traps. This time it is a rack system built into a door that threaten to pull the hero limb from limb. However, Iron Man manages to get free by activating his jet boots, causing enough force to break the chains and free himself. Opening the door, Iron Man is embarrassed to discover he has entered the bedchamber where Indries Moomji as been staying. Making sure she is safe, he then continues his search for Jim even though Tony is falling deeply in love with her and would give anything to stay.
Back state-side, the tabloid media has taken notice of the time that Tony has been spending with Indries Moomji. A report on their public appearances is watched by Pepper Potts who once was a love interest of Tony Stark. Having long since gotten married and started a family, Pepper still has fond memories of working for Tony Stark.[3]
Back this time, Iron Man has wandered into the Rook’s third trap, a sealed room that is filling with acidic vapors. Although his armor is withstanding the acid for now, he will only be a matter of moments before it eats its way all the way through. Trying to keep calm, Tony finds the seam around the door way out and uses the diamond tipped cutter built into his finger to cut it loose and get out of the room. On the other side, he discovers he is back where he started and discovers he was played for a fool: Jim is nowhere in the castle.
Realizing that the video transmission must be coming from somewhere near by, Iron Man flies outside and scans the area. He quickly finds a hidden cave and rescues Jim and races him to a nearby hospital. After recharging his armor, Iron Man goes back to the castle and confronts the Laird of Glen Travail. Thinking that the Laird was the mastermind behind everything, Iron Man is about ready to beat the shit out of him when Indries Moomji enters the room and reminds him that this is not something Iron Man would do. Getting his anger in check, the Avenger agrees and hauls the Laird off to the authorities.
With the immediate danger over, Tony Stark has the best medical equipment shipped to Scotland to help save Jim’s life. He then decides to pass the time waiting for Rhode’s recovery with Indries as company. Little does Tony know that the mastermind behind this is still out there and still plotting against him.
Recurring Characters
Iron Man, Chessmen (Rook, Pawn), Jim Rhodes, Pepper Potts, Bambi Arbogast, Vic Martinelli, Indries Moomji
Continuity Notes
The Bishop, Rook, and Pawn are all unidentified by name here. Iron Manual Mark 3 #1 reveals their names to be Fletcher Heggs, Alban Eamond, Barnabus Kinloch and Napier Sutton respectively.
Stark International in Iron Man #162 and Iron Man’s investigation had led to battles with Knight and Bishop in issues #163 and 164. The identity of the King is revealed in Iron Man #166. He is a rival businessman named Obadiah Stane and he is trying to take over Tony’s company. He will actually succeed by Iron Man #173. Part of his plans also include Indries Moomji who has been hired to destroy Tony emotionally. His sudden infatuation with her is due to pheromons being used to manipulate his emotions. This is also revealed in Iron Man #173.
There is a lot going on with Pepper’s cameo that goes unspoken here. The details:
Tony Stark pursued Pepper as a romantic interest since her first appearance in Tales of Suspense #45. Tony had competition from Happy Hogan, his chauffeur at the time. Ultimately, Happy won Pepper’s love and the pair got married in Tales of Suspense #91.
Pepper and Happy worked for Tony on-and-off over the years. Their last stint working for the company ended in Iron Man #82-88 after Happy was injured on the job and Pepper worried about their continued safety due to Tony’s double-life as Iron Man.
Although this story implies that the little girl in Pepper’s lap is her biological daughter, Iron Man #210 reveals that this child was actually adopted.
Topical References
When describing the companies trying to take control of Stark International, Vic Martinelli refers to them as “European and Oriental industrialists”. The term “Oriental” should be considered topical as it is a dated term that, to some, is considered racist. The proper term today would be Asian, or East Asian if you want to really get geographic about it.
