While Tony was happily busy creating his new element, two people, united by their hatred for him, were plotting his downfall.
"Hey, Ivan."
On the green grass of a golf course, a man in a golf outfit just answered a call.
"Senator Stern is with me. I want him to see the Iron Soldiers."
This man was none other than Justin Hammer, who considered Tony Stark his lifelong enemy, always living in the shadow of Iron Man.
Hammer, like Tony, owned a weapons company. But in terms of company strength and intelligence, he was always overshadowed by Tony, so Iron Man never took him seriously.
As they say, business rivals are enemies. Over the years, as Hammer's company was suppressed by Stark Industries, he always saw Tony Stark as a thorn in his side.
Even though Tony later shut down the weapons division of Stark Industries and stopped selling arms, he created the Iron Man suit and became an even more remarkable superhero, which made Hammer feel even more ashamed and resentful as the gap between them widened.
When Hammer saw Iron Man attacked by Whiplash in Monaco, he keenly realized his opportunity had come.
Hammer pulled some strings and got Whiplash—Ivan Vanko—out of jail. The two formed an alliance, with Hammer hoping Vanko would create Iron Soldiers superior to Tony's Iron Man suit, and then sell them to the military to prove he was better than Tony Stark.
That was Hammer's greatest desire—to defeat Tony in his own field and then gloat in front of him. What a lovely thought!
Many sneered at Hammer's childish behavior because the grudge wasn't just business rivalry. For Ivan Vanko, the hatred he had for the Stark family was irreconcilable—nothing short of killing Tony would appease him.
"Those Iron Soldiers aren't ready yet."
On the other end of the phone, Vanko, busy in his lab, responded coolly.
"What do you mean?"
Hammer, feeling displeased, stepped aside and asked.
"I can show them, but they can't demonstrate."
Vanko explained impatiently.
"What's the difference?"
Hammer felt Vanko was insulting his intelligence and asked in confusion.
"They can't fly. They can't shoot."
"Wait, so what can they do? This is a weapons demonstration!"
Hammer, unclear on what Vanko had done to his Iron Soldiers, asked in bewilderment.
"They can salute."
"Salute?"
Hammer, now irritated, questioned angrily, "What do you mean, salute? What the hell does that mean? This isn't what we agreed on! Vanko, you promised me Iron Man armor, then you said you'd make Iron Soldiers!"
"Relax, everything will be fine."
Vanko calmly reassured him.
"That's not what I wanted!..."
But before Hammer could finish, Vanko hung up the phone.
Scoffing, Vanko turned back to his work. As he gazed at the glowing blue whip in front of him, his expression darkened, and a deep hatred gleamed in his eyes.
He never considered Hammer anything more than a fool. Hammer was just a useful tool, a means to an end, providing Vanko with the resources to exact his revenge on Tony Stark.
Ivan Vanko's father had been forced into exile because of Tony's father, Howard Stark. He fled to the Soviet Union and eventually ended up in the harsh wilderness of Siberia.
There, Ivan spent his cold, miserable youth.
After his father died, Ivan left that land of bitter memories and went to Morocco.
He would have his revenge, returning every ounce of pain he had suffered and all the wrongs the Stark family had done to the Vanko family onto Tony Stark.
...
"Bam!"
A door was violently shoved open, and Hammer stormed into Vanko's room, followed by several black-suited bodyguards.
Ivan Vanko lay lazily on a bed, playing with a parrot perched on his knee.
"Hey, birdman!"
Hammer, boiling with anger, immediately started with sarcastic jabs.
"You've grown fond of this bird, right? Is it yours? I'm a little confused—you said it wasn't, and now you two are best friends. You love this bird, don't you?"
Vanko, knowing Hammer was here for trouble, remained unfazed.
To him, Hammer was nothing more than an immature child, too soft even in his vengeance. What could Hammer possibly do to him?
So, Vanko continued playing with his bird, not even glancing at Hammer.
"You know what I'm going to do? Take his bird!"
Two of the bodyguards immediately moved forward, grabbed the bird from Vanko, and stuffed it into a sack.
"Hey!"
Vanko protested but didn't resist. After all, this was Hammer's turf.
