Invincible Iron Man (4th series) #11

After Tony Stark got married to Emma Frost (going by Hazel Kendall) in Las Vegas, the happy couple head to Oahu to be seen on their honeymoon. “Hazel” is sipping cocktails on the beach, while Tony learns surfing. They figure that being married makes Tony boring, not worth a second look, and that buys them time for what they need.

In their suite, Emma throws Tony a box with his armor and warns him that they are taking an unnecessary risk. Putting on the armor, he replies that the new metal mutants created – mysterium – is worth the risk. He tells her if he gets caught or dies, walk away from this… become someone else. Emma jokes that would be a shame, as she is becoming fond of Hazel. Her hair is certainly easier to maintain. She calls room service to send dinner for two to keep up appearances.

Tony switches on the armor’s stealth mode and apologizes; he only now gets how hard this is for her. Is she up to this? If the mission is too difficult, he can go it alone. She assures him this is fine. The sunglasses he made for her connect her to his armor.

Iron Man flies off.

They chose Hawaii as destination not just because of their limited budget but because of its proximity to Krakoa.

Iron Man closes in beneath the waves. As he arrives, he sees Stark Sentinels guarding the island. While he can disguise his armor, he cannot cloak the exhaust from his propulsion, so he walks instead, arriving at Hellfire Bay, as Emma informs him. She steers him to her former home where she kept some of the mysterium. If it hasn’t been found and confiscated yet, it will be in the largest of her walk-in closets.

He is interrupted by several Orchis agents walking and flying by, and is shocked that Orchis hires intelligent apes. Emma cheerfully advises him not to underestimate them. They come with PhDs. She guides him down the corridor of her sumptuous private rooms, and he is impressed that Krakoa grew all that for her. She asked very nicely.

She tells him to look for a trunk with thigh-high white boots atop. She notices the ape behind Iron Man in the mirror and asks if he is sure that the apes don’t notice him. He is, until the ape hits him hard (and kindly informs him that Feilong tuned their satellites to find a new element and an anomalous reading brought him here. He asks where the White Queen is. Iron Man plays dumb, claiming he saw the signs about an estate sale. No japes! the enraged ape shouts and hits him.

Sipping her cocktail, Emma reminds him that she did warn him this would be a disaster. Multiple PhDs.

The ape takes him in a headlock. Iron Man breaks free and claims he isn’t Stark. The ape demands that he step out of his armor then. And what is he doing here? Grabbing one of the bras, Iron Man claims he is the biggest White Queen fan. He was going to make all of this tie-dye? The ape throws a couch at him and observes he is not even as funny as Feilong said. Iron Man sensibly retorts that that makes sense, because he is not Stark.

He blasts the couch apart and hits the ape, who decides this is a good time to stop being a vegetarian. Tony replies that this is getting weird. He blasts the ceiling and the parts fall on the ape, burying him. He actually offers him a hand, which the ape swats away, getting buried.

Tony regrets that. He calls Emma, who asks if the metal is there. He opens the case and finds the mysterium inside. Next to the case, he spies an album made by the Stepford Cuckoos for Emma. She tells him to leave it. It’ physical evidence she doesn’t need back at the Hellfire Club. Perhaps it belongs with all the other rubble… She mutters that the glasses have given her a migraine.

He uses the suit’s stealth mode to carry the case away. He has a feeling as though he is not alone, but doesn’t think much of it, not realizing how much danger he is actually in.

They return to the Hellfire Club, where he continues to play Black King, while secretly working in the former sex dungeon turned workshop. He’s used the machine from Stane to shape the mysterium into an ordinary cane. Something he wants to test before trusting his life to it. He decides it’s time to visit an old friend…

He heads to the Jarvis Lounge and has Avengers leader Captain Marvel try to break it – to no avail. Frustrated, she announces she can’t even bend it. What the hell is it? It is the future, he grins.

Next, he visits Dr. Strange, who similarly cannot affect the metal with magic either. He cannot even levitate it, let alone destroy it. Tony thanks him and Strange warns him to be cautious. Tony assures him he will be and thanks him for taking care of the book of a friend he left with him. One of them will be by for it.

Tony then uses a “bat signal” with a head of Electro to get the attention of Spider-Man. Somewhat annoyed, Spider-Man gives his condolences to Tony’s bank account. Did he get bitten by a radioactive pauper?

Tony replies he needs his help with a science experiment. Spider-Man gets excited. Pretty much everyone forgets he has a science background - though Tony’s plan is not quite what he expected. He asks him to close his eyes, then hits Spidey with the cane. Spider-Man yowls in protest, then realizes his spider-sense didn’t warn him. What is that thing? he demands.

It is a weapon, is Tony’s evasive answer. He’s gonna hit the Sentinels in the shin with that? Spidey asks and Tony agrees that is his plan at a time and place of his choosing. Cool, is he invited? Spider-Man asks. Tony promises, everyone will see his signal and everyone harmed by Orchis and Feilong will be avenged…