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Tales of Iron #3: The Crimson Dynamo
Earth-616
Screams and cries erupted from an audience, as they watched a test rocket fall from the sky. A demonstration was taking place at Stark Industries and a crowd of government officials were watching the rocket in the sky spin out of control, with three pilots inside that had completely lost control of the vehicle. Luckily, Iron Man (aka Tony Stark) was on the scene and with the rocket thrusters on his boots he launched into the air. Happy and Pepper, Tony’s favourite employees, watched in horror as Tony closed the gap between himself and the rocket.
“D-Do you think he can save them?” Pepper stammered, scared.
“We’re about to find out…” Happy said.
TWO WEEKS EARLIER…
Deep in the heart of Moscow, the Soviet Union militia’s leader was striding through a concrete base along with a pair of guards. A balding, somewhat chubby man that the West had nicknamed ‘Mr. Big.’ His real name is Mikhail and his ruthless reputation meant everybody that worked for him was also
terrified
of him.
“Here we are, excellency. The laboratory of the
Crimson Dynamo.
” One of the guards said, bringin Mikhail to a steel door. He swung it open and Mikhail stepped through, timidly. For, as much as everyone fears ‘Mr. Big’,
Mikhail
fears Professor Vanko. Inside was a very modern laboratory, with incredibly complicated and high-tech machinery that filled the room. Anton Vanko was tinkering with one of them. He was a tall man with a bald head but he did have a thick moustache. Anton wore a dark blue lab coat over a white shirt and loose black tie.
“Ah, Comrade. I am honoured by your presence.” Anton said as Mikhail came over. Vanko’s intelligence scared Mikhail, for if he ever defected, he could become
unstoppable.
“Vanko, have you yet proven to me that you’re the cleverest man in the Nation - or was that mere
bravado
I heard when I hired you?” Mikhail questioned, trying to assert his dominance already.
“No need to grow impatient, sir. The demonstration is ready, I just need to don a…
peculiar
costume.” Vanko told him.
Mikhail waited in the laboratory, while Anton ‘got dressed.’ He went into a different room and it was almost 20 minutes before he returned to the lab, however he was entirely unrecognisable.
“
Peculiar?
I think you meant
ridiculous, Vanko.”
Mikhail blurted out as Vanko stomped closer. He was wearing a huge, metal suit - painted a bold, jarring red. The suit was chunky, with rivets running through it, giving it a very ‘bumpy’ look. He had a black visor over his face and rows of circular plates going across his limb-joints.
“Ridiculous, maybe, Comrade. But the Crimson Dynamo is a technological
miracle,
all the same. Observe….” Vanko said before one of the guards opened a metal closet door. Inside was a crude replica of Iron Man that was moving via remote control.
“WHAT?!! You’ve brought
Iron Man
here?! Are you trying to assassinate me?!” Mikhail cried out in panic.
“No. Sir, he is merely a drone. A drone which
I
can control within this suit. Watch…” Vanko said before pressing a button in his suit. The Iron Man drone started convulsing and rattling, before the pieces started fracturing. Metal limbs started imploding, before all that was left was just a pile of golden scrap.
“It… It
exploded?!”
Mikhail gasped.
“That’s right. At the push of a tiny button, my rheostat emitted enough volts of electricity to short-circuit every electronic contraption Iron Man possesses.” The Crimson Dynamo explained.
“Then you could blow the
real
Iron Man to pieces?” Mikhail realised.
“Yes… Provided I’ve lined up the proper
frequencies
and other technical matters that I won’t bore you with. Come. I have more to demonstrate.” Vanko explained. They left the laboratory and went next door to a warehouse filled with weaponry, helicopters, Jeeps and barrels of oil. Mikhail followed Vanko to a large, grey tank.
“Watch this.” Vanko said, before holding up his hand. There was a faint sound of clicking, as the suit searched for the correct frequency. Then, the barrel of the tank’s gun rotated. It turned around, until it was pointing towards Mikhail.
“W-What’re you doing?!” The Big Man cried out.
“Relax, Comrade. It isn’t even armed. For the mightiest man in the communist bloc, this is very unseemly.” Vanko said, amused.
“I do not enjoy being
played with,
Vanko.” Mikhail snarled, but he was still scared of the Crimson Dynamo. Vanko was so powerful, he could very well turn against him and
win.
