Apr 1998

Summary:
We first see Iron Man screaming after being hit with a strong force blast. Ouch. The Dreadnoughts announce that their master has declared that all who know of him must die. Iron Man leads the Dreadnoughts close to the Siege Engineers, who attack, causing the Dreadnoughts to turn on them and allowing Iron Man a few moments to escape. He heads to the ruined chalet and finds Stephanie and Henri alive and well (although Stephanie has changed her clothes). He gets them to safety and, after checking on the Dreadnoughts and Siege Engineers, who have disappeared, he contacts Pepper Potts. He sends her an image of the Siege Engineers and asks her to find out what she can. Meanwhile, as Happy helps "Doreen" unload some equipment, they flirt - much to Pepper's dismay, and she isn't shy about saying so!

Stark confronts Steph again and she explains everything. It seems an associate of her late husband - Andreas Kapelos - wanted to buy his business from her, and she refused. He threatened her, and she wanted Stark's, and Iron Man's, help investigating. She and Stark nearly kiss when Stark receives a call. It's Pepper - she found an image in the Daily Bugle of the Thunderbolts fighting the Arms Merchant, and he had the same eyepiece as the Siege Engineers.

Tony then appears on CBNC where he announces that Iron Man is on the verge of capturing the Arms Merchant and exposing his client list. Thousands of miles away, the shadowy figure from the previous issue is still unhappy, and he is wearing Asian armour. That night, Stark flies out as Iron Man and is attacked, as he planned, by five Dreadnoughts. He leads them to the hidden base from #2, where the Dreadnoughts once again attack the Siege Engineers. Iron Man makes a deal with Kapelos, he Arms Merchant - he will lead the Dreadnoughts away in exchange for his files. Kapelos reluctantly agrees. While Iron Man leads them away he calls the Swiss Police to arrest Kapelos. The Dreadnoughts, due to damage from Iron Man earlier, overheat and explode.

Stephanie tells Stark that she plans to keep running her late husband's business and restore its good name. They kiss. Back in the US, Happy is just getting back from a date with Doreen, and after he drops her off and departs, she says: "E-E-5 to S-M-1. Mission a success. Give me a month with this poor sap and Stark Solutions' secrets will be ours for the taking..!"

Characters:
"Angelique"
De La Spirosa, Countess Stephanie
"Doreen"
"Dreadnoughts"
"Henri"
Hogan, Happy
Kapelos, Andreas / Arms Merchant
Potts, Pepper
"Siege Engineers"
Stark, Tony / Iron Man

Review:
The times, they are a-changin'! The art in this issue has been upgraded just a tad, to make Iron Man look more Iron and a little less Man, which is cool. The colorist has added a little sparkle here and there, and a few little baubles have been highlighted by Chen. Also, the narration panels have been changed to look like 'windows' on a computer, all of which makes the book feel a little bit more cutting edge.

We still don't know who the shadowy figure is but boy, do we want to know! Who could control such a supply of Dreadnoughts and be willing to take on Stark, Iron Man and the Arms Dealer? Someone top-quality, just like this issue. 9/10

-- Adrian J. Watts
bella1@netspace.net.au