Location: City Streets -- The City-State of Thorinn, Aetheria
Graves was reluctant to release Seele at first. He had almost forgotten the comfort of another person's embrace. It was like falling into bed on a cold winter's night. There was a warmth and a strength to his friend's touch that surprised him. For all her bodily frailty, Graves was certain there was nothing in this world or any other that could truly harm her. Graves held Seele far too tight and hid his face from her, as if he might conceal the utter shame he felt burrowing into him.
Until Alja came jogging up, of course, and he broke away near immediately. One look at her sent another wave of red-hot shame burning his cheeks. He hadn't the slightest clue how she of all people would react to the mess he'd made. She was as likely to put him on the ground again as she was to hug him too. Graves knew he deserved the latter. Some of his friends were too quick to forgive and forget; others were stubborn enough to talk a mountain into moving out of their way.
Graves wiped his face with the back of his sleeve. "I, uhh..." He started weakly, unable to conjure words enough to explain himself.
Thankfully Seele took the initiative and gave him an excuse to slip away. He nodded a few too many times to her before slinking back to the Laughing Worg, careful to avoid eye contact with Alja or anyone else that still lingered. His eyes stuck on the street as he went, his gaze passed over the knife he'd attacked Siegfried and Seele with- the knife Alja had given him not so long ago. For a moment he considered returning it to her. It was her property, after all, and he certainly wouldn't be using it anymore. But even the thought of picking the steel up twisted his stomach into knots. Graves shook his head softly and walked inside.
He slid Dariel a handful of coins as apology for the trouble he caused. This was the second time he nearly got them thrown out of the Laughing Worg. He really needed to get a handle on that if he didn't want to lose his favorite- only- drinking hole. Maybe a few drinks would help him clear his head. Yeah.
"Run it again, JARVIS." Tony Stark splayed across the couch like a lion on its rock. He was the king of a concrete jungle: a billionaire, a genius engineer, and a world-class superhero. Untouchable. Unassailable. He tore a chunk from his latest successful hunt- a greasy cheeseburger from the joint down the street. He'd lost count of how many Kwikkee Meal Deals he'd eaten ever since moving into Rhodey's apartment.
Tony was unbelievably broke.
A series of simulations flashed across the television, the laptop plugged into whirring angrily as it tried to process the experiment's thousands of unique variables. A full-sized arc reactor popped open on the screen to reveal its internals: hundreds of individual plates placed so close together the human eye couldn't discern the gap between them. The plates rotated around the core at murderously high speeds, driven only by the Casimir effect. The vacuum in the chamber allowed the reactor to maintain its current energy production indefinitely...theoretically.
One of the plates in the simulator began to flash red. "Error in plate one hundred and four," JARVIS warned in a cheery English accent. "Sheering along the joint will cause it to break off after thirty-seven years, six months and twelve days of use." As JARVIS spoke all the surrounding plates began to flash as well. "Catastrophic failure follows shortly after."
Tony ran a hand through his hair in irritation. It was long, wild, and about as greasy as the burger. His beard wasn't much better. He stood from the couch to get a better view and began to pace. Increasing the size of the arc reactor had only made the design's flaws more apparent. No modern metal alloy could hold together under that much pressure for long. Even the gold-titanium his suit used proved insufficient. A carbon fiber mesh would be tougher, of course, but making a mesh that large was difficult and expensive. And making a hundred and twenty-eight meshes? Not viable.
"How much energy do we lose if we add thrust in the opposite direction to maintain a sustainable speed?" Tony asked, stopping to spin the television remote on the coffee table.
"Those calculations may take some time, sir."
"Do it." Tony nodded, despite talking to a computer program that couldn’t see it. "And give me my messages while you’re at it. Filter for job offers and anything from the lawyers."
This time Tony’s cellphone buzzed in response as JARVIS left the laptop to its diagnosis and scrolled through Stark’s email. "You have thirty seven job related messages."
Stark’s expression lit up. "Any takers?"
"I'm afraid not, sir. All thirty seven are rejection letters."
His expression fell like a pile of bricks. Well, at least they’d been polite enough to actually respond, Stark mused. In his previous batch of applications half the agencies saw his last name on the resume and blocked his number. Obadiah Stane- Tony's former friend, mentor, and current enemy for life- had done his damnedest to ensure Stark would never work in any relevant industry again. Maybe Kwikkee needed a new burger flipper.
Tony dropped back into his couch and pulled the phone out himself to check his bank account. There was a distinct lack of zeroes behind the prime numbers. Not unexpected, but still concerning. His reserves were running dangerously low. If he couldn’t find work soon…
He flipped to James Rhodes’ main account. Not something he was supposed to have access to, technically, but curiosity and a guilty conscience didn’t mix well. Rhodey was Tony’s oldest friend and one of the best men he’d ever known- he was also prone to taking on more than he could handle. It wouldn’t be long before Stark’s problems caught up with Rhodey.
Tony paused. He closed his eyes and took a series of deep breaths. He couldn’t drag Rhodey down with him. Wasn’t happening.
“JARVIS, do I have anything from that Pentagon rep?”
There was a moment’s pause as the machine ran through Tony’s emails once again. “Yes sir. I moved all of Major Talbot’s messages to spam as you requested. You have sixteen unopened emails from his address.”
“Alright, let’s set up a meeting. I’m grabbing a scotch.”
it's been two weeks without any posts in the IC. Could you please drop in when you can and let me know if you're still interested? If I don't hear back from you in a week I'll have to take you off the active roster - you're free to resume later if you want but the character will be open to competing apps while inactive.
