Synopsis / Summary / Plot
Iron Man: The End #1 Synopsis by
T Vernon
After fifty years of building Stark Universal into a technological powerhouse, Tony Stark is slowing down, relying on medication to stop his hands from shaking. He dons the latest Iron Man armor which can be reconfigured into several specialized versions. He visits a South Pacific island, site of the upcoming Big Jump: the world’s first space elevator. He reconfigures from supersonic to underwater and goes beneath the waves to do his part in the construction when an earth tremor shakes the area. Some divers and a ship are in danger and Tony makes an error of judgment but still manages to save both at the last minute….
Back at the office, he meets with his wife, Senator Bethany Cabe, who tries to talk him into slowing down with his degenerative nerve damage. He refuses, claiming the world still needs Iron Man. A few days later he comes to a decision and names Nick Travis, his most promising staff member, the company’s Head Technologist, Tony’s official title. Nick is surprised and humbled but Tony wants to focus all of his time on the Big Jump. Then Tony learns from his investigators that the earth tremor that damaged the Big Jump was artificially induced as an act of sabotage and the culprit is Krycek Power Resources, a subsidiary of Roxxon, Tony’s longtime enemy….
Iron Man goes to Krycek’s lab in Siberia where he encounters the massive Ultra-Dynamo, an advance over the Crimson Dynamo. Shellhead is beaten up by his foe bearing advanced Russian weaponry and, while his armor can repair itself, he is afraid to die and runs from the battlefield. Later, Tony’s doctor tells him that his condition is getting worse. Tony ponders a bottle of liquor but puts it back without opening it….
Tony tells Bethany that she was right: the world needs an Iron Man but not him. He spends days pondering various candidates but in the end, he selects Nick Travis…who refuses, claiming he is a scientist not a superhero. Tony persuades him to give it a try. Tony then turns into a harsh taskmaster, forcing Nick through grueling training. Tony is disappointed and decides that Nick isn’t his Iron Man; Nick replies that it is because Tony won’t let go and admit someone else can wear the armor and walks out. And then the Ultra-Dynamo arrives with orders to kill Tony. Tony manages to dodge his foe—and then Iron Man Nick Travis arrives to challenge the villain. There is a battle in which Nick outthinks Ultra-Dynamo, using a nanite weapon he had added to the armor without Tony’s knowledge, and the villains’ armor is destroyed and the operator arrested….
At the dedication of the space elevator, named in memory of James Rhodes, Tony announces that he and Beth are retiring and will spend their remaining days living on the space station and looking to the future….