Synopsis / Summary / Plot
Iron Man Graphic Novel: Crash #1 Synopsis by
T Vernon
2015: Tony Stark is a recluse behind Stark International, rumored to be an invalid or crippled by a stroke. He has long since retired as Iron Man who is now the star of a children’s cartoon series and a popular breakfast cereal. The company announces that it will start marketing the famous armor, which causes consternation around the world. Stark has contracted out production of the armor to ESON Corporation of Japan which is questioned by Stark’s production manager Jones who does not trust their former competitors but Tony is confident it will all work out. Tony then calls his girlfriend, Dr. Maxie Graham of the Mariana Trench Undersea Research Station, to arrange a celebration over the ESON deal; she tells him to meet her in Hawaii….
To combat the growing rise of piracy of artificial intelligence technology, SHIELD calls Nick Fury out of retirement to head the investigation. Fury tells International Monetary Network that the virus behind the piracy is Japanese. Japanese board member Hiro Matsui is insulted by Fury’s accusation which he considers racist and resigns from the board. This is why Fury was brought there: he knows how to stir things up….
Fury goes to confront Tony Stark over his deal with the Japanese, accusing them of firing the latest salvo in the information technology wars. He accuses Tony of not thinking clearly because he is taking Perpetuon, a black market drug, to restore his youth. Fury gets mad and walks out….
Tony meets Maxie in Hawaii and she is concerned that they are growing apart because of his habit of keeping people out. He then receives a call from the company telling him that after sending the schematics and prototype to ESON they have lost communication with the company. Maxie gets mad and walks out….
Tony goes to Tokyo in person to deal with ESON; he is met by one of his Japanese executives Keiko Takimoto. She takes him to ESON to meet their CEO, Hideo Shinoda and his advisor Hiro Matsui (same guy as above); Shinoda attributes the silence to a technical problem in their new communications system and resents Tony’s suspicion, suggesting they should leave further contact to their lawyers. Keiko suggests they relax in the baths. While there, an assassin breaks in and tries to kill Tony but Keiko takes him down (while naked) and drowns him in the tub. Tony discovers his bodyguards dead and he calls Nick Fury for protection. Fury learns that the assassin was a former ESON employee and tells Tony to get out of Japan…but he can’t. Tony dons the Iron Man armor for the first time in years and with a CD-ROM map provided by Keiko, he enters the Tokyo underworld. He locates a Dreadnought spy and downloads his files, learning that his code was stolen from Stark International and modified by Hideo Shinoda at ESON. Keiko brings Tony the object he asked for a remote-controlled Iron Man armor called IM2. Keiko confesses that Hideo Shinoda is her stepfather. Two Iron Men set out….
The Iron Men break into ESON headquarters and discover Hiro Matsui and his cronies telling Hideo Shinoda to resign so Matsui can take over and restore Japan to greatness as samurai with the new tech they have been stealing from the USA. Matsui demands that Shinoda commit seppuku to distract SHIELD into thinking he was the brains behind the IT thefts but Shinoda refuses. Iron Man bursts in and beats up all the human bad guys. Matsui then calls in his army, the Dreadnoughts. Iron Man calls in IM2 and the two Iron Men wreck all of the Dreadnoughts. Matsui blows himself up and IM2, acting independently, flies off in the direction of Mariana Trench Undersea Research Station. Tony pursues but the armor breaks down and he plunges into the ocean…
…only to be rescued by IM2 who reveals that it has gained sentience and is heading off to pursue its own life. Tony and Maxie reconcile and Tony finds that IM2 regularly sends him letters.