C H A R A C T E R S U M M A R Y C H A R A C T E R S U M M A R Y
_________________________________________________________ Iron Man | Anthony "Tony" Stark _________________________________________________________ American | Human | Unemployed _________________________________________________________ New York City | New York | USA
C H A R A C T E R N O T E S C H A R A C T E R N O T E S
Arc Reactor: Originally designed by Howard Stark to power nuke-bearing submarines, Tony has adapted the arc reactor to his own uses. Namely, at the moment, keeping himself alive. He hopes future iterations of the reactor might be made available the world over. A single large-scale arc reactor could theoretically power an entire city for centuries without producing radioactive waste or filling the atmosphere with poison.
Mark V Iron Man suit: The fifth iteration of the Iron Man armor and the last Tony developed before losing access to his workshop. It’s shell is built from a durable gold-titanium alloy held up by a carbon fiber muscular lace and a series of hydraulic bone-analogs. The suit’s highly advanced systems allow for rapid, AI-assisted movement and superhuman strength and durability. It’s armaments consist of palm-based repulsors, a chest-mounted unibeam, guided micro-missiles, and a variety of less lethal sonic and bludgeoning ordnance. It’s powered by the miniaturized arc reactor lodged in Tony Stark’s chest- without Stark inside the suit is unable to operate. Repairs and alterations require complex technology Tony no longer has access to.
JARVIS: JARVIS is an artificial machine intelligence developed by Tony Stark to assist in the day-to-day operation of his company. It has been fully integrated into most major systems in Stark Industries and assists accountants, software engineers and developers in their various duties. Its computation power is extraordinary, able to run hundreds of different instances of itself working on numerous tasks at a time. JARVIS is a crucial component of the Iron Man suit, which essentially could not function without AMI assistance. Tony continues to tinker with JARVIS's matrices with the hope of unlocking true artificial intelligence.
►Supporting Cast
Lt. Col. James "Rhodey" Rhodes: A career airman and longtime friend of Tony Stark. They initially met at MIT, their shared interest in military technology kicking off a friendship that would evolve far beyond that. Rhodes spent a decade as a fighter pilot before moving on to his current career in command and control operations; he’s aided Stark as Iron Man on a number of occasions, though his requests for his own suit were never realized. Now that Stark has lost his company Rhodey does his best to take care of his friend, offering him a place to sleep while Tony works out how to get his old life back.
Virginia "Pepper" Potts: Pepper is a senior finance manager at Stark Industries, close friend and ex-girlfriend of Tony Stark. Originally a beleaguered accountant at Roxxon, Pepper was recruited by Tony personally, who convinced her that her talents were being wasted at a cesspool like Roxxon. The two dated for some time prior to Stark's kidnapping. Like everyone else, she'd assumed Tony was dead and moved on with her life. The two have remained close friends for several years.
Harold Joseph "Happy" Hogan: While Tony was still the CEO at Stark Industries, Happy was his right hand. He was his driver, bodyguard personal assistant, corporate spy- whatever Tony needed, Hogan was happy to do. He was with Stark's convoy in Sokovia when it was attacked. Despite barely surviving the encounter, he blamed himself for losing Stark. He would've resigned and left if not for the intervention of Pepper. The two grew close in their shared grief; so close that the two were engaged to be married when Tony finally resurfaced. Stark held no ill will toward either of them and was even the best man at their wedding. Happy is currently the head of security at Stark Industries.
►Antagonists
Obadiah Stane: Obadiah Stane was already a veteran business mogul by the time he'd co-founded Stark Industries with Howard Stark. Cutting his teeth as a weapons manufacturer during the Cold War, Stane sees himself as one of last defenders of the old American order- a strong, guiding hand for an increasingly anarchistic world. He's always found Tony's attitude grating, but it wasn't until Stark turned into a hippie that he chose to expel the boy from the company. Stane hopes he can reverse engineer Stark's 'Iron Man' power armor to sell to the highest bidder.
Justin Hammer: Justin Hammer is a lifelong rival of Tony Stark, though Stark's never known it. They shared a class at MIT, Hammer started his own defense contracting company at the same time Tony took over Stark Industries, and Justin began drawing up plans for powered infantry armor when the Iron Man made his first public appearance. Unlike Tony, Hammer has found little success in his life: he cheated his way through university, his company went bankrupt and was absorbed into Stark Industries, and none of many attempts at power armor function up to standard. Despite his ineptitude he's managed to hold onto a position as Stark Industries' head of experimental technologies by groveling at Stane's feet.
Anton Vanko: Anton Vanko is a Sokovian political radical and the son of Igor Vanko, leader of the Sokovská Nacionalistická Fronta that Tony Stark murdered in his escape. Anton scavenged what remained of the Mark I Iron Man suit and reverse-engineered an arc reactor of his own with the intent of tracking Stark down and avenging his father. He has taken on the moniker of Whiplash.
Dmitri Bukharin: Dmitri is the fifth man to bear the mantle of Crimson Dynamo, and he will likely be the last. For decades the Crimson Dynamo was the premier superhero of the Soviet Union- a shining beacon of their technological advancement and military might. Dmitri was one of a dozen candidates chosen to pilot the last version of the mechanized, twelve-foot tall walking tank. The pilot had to be skilled in the mech’s operation, of course, but they must also exemplify all the best traits of the ideal Soviet man: handsome, well-spoken, and a fervent advocate for Marxism-Leninism. Bukharin was to be that man. The country he had so fiercely dedicated himself to would fall apart only five years after his appointment. A distraught Dmitri fled from Russia with the Crimson Dynamo and would spend the next several decades building his reputation as a feared mercenary, doing battle with heroes like Iron Man on many an occasion.
Tony Stark used to have it all. Born the son of billionaire Howard Stark and his wife Maria, he never wanted for anything physically. He was provided the best education money could buy and all the toys he could ever want. All he lacked for was his parents' attention. Driven to prove his worth to a neglectful father, Tony had a doctorate before he was old enough to drink. His parents died a week after the graduation ceremony they did not attend. Tony would go on to succeed Howard as CEO of Stark Industries.
