Synopsis / Summary / Plot
Iron Man: Bad Blood #3 Synopsis by
T Vernon
James Rhodes tells Happy Hogan about the time Iron Man left off fighting Blacklash to rescue Rhodey and other workers who were trapped in a burning hangar, even carrying off burning fuel that could have killed him even with the armor. Which is why they are so puzzled that Tony Stark has turned so mean and amoral….
Rhodey picks up Tony’s car from the repair shop (it was damaged in issue #1) and heads to his home. He discovers that the security system has been reprogrammed to deny him entrance but it turns out he can still get in via the garage. He logs on to Tony’s computer but Jocasta denies him entrance too….
Tony Stark has sold all prototypes of his new Evader personal armor and sees them off at the airport, while he doesn’t know why he sold them for such a low price. What he doesn’t see is a special craft that leaves the jet and flies into space….
Elsewhere, Justin Hammer gloats over his history with Tony Stark and now he has the upper hand….
Rhodey pleads with Jocasta to show him Tony’s biological data to try to figure out why he has changed but her programming will not allow it—but she finds a way around her programming to give Rhodey what he wants to know….
At the Seattle Aerospace Center, Tony is overseeing the addition of his Jupiter Landing Vehicle; he is told that security is high because they have the protoype of the world’s first Negative Energy Condenser. A Stark technician has been bribed so he steals the prototype and takes off in the Jupiter craft’s escape pod. Tony changes to Iron Man and smacks the pod straight down, destroying it, the lander, and the prototype and putting the thief into a coma. The museum manager is angry with Tony but he responds with more anger and walks out, plotting to create his own Negative Energy Condenser….
Jocasta tells Rhodey she has detected stealth cells in Tony’s body, coated in a protein that hides them from the immune system and increasing hormone production, leading to Tony’s personality change—and if they aren’t removed soon, the change could become permanent. Rhodey suggests that they look for a way to remove the protein shell, allowing the immune system to destroy them. Jocasta says it can be done but Tony might die in the process….
When Tony returns, Rhodey tries to inject him with the remedy but Tony fights him off and utters the fail-safe word that shuts Jocasta down. He then maneuvers Rhodey into a painful stasis field while he starts to armor up; Rhodey manages to push his way out and inject Tony. Both men fall to the floor but only one heartbeat is heard….