“But you’re impressed, no?” Anton asked.
“Yes. Yes, your work is
highly
commendable, Vanko. Perhaps it’s time to test the Crimson Dynamo in the field.” Mikhail suggested.
“What do you have in mind?”
“
Anthony Stark.
Without him, the American defence effort would crumble. Unfortunately, none of our agents have been able to sabotage Stark because of his Iron Man suit. So the question is: Can the Crimson Dynamo defeat the
real
Iron Man as you did that drone?”
Two weeks later at the test site of Stark Industries, the rocket that would be piloted by America’s finest was waiting to launch. Happy Hogan, wearing a black and white suit, stood in the audience with Pepper Potts, who wore a green dress.
“You wouldn’t catch me on one of those things, even if you gave me
Fort Knox.”
Happy scoffed.
“Trust me, Happy,
nobody
was going to ask.” Pepper chuckled, teasingly.
“Well, gee, thanks Pepper. Who needs enemies when I’ve got a friend like
you?
” Happy rolled his eyes.
“Sorry. This whole thing has me nervous. It’s been over two weeks since we’ve had an attack on Stark Industries. Rational thinking makes me think that some costumed creep is gonna turn this test site into a battleground.” Pepper mentioned, anxiously.
“Oh, c’mon. Maybe the bad guys just finally figured out they can’t take Iron Man?” Happy shrugged.
“Speaking of, where
is
Tony?”
Feeling the same anxious thoughts as Pepper, Tony Stark was in his office, pulling on the different Iron Man suit segments. The golden parts went on one by one, as the missile was preparing to launch. The ground was already beginning to rumble as smoke billowed out of the rocket. At the same time, nearby, a scarlet figure was lumbering towards Stark Industries. Anton Vanko, also suited up in his technological marvel, was stomping his way through the foliage towards the test site. It was time to use his suit’s ability to hack into electrical controls and wreak havoc with this missile.
Inside the rocket, the three pilots were already noticing the gauges and equipment were going haywire. One was named Calvin Beame. He was the oldest of the three, with short, curly, black hair and very defined cheekbones. The other was Richmond Wagner, a blond, handsome man with a very prominent widow’s peak. The third one was called John Jonah Jameson III, son of J. Jonah Jameson and the youngest, but strongest, of the team. He had buzzed, dark brown hair and was clean shaven. The three pilots all wore dark blue spacesuits. They were already high in the air when everything went wrong.
“Holy shit. Every electrical circuit’s going insane.” John muttered, eyes darting around. He immediately switched off the rocket thrusters, so they’d have time to think. They felt the missile tipping, slowly aiming back towards the ground.
“Oh, no… It’s turning into a dive back to Earth.” Richmond realised.
“No! No, it’s
spinning.
Twisting, falling… all at once!” Calvin gasped.
“Great work, Stark.” Richmond cursed.
“No… No, Tony triple-checked all systems! I
watched
him!” John blurted out. But as the rocket slowly spun back towards the Earth, a golden suit of armour shot through the sky. The audience was filled with screams and cries as they watched the disaster taking place. Tony caught the rocket by the tip. There was only one thing to do: he had to slow it down during its descent, so he could buffer the fall and save the men inside. Using his magnetic transistors, Tony slowed the falling hunk of metal as it fell towards the ground.
“Still wanna doubt Stark, now?” Calvin said, looking through the window at the golden hero slowing the ship. The rocket was placed down onto the concrete ground, somewhat unscathed. Tony quickly ripped the door off of the rocket, allowing the pilots inside to stumble out.
“Thank you, Stark.” John said as they came out. “D-Do you have any idea what caused that?” He asked.
“No… No, I don’t.” Tony said, already hobbling towards the engine of the rocket. All the while, the Crimson Dynamo watched from afar, impressed by the Golden hero. Tony ripped open a panel and inside, it was smoking. Every electrical connection had been fried.
“What could’ve done
this?”
As the days and weeks pass, the Crimson Dynamo secretly adds to the mystery at Stark’s plants around the country - sabotaging weapons, vehicles and machinery without leaving any clues as to how. Electrical equipment went up in flames, more missiles fell from the sky (however, these were remotely piloted instead), tank prototypes were blowing up walls. Even by the tenth plant, Tony Stark still couldn’t figure out what was
causing
these mysterious glitches and disasters. One weekend, Tony surveyed the damage of yet another plant in his industrial complex.