"Take his pillows too, and his shoes."
Hammer's men followed orders, taking the items off the bed and from Vanko.
Vanko just watched, coldly, without speaking or fighting back.
"How do you like that? Not happy, huh?"
Hammer sneered. Vanko merely shot him a contemptuous look.
"Good! Because I'm not happy either!"
Hammer suddenly exploded, his face twisting in rage as he yelled, saliva flying everywhere.
"We had a deal! I saved your life, and you were supposed to give me Iron Man suits! That was our agreement, and you haven't delivered!"
He ranted like a betrayed child, helpless and angry.
"I don't know if you're a genius or a fraud. I don't know what you are!"
Hammer clenched his fist, his tone gradually softening.
"Luckily, fate threw me a gift from the sky, or you'd have ruined me! Now I have improved Stark tech."
In an instant, he switched to a smug, condescending tone, jeering at Vanko.
"Your Iron Soldiers are just props. Do you understand?"
"Not yet."
Vanko responded calmly, even with a hint of a mocking smile on his lips.
Hammer, enraged by Vanko's attitude, roared, enunciating every word: "Maybe you don't get it yet! But I don't speak Russian!"
Realizing he was losing his composure, Hammer straightened his clothes, took a deep breath, and adopted a more arrogant stance.
"I'm going to the Expo now. Maybe I'll meet some ladies..."
He pointed to the two bodyguards beside him.
"These are your babysitters. Don't piss them off!"
With a final glare, Hammer threatened: "When I get back, we'll renegotiate the terms of our deal. If you can't deliver, you'll go back to being a dead man, got it?"
Vanko remained silent. Hammer snorted and left the room.
Vanko glanced at the two intimidating "babysitters" and couldn't help but laugh. These clowns? They won't be able to stop me.
...
"Incoming call from an unknown number."
JARVIS's voice chimed in Tony's workshop. He turned and glanced at the screen, then answered.
"Colson..."
"Tony, how are you?"
But the voice wasn't Colson's—it was rough and raspy, belonging to a different man.
"I've doubled the speed..."
"What?"
Tony was confused. Who was this?
"You told me to double the speed to generate more power. Great advice!"
The man explained.
Instantly, Tony realized who it was—Ivan Vanko!
He had indeed said something like that to Vanko in prison after his arrest.
But wasn't Ivan supposed to be dead?
"You're looking good for a dead man," Tony quipped.
"So are you! Haha..."
Tony closed his eyes. He knew he was in trouble.
This guy was out for revenge, and he had called Tony directly, confident he wouldn't fail.
Tony took a deep breath and hit the mute button on the call screen.
"Trace the call's location."
"On it."
On the other end, Vanko continued his monologue, making sure Tony would understand his intentions.
"The Stark family history will be rewritten. What your father did to my family forty years ago, I'll do to you in forty minutes..."
"Sounds like a plan. We should talk."
Tony reactivated the call to keep Vanko talking, buying time.
"He's using an encrypted network, located in the tri-state area, Manhattan and nearby districts..."
Finally, JARVIS identified Vanko's position.
"I hope you're ready," Vanko said before hanging up.
"Trace failed."
As the call ended, JARVIS's trace was cut off.
Tony, frustrated, scanned the screen for more information. His eyes suddenly caught a news story on a nearby tablet.
It was about the Hammer Industries Expo.
Of course!
Tony quickly pieced together the situation. It was Hammer! That loser had saved Vanko, and the two of them had joined forces against him!
Realizing what was going on, Tony glanced at the newly created element.
Without hesitation, he inserted the new element reactor into his chest.
The reason was simple: Pepper Potts would be attending that damn Hammer Industries Expo tonight!
There was no way those two scumbags wouldn't target her.
He had to go save her!
"Sir..."
JARVIS started to issue a reminder, but Tony interrupted: "Just run the test!"
Yes, the new element reactor hadn't been fully tested, and the consequences of using it were unknown.
"We're not sure what side effects—"
"I don't want to hear it! JARVIS, suit up!"
As the new reactor slotted into place, Tony's face twisted, and he made odd noises.
"Tastes like coconut... mixed with metal..."