Iron Man #320 — Nick Peron

Aug 8

Aug 8 Iron Man #320

Hollow Man

This story continues from Force Works #16…

A storm is raging over the Stark Center Private Hospital as Marianne Rodgers suddenly has the compulsion to escape. Knocking out the orderly coming in to check on her, Marianne breaks free and flees into the night. The entire episode is observed by Madame Masque.[1][2]

In Los Angeles the following morning, petty criminals are picking a bad day to carry out their business as Iron Man is out in his new suit of armor taking out crooks. The sun is barely even up before the hero has stopped a car jacking, prevented a sexual assault, busts a woman trying to sell drugs to children, and stops a rumble between two rival gangs.

Later that day, Tony Stark makes an appearance at the brand new park that Stark Enterprises is financing a park to add some much needed green space to Los Angeles. At the grand opening of the Maria Stark Park, Tony ignores the media’s attempt to make this look like a cheap way of getting a tax write off for his business. Starks gets the best possible photo-op when a little girl on the playground openly thanks and hugs him on camera for making the new park happen.

Meanwhile, in Vietnam, members of the Priest of Pama cut through the dense foliage to reach their former temple home. When they arrive they are shocked to discover that it has completely disappeared. The men begin to weep as they believe that this is a sign that their priesthood is now forever damned.[3]

Back in Los Angeles, Tony Stark watches the news footage of the park opening and is pleased. He figures that this boost in public profile will also help sell the public on his new designs for the Starcore space station.[4] He then calls Henry Gyrich, the government liaison for the project. Gyrich is in a particularly bad mood because of his recent dealings with the Avengers and their extraterrestrial ally, Deathcry.[5] He agrees that something needs to be done about the Avengers. That’s when Bethany Cabe enters the room curious to know where the screened call from Gyrich is coming from, since she is the head of security. Ending the call, Tony deflects Beth’s interest in his secret line by kissing her. While Cabe seems to forget about the pressing matter, she is actually well aware that Tony has been acting strangely recently and wonders what’s going on and what he’s keeping secret.

Tony then heads down to his private lab where his new assistant, the Machinesmith, is hard at work. Stark is briefed on the Machinesmith’s latest inventions: a hypnothetical weather-regulation system and a new communications uplink. When he suggests that these could be installed on the new Starcore station, Tony vetos the idea. That’s when an encrypted communique begins coming in. Ordering the Machinesmith to shut down, Tony goes to see who is trying to contact him on this secure channel. When Tony uses his biometrics to log in, he suddenly blacks out. In the darkness he sees a young woman appear to him and gives a cryptic warning that “others” are coming.[6]

When Tony snaps out of his blackout, he discovers that he is now in the kitchen of his home preparing a meal with Bethany Cabe. Not knowing how he got here, Tony panics and bolts outside, alarming Bethany. Looking out the window, Cabe sees the silhouette of a woman during a flash of lightning and wonders who it could be before wondering why she puts herself through these things.

Meanwhile, Tony runs to the cliffside at the edge of his estate. He is deeply upset because he has no idea what’s going on. Dimly remembering the young woman from his vision he wonders what she was trying to warn him about and what is happening to him.

… This story continues in Avengers #391.

Recurring Characters

Iron Man, Bethany Cabe, Marianne Rodgers, Masque (unidentified), Machinesmith, Henry Gyrich, “Adult Luna”, “Priest of Pama”

Continuity Notes

Marianne Rodgers was Tony’s ex-girlfriend dated for a time between Iron Man #36 through 51. Driven mad by her growing telepathic abilities, Rodger was institutionalized in Iron Man #59. Although she was briefly released circa Iron Man #97, she has been institutionalized since Iron Man #107.
This is not really Madame Masque, aka Whitney Frost, but Masque a rogue bio-duplicate created by the real Whitney Frost. This will all be revealed in Avengers (vol. 3) #32.
The Priests of Pama were a pacifist sect of Kree that sought peace and enlightenment with members of the Cotati race, a plant-based species that shared their home world of Hala with the Kree. When the Kree turned into a technological fascist empire, many of the Priests went into exile with their Cotati brethren. One such group stationed themselves in the jungles of Vietnam where they trained the woman known as Mantis to be candidate for the Celestial Madonna. It was a whole thing, see Avengers #123-124, 134, and Giant-Size Avengers #4. These men, however, are not really members of the priesthood, but Space Phantoms in disguise. As explained in Avengers Forever #8, the entire Crossing event is part of an elaborate ruse created by Immortus to pre-occupy the Avengers and manipulate their destiny, which in itself is also another whole thing.
The Starcore satellite is actually being used to hide a temporal weapon that will figure prominently in The Crossing as it is part of “Kang’s” scheme. See Force Works #20 and War Machine #23.
Deathcry was exiled to Earth by Empress Lilandra of the Shi’ar back in Avengers #363. When the US government learned of her presence on Earth they attempted to apprehend her, but the Avengers resisted them, as seen in Avengers #389. Tony states here that he recently visited his former teammates. That was during an Avengers reunion that turned into a murder mystery in Avengers: The Crossing #1.
This mystery woman is later implied to be the adult version of Luna Maximoff, the daughter of Quicksilver and Crystal, as posited in Avengers #394. However, this is another Space Phantom in disguise, as per Avengers Forever #8. When “Luna” states “I know you didn’t mean to do it”, she is referring to the murders of Yellowjacket and Marilla which took place in Avengers: The Crossing #1. The revelation that Stark was the killer will be revealed in Iron Man #323. This whole story is centered around the idea that Tony Stark has been a sleeper agent for Kang the Conqueror since the villain’s first appearance back in Avengers #8. This, again, is another part of the master schemes of Immortus.