His genius intellect brought the company to new heights. Stark developed weapons that made the Manhattan project look like a baking soda volcano by comparison. Young, arrogant and ignorant of the consequences, Tony sold his designs to governments the world over to fund his hedonistic lifestyle. His perspective fundamentally changed after his kidnapping during a visit to Sokovia. Rebels from the Sokovská Nacionalistická Fronta (SNF) attacked Stark's convoy, killed most of his escort and ferried him away to an isolated compound in the mountains. Stark nearly died from his wounds if not for the creative intervention of a local doctor: an electromagnet was placed in Tony's chest to prevent micro-shrapnel from entering his heart. Drawing on designs his father originally drew up, Tony developed a prototype arc reactor to keep himself alive in captivity. The SNF demanded he build weapons for them.
Instead, Tony spent his year in captivity discreetly building his first Iron Man suit. Donning the armor, he tore through the SNF and escaped. He would return to the States a changed man, having seen the results of his ‘genius’ firsthand. He shifted Stark Industries’ focus to humanitarian causes. In particular, he hoped to create a full-sized version of his arc reactor to revolutionize clean energy. Tony invested much of his personal wealth into the program's development and shifted his attention to another project: the Iron Man suit.
For the next seven years Tony Stark donned improved versions of the armor to fight the battles no one else could. Tony saw saving lives as a chance to redeem himself for the part he played in the global war machine. He threw himself into his alternate identity fully, leaving the running of his company up to his longtime mentor and business partner, Obadiah Stane.
Obadiah found Tony's change of heart vexing. The company's market share suffered horrendously with its shift away from weapons development. Mass layoff after mass layoff nearly broke Stark Industries. Despite Stane's best efforts he couldn't convince Stark to return to sanity. His frustration at its boiling point, Obadiah chose to act: he leaked Tony’s identity as Iron Man to the public, alongside an avalanche of suppressed scandals from Tony's past. Stane drowned Stark in lawsuits and bad press until he had nothing left.
Betrayed by his oldest friend and penniless, Tony shipped what equipment he could- and his latest version of the suit- to a storage locker under an alias. Now he find himself planning his revenge from James Rhodes' couch.
P L O T ( S ) & G O A L ( S ) P L O T ( S ) & G O A L ( S )
This is sort of a pseudo year one for Tony. He has history as a superhero to ground him in the wider world and allow me to easily backfill relationships with other characters, but for the purposes of resources and reputation he’s at rock bottom.
I want to explore a couple different storylines with Stark this go around: his lingering guilt- both personal and generational- from the death and destruction the Stark name wrought in the pursuit of riches and power; Tony’s fight against Stane and the broader Military Industrial Complex to take his company back; and finally Tony coping with the loss of his former place of privilege.
I’m excited to explore Stark’s thematically rich story and rogues gallery. There’ll be a lot of opportunities to examine corporate cutthroat culture, how celebrity behavior warps under public scrutiny, and the heavy responsibility that comes with power.
"Run it again, JARVIS." Tony Stark splayed across the couch like a lion on its rock. He was the king of a concrete jungle: a billionaire, a genius engineer, and a world-class superhero. Untouchable. Unassailable. He tore a chunk from his latest successful hunt- a greasy cheeseburger from the joint down the street. He'd lost count of how many Kwikkee Meal Deals he'd eaten ever since moving into Rhodey's apartment.
Tony was unbelievably broke.
A series of simulations flashed across the television, the laptop plugged into whirring angrily as it tried to process the experiment's thousands of unique variables. A full-sized arc reactor popped open on the screen to reveal its internals: hundreds of individual plates placed so close together the human eye couldn't discern the gap between them. The plates rotated around the core at murderously high speeds, driven only by the Casimir effect. The vacuum in the chamber allowed the reactor to maintain its current energy production indefinitely...theoretically.
One of the plates in the simulator began to flash red. "Error in plate one hundred and four," JARVIS warned in a cheery English accent. "Sheering along the joint will cause it to break off after thirty-seven years, six months and twelve days of use." As JARVIS spoke all the surrounding plates began to flash as well. "Catastrophic failure follows shortly after."
Tony ran a hand through his hair in irritation. It was long, wild, and about as greasy as the burger. His beard wasn't much better. He stood from the couch to get a better view and began to pace. Increasing the size of the arc reactor had only made the design's flaws more apparent. No modern metal alloy could hold together under that much pressure for long. Even the gold-titanium his suit used proved insufficient. A carbon fiber mesh would be tougher, of course, but making a mesh that large was difficult and expensive. And making a hundred and twenty-eight meshes? Not viable.
"How much energy do we lose if we add thrust in the opposite direction to maintain a sustainable speed?" Tony asked, stopping to spin the television remote on the coffee table.
"Those calculations may take some time, sir."
"Do it." Tony nodded, despite talking to a computer program that couldn’t see it. "And give me my messages while you’re at it. Filter for job offers and anything from the lawyers."
This time Tony’s cellphone buzzed in response as JARVIS left the laptop to its diagnosis and scrolled through Stark’s email. "You have thirty seven job related messages."
Stark’s expression lit up. "Any takers?"
"I'm afraid not, sir. All thirty seven are rejection letters."
His expression fell like a pile of bricks. Well, at least they’d been polite enough to actually respond, Stark mused. In his previous batch of applications half the agencies saw his last name on the resume and blocked his number. Obadiah Stane- Tony's former friend, mentor, and current enemy for life- had done his damnedest to ensure Stark would never work in any relevant industry again. Maybe Kwikkee needed a new burger flipper.
