Synopsis / Summary / Plot
The story this time actually starts on the splash page with Ironheart's message to Iron Man (Victor Von Doom). She asks for his tech/sorcery help in finding Tony Stark's missing body. She says she's already tried Dr Strange but he's not in, and Reed Richards isn't around these days (possibly *not* the best strategy to win Victor's cooperation). Riri Williams also warns him that if he himself is responsible for the disappearance then she'll come after him.
Riri walks out of the New Jersey Stark Industries facility where Tony was being kept, accompanied by Tony's mother Amanda Armstrong, his PA Mary Jane Watson and the techs who were looking after their comatose boss. The AI Friday hologram has vanished. Ironheart's armour's Tony Stark AI is trying to find a way to get the message to Doom, but so far with no success. Riri is thinking of going to Latveria to find Victor ...
... but they find they have a more immediate problem. The Stark board of directors were unhappy with the company being run by Amanda, MJ and Friday. Now they send a mutant named David Bond (Hijack) to order them of this and any other Stark premises, and to take possession of Riri's armour.
Hijack uses his power to take control of cars in the company car park - just as a demonstration. Ironheart takes to the air but he's ready for that - she's surrounded by hovering SI warcraft. Riri flies away but the VTOL copters give chase and fire missiles at her.
We now cut away to an apartment in Detroit full of science stuff. Chemistro desperately searches for his old alchemy gun because Iron Doom has come for him. Doom's force field easily repels Calvin Carr's attack, and Victor wants to know who organised the breakout from Ryker's Island of all the supervillains he'd sent their during the Infamous Iron Man series. (The prison break happened between that series and this.) He's not sure he believes the reply that the mastermind was the Wrecker.
Chemistro says they knew Doom would come after them. This is a trap, and more of the escapees smash their way into the room. (As well as Wrecker we see here:- Jigsaw, Razor-Fist, Slug, Vermin, Centurius, Living Laser, Constrictor, Griffin, Crossfire, Armadillo, Cutthroat, Corruptor (maybe), Answer, and a Brother Grimm. And in later pages:- Shockwave, Thunderball, Piledriver, Bulldozer, and Deathwatch (maybe).)
Ironheart is still fighting the war-copters. AI Tony can't override Hijack's control of them. But suddenly they stop attacking her and start to crash into each other. AI Tony figures they're out of Hijack's control range.
As she flies back to the Stark plant Riri calls up Mary Jane to let her know what's happened. MJ approaches Bond and maces him. (I don't know why she couldn't have done that earlier.) And Amanda socks him on the jaw.
Doom meanwhile is still not answering Riri's message. He's too busy getting beaten up by the assembled baddies, who seem to be wise to all his weapons. Centurius claims to be blocking his teleportation attempts. (Presumably he used his enhanced mind to figure out countermeasures to that and other tech of Doom's. But what about Victor's sorcerous powers?)
Wrecker knocks Doom's facemask off and they're astonished to see his unblemished face. Not that any of them had seen his scars, but they'd heard the legend and assumed he looked worse than Deadpool. Now they figure it was always a PR myth put about by Doom. As was maybe a lot of other stuff. Victor uses the lull to blast them all and fly away. (Someone says Shockwave is dead.)
Wrecker has a new plan. They'll loot Latveria, which must be full of valuable stuff. Then they'll smash Doom's face for real. Then they'll kill him.
The Stark Industries board is meeting and Eric Lynch (of course) offers to lead them into a bright future. Amanda and MJ crash the party. Amanda castigates them for not searching for her son, their boss. She has brought her electric guitar with her which she claims she used to hit Keith Moon and Paul Weller. Now she attacks Lynch with it and declares the meeting over.
And somewhere the man in the old Iron Man armour is still lying on a floor where we left him last issue.