Iron Man (vol. 3) #22

Aug 7

Aug 7 Iron Man (vol. 3) #22

The Eighth Day Part 2: The Thrill of the Chase!

This story continues from Thor (vol. 2) #17…

Tony Stark was hired to consult on an archeological dig in Nunavut territory that uncovered the centuries old Temple of Balthakk. While there, Iron Man got in a clash with the Council of Antiquarians, treasure hunters who sought to claim the temple for their own personal gain. During the fight, Tony’s pilot — Samantha McGee — entered the temple and touched the flames spewing from the Brazier of Balthakk. This transformed her into Balthakk’s avatar, Inferno. With something called the Eighth Day upon them, Inferno attacks Iron Man and the others with her new powers.

Iron Man quickly yanks Inferno outside and when his scanners identify her as McGee, he tries to talk sense into her. Refusing to acknowledge her past life, Inferno blasts Iron Man into the snow and takes off into the sky. Following after her, Iron Man radios Avengers Mansion to warn them of her threat. The call is taken by Jarvis, who informs him that Thor just recently clashed with the Juggernaut and how the unstoppable behemoth was spirited away by two magically powered individuals calling themselves Bedlam and Conquest.[1]

Meanwhile, at a Stark-Fujikawa geothermal rig located of the northern coast of Tahiti, an efficiencies inspector named Yoshiro Hachiman arrives on the scene to audit the facility. Suddenly, he enters a trance and walks off the edge of the rig. Hearing something calling out to him, he swims deep under water where he finds the Temple of Valtorr. Inside he finds the Verdant Vial of Valtorr and grasps the mystical artifact and begins to be transformed.

At that same time, Iron Man calls Pepper Potts at Stark Solutions to check up on business. There has been no word from Carol Danvers,[2] but Rumiko Fujikawa called on urgent business,[3] on top of requests for his company’s services from various potential clients. Since he is preoccupied with the current crisis he has all of the recent job offers subcontracted out to his colleagues Bill Foster, Scott Lang, and Myron MacLain. Unable to find Inferno, Iron Man heads back to the dig site as Tony Stark. Comparing notes with Doctor J. Vernon Mann, he confirms that the Juggernaut got his powers from the Temple of Cyttorak and how it and the Temple of Balthakk both have similar inscriptions that foretell of an event called the Eighth Day. With the world in danger from they mystically empowered foes, Tony demands that the Council of Antiquarians tell him everything they know about the temples right away.

Back aboard the Stark-Fujikawa rig, Yoshiro Hachiman emerges from the ocean, transformed into a walking corpse called Decay. With his new powers he kills the entire crew of the rig, leaving behind nothing but a pile of withered corpses.

While in the rainforests of northern Australia, game warden Nicolette Giroux is on the trail of illegal trappers when she happens upon a mysterious cave. There she discovers the Temple of Watoomb hidden inside. Drawn to a glistening waterfall, she too undergoes a transformation upon touching the enchanted liquid.

Meanwhile, Tony Stark and the Council of Antiquarians are heading to another dig site in Count Zorba’s ship. Along the way, Princess Zanda explains that one of their associates — Nigel Pigman — has uncovered another temple in the Andean Valley in South America. They arrive just in time to stop Pigman from opening up the Temple of Farallah. However, as they are explaining things to Nigel, Count Zorba is drawn into the temple when nobody is looking. Touching the mystical artifact there, Zorba is transformed into Carnivor and attacks his former allies. As everyone tries to flee, Tony slips away and changes into Iron Man and attacks Canivore. While they are busy, Dr. Mann examines the inscriptions on the wall and learns the shocking truth about all these temples.

He tells the Council members that centuries ago a number of mystical deities — Farallah, Cyttorak, Balthakk, Ikonn, Raggadorr, Watoomb, Valtorr, Krakkan — made what is called the “Wager of Octessnats” where they erected temples all over the Earth. These temples would draw in those worthy of becoming the avatar of each entity’s power in the physical world. These Exemplars would become the embodiment of power. When Nigel points out that the Juggernaut has been active for years, Vernon admits that he has no explanation for this but suspects that something must have interrupted the gathering spell.[4]

Soon, Decay and Tempest arrive on the scene to gather Carnivor so they can join the other Examplars. Carnivor wants to finish off Iron Man before leaving, but Thor soon arrives on the scene, prompting them to flee the scene. With the battle over, Dr. Mann comes out with another startling revelation that he translated from the temple runes: Once all eight Exemplars have been activated they will begin a mystical ceremony called the Ceremony of Octessence which will strip humanity of all free will. The planet will then be carved up into eight kingdoms for each one of the Exemplars, then there will be war between all sides until only one Exemplar is left standing!

… This story continues in Peter Parker: Spider-Man #11.

Recurring Characters

Iron Man, Thor, Exemplars (Inferno, Carnivore, Decay, Tempest), Pepper Potts, J. Vernon Mann, Council of Antiquarians (Princess Zanda, Abner Little, Nigel Pigman), Edwin Jarvis,

Continuity Notes

Thor’s battle with the Juggernaut and encounter with Bedlam and conquest took place in Thor (vol. 2) #17.
Tony is concerned about Carol Danvers because she has been struggling with alcohol addiction since Avengers (vol. 3) #4. Tony has been trying to help her get sober since Iron Man (vol. 3) #7. The pair came at odds with one another last issue when Carol decided that she could have performed better on a rescue mission if she had had a drink to take the edge off.
Rumiko Fujikawa is trying to warn Tony that her father’s company had recently recovered Ultimo, as we’ll learn next issue.
Indeed, the Juggernaut was given his powers years earlier as depicted in X-Men #12. Juggernaut (vol. 2) #1 will explain that when the Temple of Cytorrak was struck by missiles it misaligned the runes that would have triggered the other temples to start gathering their own avatars.