Tony dropped back into his couch and pulled the phone out himself to check his bank account. There was a distinct lack of zeroes behind the prime numbers. Not unexpected, but still concerning. His reserves were running dangerously low. If he couldn’t find work soon…
He flipped to James Rhodes’ main account. Not something he was supposed to have access to, technically, but curiosity and a guilty conscience didn’t mix well. Rhodey was Tony’s oldest friend and one of the best men he’d ever known- he was also prone to taking on more than he could handle. It wouldn’t be long before Stark’s problems caught up with Rhodey.
Tony paused. He closed his eyes and took a series of deep breaths. He couldn’t drag Rhodey down with him. Wasn’t happening.
“JARVIS, do I have anything from that Pentagon rep?”
There was a moment’s pause as the machine ran through Tony’s emails once again. “Yes sir. I moved all of Major Talbot’s messages to spam as you requested. You have sixteen unopened emails from his address.”
“Alright, let’s set up a meeting. I’m grabbing a scotch.”
C H A R A C T E R S U M M A R Y C H A R A C T E R S U M M A R Y
_________________________________________________________ Iron Man | Anthony "Tony" Stark _________________________________________________________ American | Human | Unemployed _________________________________________________________ New York City | New York | USA
C H A R A C T E R N O T E S C H A R A C T E R N O T E S
Arc Reactor: Originally designed by Howard Stark to power nuke-bearing submarines, Tony has adapted the arc reactor to his own uses. Namely, at the moment, keeping himself alive. He hopes future iterations of the reactor might be made available the world over. A single large-scale arc reactor could theoretically power an entire city for centuries without producing radioactive waste or filling the atmosphere with poison.
Mark V Iron Man suit: The fifth iteration of the Iron Man armor and the last Tony developed before losing access to his workshop. It’s shell is built from a durable gold-titanium alloy held up by a carbon fiber muscular lace and a series of hydraulic bone-analogs. The suit’s highly advanced systems allow for rapid, AI-assisted movement and superhuman strength and durability. It’s armaments consist of palm-based repulsors, a chest-mounted unibeam, guided micro-missiles, and a variety of less lethal sonic and bludgeoning ordnance. It’s powered by the miniaturized arc reactor lodged in Tony Stark’s chest- without Stark inside the suit is unable to operate. Repairs and alterations require complex technology Tony no longer has access to.
JARVIS: JARVIS is an artificial machine intelligence developed by Tony Stark to assist in the day-to-day operation of his company. It has been fully integrated into most major systems in Stark Industries and assists accountants, software engineers and developers in their various duties. Its computation power is extraordinary, able to run hundreds of different instances of itself working on numerous tasks at a time. JARVIS is a crucial component of the Iron Man suit, which essentially could not function without AMI assistance. Tony continues to tinker with JARVIS's matrices with the hope of unlocking true artificial intelligence.
►Supporting Cast
Lt. Col. James "Rhodey" Rhodes: A career airman and longtime friend of Tony Stark. They initially met at MIT, their shared interest in military technology kicking off a friendship that would evolve far beyond that. Rhodes spent a decade as a fighter pilot before moving on to his current career in command and control operations; he’s aided Stark as Iron Man on a number of occasions, though his requests for his own suit were never realized. Now that Stark has lost his company Rhodey does his best to take care of his friend, offering him a place to sleep while Tony works out how to get his old life back.
Virginia "Pepper" Potts: Pepper is a senior finance manager at Stark Industries, close friend and ex-girlfriend of Tony Stark. Originally a beleaguered accountant at Roxxon, Pepper was recruited by Tony personally, who convinced her that her talents were being wasted at a cesspool like Roxxon. The two dated for some time prior to Stark's kidnapping. Like everyone else, she'd assumed Tony was dead and moved on with her life. The two have remained close friends for several years.
Harold Joseph "Happy" Hogan: While Tony was still the CEO at Stark Industries, Happy was his right hand. He was his driver, bodyguard personal assistant, corporate spy- whatever Tony needed, Hogan was happy to do. He was with Stark's convoy in Sokovia when it was attacked. Despite barely surviving the encounter, he blamed himself for losing Stark. He would've resigned and left if not for the intervention of Pepper. The two grew close in their shared grief; so close that the two were engaged to be married when Tony finally resurfaced. Stark held no ill will toward either of them and was even the best man at their wedding. Happy is currently the head of security at Stark Industries.
►Antagonists
Obadiah Stane: Obadiah Stane was already a veteran business mogul by the time he'd co-founded Stark Industries with Howard Stark. Cutting his teeth as a weapons manufacturer during the Cold War, Stane sees himself as one of last defenders of the old American order- a strong, guiding hand for an increasingly anarchistic world. He's always found Tony's attitude grating, but it wasn't until Stark turned into a hippie that he chose to expel the boy from the company. Stane hopes he can reverse engineer Stark's 'Iron Man' power armor to sell to the highest bidder.
Justin Hammer: Justin Hammer is a lifelong rival of Tony Stark, though Stark's never known it. They shared a class at MIT, Hammer started his own defense contracting company at the same time Tony took over Stark Industries, and Justin began drawing up plans for powered infantry armor when the Iron Man made his first public appearance. Unlike Tony, Hammer has found little success in his life: he cheated his way through university, his company went bankrupt and was absorbed into Stark Industries, and none of many attempts at power armor function up to standard. Despite his ineptitude he's managed to hold onto a position as Stark Industries' head of experimental technologies by groveling at Stane's feet.
Anton Vanko: Anton Vanko is a Sokovian political radical and the son of Igor Vanko, leader of the Sokovská Nacionalistická Fronta that Tony Stark murdered in his escape. Anton scavenged what remained of the Mark I Iron Man suit and reverse-engineered an arc reactor of his own with the intent of tracking Stark down and avenging his father. He has taken on the moniker of Whiplash.