“This is incredible…” Tony muttered, looking over his burned out machinery in the remains of his plant.
“Incredible?” Happy repeated next to him. “Every enemy agent in the Nation seems to have picked
you
as their exclusive target for sabotage!”
“I know. They picked
me.
Feels pretty good. I must be a pretty big deal.” Tony smirked, feeling quite proud.
“You’re a weird dude, you know that?” Happy said with a frown.
“That’s pretty standard behaviour for Tony.” Pepper sighed, coming over. “If you don’t stop them, you won’t be able to deliver vital equipment to the government any more. You’ll be
ruined.
”
“Are you telling me that my contracts may be taken away?” Tony said.
“I just got off a call from the
Pentagon,
Tony. The country’s defence is at stake. If you get fouled up, they have no choice but to turn to
other
companies.” Pepper explained.
As the incidents kept occurring, rumours started circulating in Washington, DC. Senator Byrd, someone who already didn’t have a great relationship with Tony Stark, was beginning to have suspicions. Byrd was a large, older man with white hair and deep wrinkles, plagued with
paranoia.
Tony Stark’s factories were the only plants being sabotaged. If Stark was a communist agent, he was in a sweet spot. First, he grabbed up a dozen government contracts, making the U.S. heavily dependent on Tony’s industrial empire for strategic weapons and research. Now he’s wrecking his
own
plants, making
no
deliveries and
wasting
resources, making America fall behind the communists.
Days later, at Stark’s main office in New York, he was being accompanied by Pepper and Happy. Tony was wearing a purple button-up shirt and a black tie. Happy was wearing his normal black and white suit, and Pepper was wearing a sage blouse and a black skirt.
“Looks like we’ve made every headline from New York City to Seattle.” Tony sighed, sifting through all the different papers. “You’d think saving the Daily Bugle’s publisher’s
son
would mean they’d go easy on me.” He complained.
“The government is losing confidence in us. All our contracts may be withdrawn.” Pepper sighed, organising a file cabinet.
“Well, this job was fun while it lasted.” Happy said, already accepting defeat.
“Hey, hey, hey… We’re not bankrupt yet. We just need to figure out
who
is doing this…” Tony reasoned, then as if on cue, the red light in his office started flashing. Someone was here.
“The saboteur?” Happy gasped.
“This is our chance. Happy, Pepper, let the guards know that Iron Man will handle it. They could get killed if they try to get involved.” Tony told them as he took out his briefcase. He pulled on the different, golden Iron Man segments. Just before he put his mask on, the fire extinguisher system was set off. White smoke blasted from the ceiling and started filling the room.
“Hmm… Somebody wants my attention…” Tony mumbled, before putting the golden helmet over his head.
Tony went down to the main warehouse, where he found the giant, red man waiting for him. All the factory workers had already evacuated the area. As Tony approached him, he couldn't help but be impressed by the intruder's suit.
“Well, wouldja look at that! I've got a copycat.” Tony scoffed.
“
Iron Man.
At last, I can line up your frequency.” Anton said with his Russian accent. It wasn't hard to put it together. This intruder was definitely the cause of the sabotages and must possess vast electrical powers. The Crimson Dynamo held his hand out, and judging by the way he seemed to be focusing hard, Tony realised he may succumb to whatever happened to the rest of his inventions. Tony quickly activated his transistors, then when Vanko attempted to take over his suit's electronics - it didn't work.
“What?! How?!” He blurted out, angrily.
“Sorry, pal. Since you started wrecking my base, I gave my suit an upgrade. I used my transistors to generate a
jammer
strong enough to block whatever hacking devices you have built into your suit.” Tony said with a shrug.
“No matter.” Anton growled, before shooting some electrical energy blasts at Iron Man. But the golden hero was able to quickly jump out of the way, using his feet’s rocket thrusters.
“How about we skip to the part where you tell me who you work for and why you’re doing this?” Tony asked, hovering in the air above the Crimson Dynamo.
“I am Professor Vanko, whom our leader calls ‘
The Crimson Dynamo
’! But sabotage alone wasn't enough to satisfy him. I have
vowed
to destroy
Iron Man!”