Dmitri Bukharin: Dmitri is the fifth man to bear the mantle of Crimson Dynamo, and he will likely be the last. For decades the Crimson Dynamo was the premier superhero of the Soviet Union- a shining beacon of their technological advancement and military might. Dmitri was one of a dozen candidates chosen to pilot the last version of the mechanized, twelve-foot tall walking tank. The pilot had to be skilled in the mech’s operation, of course, but they must also exemplify all the best traits of the ideal Soviet man: handsome, well-spoken, and a fervent advocate for Marxism-Leninism. Bukharin was to be that man. The country he had so fiercely dedicated himself to would fall apart only five years after his appointment. A distraught Dmitri fled from Russia with the Crimson Dynamo and would spend the next several decades building his reputation as a feared mercenary, doing battle with heroes like Iron Man on many an occasion.
Tony Stark used to have it all. Born the son of billionaire Howard Stark and his wife Maria, he never wanted for anything physically. He was provided the best education money could buy and all the toys he could ever want. All he lacked for was his parents' attention. Driven to prove his worth to a neglectful father, Tony had a doctorate before he was old enough to drink. His parents died a week after the graduation ceremony they did not attend. Tony would go on to succeed Howard as CEO of Stark Industries.
His genius intellect brought the company to new heights. Stark developed weapons that made the Manhattan project look like a baking soda volcano by comparison. Young, arrogant and ignorant of the consequences, Tony sold his designs to governments the world over to fund his hedonistic lifestyle. His perspective fundamentally changed after his kidnapping during a visit to Sokovia. Rebels from the Sokovská Nacionalistická Fronta (SNF) attacked Stark's convoy, killed most of his escort and ferried him away to an isolated compound in the mountains. Stark nearly died from his wounds if not for the creative intervention of a local doctor: an electromagnet was placed in Tony's chest to prevent micro-shrapnel from entering his heart. Drawing on designs his father originally drew up, Tony developed a prototype arc reactor to keep himself alive in captivity. The SNF demanded he build weapons for them.
Instead, Tony spent his year in captivity discreetly building his first Iron Man suit. Donning the armor, he tore through the SNF and escaped. He would return to the States a changed man, having seen the results of his ‘genius’ firsthand. He shifted Stark Industries’ focus to humanitarian causes. In particular, he hoped to create a full-sized version of his arc reactor to revolutionize clean energy. Tony invested much of his personal wealth into the program's development and shifted his attention to another project: the Iron Man suit.
For the next seven years Tony Stark donned improved versions of the armor to fight the battles no one else could. Tony saw saving lives as a chance to redeem himself for the part he played in the global war machine. He threw himself into his alternate identity fully, leaving the running of his company up to his longtime mentor and business partner, Obadiah Stane.
Obadiah found Tony's change of heart vexing. The company's market share suffered horrendously with its shift away from weapons development. Mass layoff after mass layoff nearly broke Stark Industries. Despite Stane's best efforts he couldn't convince Stark to return to sanity. His frustration at its boiling point, Obadiah chose to act: he leaked Tony’s identity as Iron Man to the public, alongside an avalanche of suppressed scandals from Tony's past. Stane drowned Stark in lawsuits and bad press until he had nothing left.
Betrayed by his oldest friend and penniless, Tony shipped what equipment he could- and his latest version of the suit- to a storage locker under an alias. Now he find himself planning his revenge from James Rhodes' couch.
P L O T ( S ) & G O A L ( S ) P L O T ( S ) & G O A L ( S )
This is sort of a pseudo year one for Tony. He has history as a superhero to ground him in the wider world and allow me to easily backfill relationships with other characters, but for the purposes of resources and reputation he’s at rock bottom.
I want to explore a couple different storylines with Stark this go around: his lingering guilt- both personal and generational- from the death and destruction the Stark name wrought in the pursuit of riches and power; Tony’s fight against Stane and the broader Military Industrial Complex to take his company back; and finally Tony coping with the loss of his former place of privilege.
I’m excited to explore Stark’s thematically rich story and rogues gallery. There’ll be a lot of opportunities to examine corporate cutthroat culture, how celebrity behavior warps under public scrutiny, and the heavy responsibility that comes with power.
"Run it again, JARVIS." Tony Stark splayed across the couch like a lion on its rock. He was the king of a concrete jungle: a billionaire, a genius engineer, and a world-class superhero. Untouchable. Unassailable. He tore a chunk from his latest successful hunt- a greasy cheeseburger from the joint down the street. He'd lost count of how many Kwikkee Meal Deals he'd eaten ever since moving into Rhodey's apartment.
Tony was unbelievably broke.
A series of simulations flashed across the television, the laptop plugged into whirring angrily as it tried to process the experiment's thousands of unique variables. A full-sized arc reactor popped open on the screen to reveal its internals: hundreds of individual plates placed so close together the human eye couldn't discern the gap between them. The plates rotated around the core at murderously high speeds, driven only by the Casimir effect. The vacuum in the chamber allowed the reactor to maintain its current energy production indefinitely...theoretically.
One of the plates in the simulator began to flash red. "Error in plate one hundred and four," JARVIS warned in a cheery English accent. "Sheering along the joint will cause it to break off after thirty-seven years, six months and twelve days of use." As JARVIS spoke all the surrounding plates began to flash as well. "Catastrophic failure follows shortly after."
Tony ran a hand through his hair in irritation. It was long, wild, and about as greasy as the burger. His beard wasn't much better. He stood from the couch to get a better view and began to pace. Increasing the size of the arc reactor had only made the design's flaws more apparent. No modern metal alloy could hold together under that much pressure for long. Even the gold-titanium his suit used proved insufficient. A carbon fiber mesh would be tougher, of course, but making a mesh that large was difficult and expensive. And making a hundred and twenty-eight meshes? Not viable.
"How much energy do we lose if we add thrust in the opposite direction to maintain a sustainable speed?" Tony asked, stopping to spin the television remote on the coffee table.
"Those calculations may take some time, sir."
"Do it." Tony nodded, despite talking to a computer program that couldn’t see it. "And give me my messages while you’re at it. Filter for job offers and anything from the lawyers."
This time Tony’s cellphone buzzed in response as JARVIS left the laptop to its diagnosis and scrolled through Stark’s email. "You have thirty seven job related messages."
Stark’s expression lit up. "Any takers?"
"I'm afraid not, sir. All thirty seven are rejection letters."
His expression fell like a pile of bricks. Well, at least they’d been polite enough to actually respond, Stark mused. In his previous batch of applications half the agencies saw his last name on the resume and blocked his number. Obadiah Stane- Tony's former friend, mentor, and current enemy for life- had done his damnedest to ensure Stark would never work in any relevant industry again. Maybe Kwikkee needed a new burger flipper.
Tony dropped back into his couch and pulled the phone out himself to check his bank account. There was a distinct lack of zeroes behind the prime numbers. Not unexpected, but still concerning. His reserves were running dangerously low. If he couldn’t find work soon…
He flipped to James Rhodes’ main account. Not something he was supposed to have access to, technically, but curiosity and a guilty conscience didn’t mix well. Rhodey was Tony’s oldest friend and one of the best men he’d ever known- he was also prone to taking on more than he could handle. It wouldn’t be long before Stark’s problems caught up with Rhodey.
Tony paused. He closed his eyes and took a series of deep breaths. He couldn’t drag Rhodey down with him. Wasn’t happening.
“JARVIS, do I have anything from that Pentagon rep?”
There was a moment’s pause as the machine ran through Tony’s emails once again. “Yes sir. I moved all of Major Talbot’s messages to spam as you requested. You have sixteen unopened emails from his address.”
“Alright, let’s set up a meeting. I’m grabbing a scotch.”
C H A R A C T E R S U M M A R Y C H A R A C T E R S U M M A R Y
_________________________________________________________ Iron Man | Anthony "Tony" Stark _________________________________________________________ American | Human | Unemployed _________________________________________________________ New York City | New York | USA
C H A R A C T E R N O T E S C H A R A C T E R N O T E S
M I S C E L L A N E O U S ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔ ►Equipment
Arc Reactor: Originally designed by Howard Stark to power nuke-bearing submarines, Tony has adapted the arc reactor to his own uses. Namely, at the moment, keeping himself alive. He hopes future iterations of the reactor might be made available the world over. A single large-scale arc reactor could theoretically power an entire city for centuries without producing radioactive waste or filling the atmosphere with poison.
Mark V Iron Man suit: The fifth iteration of the Iron Man armor and the last Tony developed before losing access to his workshop. It’s shell is built from a durable gold-titanium alloy held up by a carbon fiber muscular lace and a series of hydraulic bone-analogs. The suit’s highly advanced systems allow for rapid, AI-assisted movement and superhuman strength and durability. It’s armaments consist of palm-based repulsors, a chest-mounted unibeam, guided micro-missiles, and a variety of less lethal sonic and bludgeoning ordnance. It’s powered by the miniaturized arc reactor lodged in Tony Stark’s chest- without Stark inside the suit is unable to operate. Repairs and alterations require complex technology Tony no longer has access to.
JARVIS: JARVIS is an artificial machine intelligence developed by Tony Stark to assist in the day-to-day operation of his company. It has been fully integrated into most major systems in Stark Industries and assists accountants, software engineers and developers in their various duties. Its computation power is extraordinary, able to run hundreds of different instances of itself working on numerous tasks at a time. JARVIS is a crucial component of the Iron Man suit, which essentially could not function without AMI assistance. Tony continues to tinker with JARVIS's matrices with the hope of unlocking true artificial intelligence.
►Supporting Cast
Lt. Col. James "Rhodey" Rhodes: A career airman and longtime friend of Tony Stark. They initially met at MIT, their shared interest in military technology kicking off a friendship that would evolve far beyond that. Rhodes spent a decade as a fighter pilot before moving on to his current career in command and control operations; he’s aided Stark as Iron Man on a number of occasions, though his requests for his own suit were never realized. Now that Stark has lost his company Rhodey does his best to take care of his friend, offering him a place to sleep while Tony works out how to get his old life back.
Virginia "Pepper" Potts: Pepper is a senior finance manager at Stark Industries, close friend and ex-girlfriend of Tony Stark. Originally a beleaguered accountant at Roxxon, Pepper was recruited by Tony personally, who convinced her that her talents were being wasted at a cesspool like Roxxon. The two dated for some time prior to Stark's kidnapping. Like everyone else, she'd assumed Tony was dead and moved on with her life. The two have remained close friends for several years.
Harold Joseph "Happy" Hogan: While Tony was still the CEO at Stark Industries, Happy was his right hand. He was his driver, bodyguard personal assistant, corporate spy- whatever Tony needed, Hogan was happy to do. He was with Stark's convoy in Sokovia when it was attacked. Despite barely surviving the encounter, he blamed himself for losing Stark. He would've resigned and left if not for the intervention of Pepper. The two grew close in their shared grief; so close that the two were engaged to be married when Tony finally resurfaced. Stark held no ill will toward either of them and was even the best man at their wedding. Happy is currently the head of security at Stark Industries.