The ruby tin can declared. Tony silently cheered. He had been recording their conversation, in hopes of proving to Washington that he wasn't the one sabotaging his own plants. The Crimson Dynamo hacked into some turrets that had been built into the back of trucks and they all aimed towards Iron Man, who remained aloft.
“Are you so afraid to face me, that I must
shoot you down
for a fight?!” Vanko shouted before the guns started firing. Loud, metallic clinks rattled Tony as bullets hit his suit, making him wobble and fall to the ground.
“Arargh! I'm getting
real sick
of you taking control of my stuff!” Tony growled before a couple of mini turrets protruded from his shoulders. They fired a couple of missiles at the trucks, making them explode in a ball of orange fire.
“I never wanted this. But fate decided we be
enemies!
” Vanko claimed, before turning on a forklift. It sped towards Tony, with the forks aiming straight at him. But Iron Man was faster than a forklift and quite easily launched himself back into the air.
“Fate has
nothing
to do with it, Vanko. You can make your own choices! You can stop this senseless violence.” Tony told him, before smoke grenades popped out of his forearms onto the Crimson Dynamo. Thick, grey clouds engulfed him, hiding Tony from his sight.
“Damn you, Iron Man! You have no idea how powerful my leaders are. If I defected, I’d be slain before morning.” The Dynamo shouted.
“You don’t
know
that! I could protect you!” Tony insisted.
“With all the damage I’ve done? Either Russia kills me, or America!” Vanko insisted, causing the overhead lights above their heads to explode. Sparks rained down on them both as the Crimson Dynamo waded through the dark smoke.
“I can pull some strings. But if you kill me now,
nobody
will help you. You think Russia will reward you for offing me? Think about it, Vanko. You and your suit possess a
threat
to their rule. The minute you get back, they’ll lock you up or
worse.”
Tony reasoned, landing back down on the ground again. The Crimson Dynamo had paused, then looked down, in deep thought.
“What if you’re just messing with my head? How do I know you’re telling the truth?” Vanko questioned.
“I think you know you can trust me. The very fact you didn’t try to kill me sooner, tells me you never
wanted
to.” Tony said, softly. “Your scientific genius has been at the service of your ruthless, heartless leaders. I may be able to negotiate with Washington. Instead of serving time in a jail cell, how about you serve your time working for me? I’ll let you flex your talent and let you work on projects that can
aid
mankind.” Tony offered.
“You’d do this? After all the hell I’ve caused you in the last month?” Vanko said, shocked.
“Hell? Eh, if anything, you just made the country realise how much they
need
and
depend
on me. I can probably raise my prices now.” Tony scoffed.
“I almost
killed
you.” Anton mentioned, in disbelief at Tony’s casual behaviour.
“Vanko, if I held a grudge over everybody who wanted to kill me, I’d never make any friends.” Tony laughed.
By the time the warehouse doors opened, with police and security flooding into the large building, both Tony and Anton had stepped out of their suits. Tony was just in the process of showing Vanko around all the machinery, laughing and beaming with the Russian as the boys in blue came running over. Happy and Pepper soon followed and looked upon Tony and the Crimson Dynamo in bewilderment.
“Tony?!” Pepper blurted out.
“Hi, guys. This is Anton Vanko. He’s gonna work for us, hopefully. Right, Vanko?” Tony introduced them.
“That’s right.” Vanko nodded.
“Ummm…” Happy said, unsettled. “Blink twice if you’re bluffing.”
“I’m not bluffing, Happy.” Tony said as the boys in blue were taking out handcuffs.
“Sorry, Stark. But I
have
to arrest him.” The police captain said, coming over.
“I know. Don’t worry, Vanko. Give them some hot intel and I might be able to sweeten the sentence.” Tony assured him as the captain put the handcuffs on Anton. He gave his new friend a wave as he was walked out of the compound, meanwhile Pepper and Happy watched in confusion.
“Is this another one of your second chance schemes?” Happy asked.
“That’s right, Happy. But don’t worry, something tells me this will go more smoothly than our friend, **Jack Frost.” Tony assured him.
“How can you be so sure?” Pepper asked.
“Because he was just a man subjected to fate. Forced to use his brilliance for a country he was ashamed of.” Tony reasoned. “I see a lot of myself in him, honestly.”
“The people he worked for, though. They’re gonna come knocking.” Pepper warned him.
“I know. Let ‘em try.
Iron Man
will be ready.” Tony said with a cocky smirk.