►Antagonists
Obadiah Stane: Obadiah Stane was already a veteran business mogul by the time he'd co-founded Stark Industries with Howard Stark. Cutting his teeth as a weapons manufacturer during the Cold War, Stane sees himself as one of last defenders of the old American order- a strong, guiding hand for an increasingly anarchistic world. He's always found Tony's attitude grating, but it wasn't until Stark turned into a hippie that he chose to expel the boy from the company. Stane hopes he can reverse engineer Stark's 'Iron Man' power armor to sell to the highest bidder.
Justin Hammer: Justin Hammer is a lifelong rival of Tony Stark, though Stark's never known it. They shared a class at MIT, Hammer started his own defense contracting company at the same time Tony took over Stark Industries, and Justin began drawing up plans for powered infantry armor when the Iron Man made his first public appearance. Unlike Tony, Hammer has found little success in his life: he cheated his way through university, his company went bankrupt and was absorbed into Stark Industries, and none of many attempts at power armor function up to standard. Despite his ineptitude he's managed to hold onto a position as Stark Industries' head of experimental technologies by groveling at Stane's feet.
Anton Vanko: Anton Vanko is a Sokovian political radical and the son of Igor Vanko, leader of the Sokovská Nacionalistická Fronta that Tony Stark murdered in his escape. Anton scavenged what remained of the Mark I Iron Man suit and reverse-engineered an arc reactor of his own with the intent of tracking Stark down and avenging his father. He has taken on the moniker of Whiplash.
Dmitri Bukharin: Dmitri is the fifth man to bear the mantle of Crimson Dynamo, and he will likely be the last. For decades the Crimson Dynamo was the premier superhero of the Soviet Union- a shining beacon of their technological advancement and military might. Dmitri was one of a dozen candidates chosen to pilot the last version of the mechanized, twelve-foot tall walking tank. The pilot had to be skilled in the mech’s operation, of course, but they must also exemplify all the best traits of the ideal Soviet man: handsome, well-spoken, and a fervent advocate for Marxism-Leninism. Bukharin was to be that man. The country he had so fiercely dedicated himself to would fall apart only five years after his appointment. A distraught Dmitri fled from Russia with the Crimson Dynamo and would spend the next several decades building his reputation as a feared mercenary, doing battle with heroes like Iron Man on many an occasion. -
Tony Stark used to have it all. Born the son of billionaire Howard Stark and his wife Maria, he never wanted for anything physically. He was provided the best education money could buy and all the toys he could ever want. All he lacked for was his parents' attention. Driven to prove his worth to a neglectful father, Tony had a doctorate before he was old enough to drink. His parents died a week after the graduation ceremony they did not attend. Tony would go on to succeed Howard as CEO of Stark Industries.
His genius intellect brought the company to new heights. Stark developed weapons that made the Manhattan project look like a baking soda volcano by comparison. Young, arrogant and ignorant of the consequences, Tony sold his designs to governments the world over to fund his hedonistic lifestyle. His perspective fundamentally changed after his kidnapping during a visit to Sokovia. Rebels from the Sokovská Nacionalistická Fronta (SNF) attacked Stark's convoy, killed most of his escort and ferried him away to an isolated compound in the mountains. Stark nearly died from his wounds if not for the creative intervention of a local doctor: an electromagnet was placed in Tony's chest to prevent micro-shrapnel from entering his heart. Drawing on designs his father originally drew up, Tony developed a prototype arc reactor to keep himself alive in captivity. The SNF demanded he build weapons for them.
Instead, Tony spent his year in captivity discreetly building his first Iron Man suit. Donning the armor, he tore through the SNF and escaped. He would return to the States a changed man, having seen the results of his ‘genius’ firsthand. He shifted Stark Industries’ focus to humanitarian causes. In particular, he hoped to create a full-sized version of his arc reactor to revolutionize clean energy. Tony invested much of his personal wealth into the program's development and shifted his attention to another project: the Iron Man suit.
For the next seven years Tony Stark donned improved versions of the armor to fight the battles no one else could. Tony saw saving lives as a chance to redeem himself for the part he played in the global war machine. He threw himself into his alternate identity fully, leaving the running of his company up to his longtime mentor and business partner, Obadiah Stane.
Obadiah found Tony's change of heart vexing. The company's market share suffered horrendously with its shift away from weapons development. Mass layoff after mass layoff nearly broke Stark Industries. Despite Stane's best efforts he couldn't convince Stark to return to sanity. His frustration at its boiling point, Obadiah chose to act: he leaked Tony’s identity as Iron Man to the public, alongside an avalanche of suppressed scandals from Tony's past. Stane drowned Stark in lawsuits and bad press until he had nothing left.
Betrayed by his oldest friend and penniless, Tony shipped what equipment he could- and his latest version of the suit- to a storage locker under an alias. Now he find himself planning his revenge from James Rhodes' couch.
P L O T ( S ) & G O A L ( S ) P L O T ( S ) & G O A L ( S )
This is sort of a pseudo year one for Tony. He has history as a superhero to ground him in the wider world and allow me to easily backfill relationships with other characters, but for the purposes of resources and reputation he’s at rock bottom.
I want to explore a couple different storylines with Stark this go around: his lingering guilt- both personal and generational- from the death and destruction the Stark name wrought in the pursuit of riches and power; Tony’s fight against Stane and the broader Military Industrial Complex to take his company back; and finally Tony coping with the loss of his former place of privilege.
I’m excited to explore Stark’s thematically rich story and rogues gallery. There’ll be a lot of opportunities to examine corporate cutthroat culture, how celebrity behavior warps under public scrutiny, and the heavy responsibility that comes with power.
"Run it again, JARVIS." Tony Stark splayed across the couch like a lion on its rock. He was the king of a concrete jungle: a billionaire, a genius engineer, and a world-class superhero. Untouchable. Unassailable. He tore a chunk from his latest successful hunt- a greasy cheeseburger from the joint down the street. He'd lost count of how many Kwikkee Meal Deals he'd eaten ever since moving into Rhodey's apartment.
Tony was unbelievably broke.
A series of simulations flashed across the television, the laptop plugged into whirring angrily as it tried to process the experiment's thousands of unique variables. A full-sized arc reactor popped open on the screen to reveal its internals: hundreds of individual plates placed so close together the human eye couldn't discern the gap between them. The plates rotated around the core at murderously high speeds, driven only by the Casimir effect. The vacuum in the chamber allowed the reactor to maintain its current energy production indefinitely...theoretically.
One of the plates in the simulator began to flash red. "Error in plate one hundred and four," JARVIS warned in a cheery English accent. "Sheering along the joint will cause it to break off after thirty-seven years, six months and twelve days of use." As JARVIS spoke all the surrounding plates began to flash as well. "Catastrophic failure follows shortly after."
Tony ran a hand through his hair in irritation. It was long, wild, and about as greasy as the burger. His beard wasn't much better. He stood from the couch to get a better view and began to pace. Increasing the size of the arc reactor had only made the design's flaws more apparent. No modern metal alloy could hold together under that much pressure for long. Even the gold-titanium his suit used proved insufficient. A carbon fiber mesh would be tougher, of course, but making a mesh that large was difficult and expensive. And making a hundred and twenty-eight meshes? Not viable.
"How much energy do we lose if we add thrust in the opposite direction to maintain a sustainable speed?" Tony asked, stopping to spin the television remote on the coffee table.
"Those calculations may take some time, sir."
"Do it." Tony nodded, despite talking to a computer program that couldn’t see it. "And give me my messages while you’re at it. Filter for job offers and anything from the lawyers."
This time Tony’s cellphone buzzed in response as JARVIS left the laptop to its diagnosis and scrolled through Stark’s email. "You have thirty seven job related messages."
Stark’s expression lit up. "Any takers?"
"I'm afraid not, sir. All thirty seven are rejection letters."
His expression fell like a pile of bricks. Well, at least they’d been polite enough to actually respond, Stark mused. In his previous batch of applications half the agencies saw his last name on the resume and blocked his number. Obadiah Stane- Tony's former friend, mentor, and current enemy for life- had done his damnedest to ensure Stark would never work in any relevant industry again. Maybe Kwikkee needed a new burger flipper.
Tony dropped back into his couch and pulled the phone out himself to check his bank account. There was a distinct lack of zeroes behind the prime numbers. Not unexpected, but still concerning. His reserves were running dangerously low. If he couldn’t find work soon…
He flipped to James Rhodes’ main account. Not something he was supposed to have access to, technically, but curiosity and a guilty conscience didn’t mix well. Rhodey was Tony’s oldest friend and one of the best men he’d ever known- he was also prone to taking on more than he could handle. It wouldn’t be long before Stark’s problems caught up with Rhodey.
Tony paused. He closed his eyes and took a series of deep breaths. He couldn’t drag Rhodey down with him. Wasn’t happening.
“JARVIS, do I have anything from that Pentagon rep?”
There was a moment’s pause as the machine ran through Tony’s emails once again. “Yes sir. I moved all of Major Talbot’s messages to spam as you requested. You have sixteen unopened emails from his address.”
“Alright, let’s set up a meeting. I’m grabbing a scotch.”
A firework exploded in the sky above Central Park, showering red sparkles across the New York City skyline, and Wally West frowned. He unwrapped a hyper-nutrient dense sandwich from the picnic basket and shoved it into his mouth, chasing it down with his sixteenth cream soda of the night. That sandwich contained enough calories to feed a baby elephant. Wally felt his stomach growl with dissatisfaction.
“Everything alright?” His aunt, Iris West, asked from the other side of the blanket. She gave him an easy smile that tapered over the concern in her voice.
Wally gave a half-hearted shrug of his shoulders. “Yeah, of course. Thanks for inviting me.” He nudged his chin in the direction of the fireworks display. Coming to NYC for the first time has been a culture shock and a half, even for him. This place made Central City look like Smallville by comparison. Visiting Lady Liberty and the JSA’s old place in Battery Park with Barry and Iris had been a blast. And watching the Stars kick the Yankees’ asses in their own stadium? Wally’d never forget it.
“I know Barry’s timing was…inconvenient.” Iris sighed, shifting in place. “You know he wouldn’t have left if it wasn’t important.”
“Duh.” Wally groaned, falling on his back and splaying out like a dead man. “I know it’s important! That’s the problem! He’s- I don’t know, fighting the Rogues or an Atlantean sea monster or something- and I’m here. Watching fireworks.”
Wally wanted nothing more in the world than to go with his uncle. He wanted to help him take down bad guys and spin tornados back into sky. But he couldn’t- not without slowing Flash down. By the time Wally would make it back to Central City whatever emergency had drawn Barry Allen there would’ve been over an hour prior. Wally was just too slow.
“Do you know what I did at CCPN for two years before I caught my current beat?” Iris’s smile fell away, replaced by a thin, serious line. “I did fluff pieces for state fairs and interviewed dog show winners. They had me buying coffee for the ‘big shots.’” She gestured quotation marks with her fingers. “I didn’t get a real chance to prove myself until that Batman story fell into my lap. You just got your powers, Wally. Your time’ll come. Be patient, and be ready to chase it when its here.”
Wally gave a weak grin. “Thanks, Iris. I just wish my shot would come sooner rather than later, y’know?”
Somewhere a genie left it’s bottle as fire bloomed in the wrong part of the skyline. “You had to go and say something.” Iris mumbled, jumping to her feet. By the time she had her car keys out Wally was already gone, a streak of red and yellow blasting through Central Park.
Smoke billowed from Kid Flash’s bright, golden boots as he skid to a halt in the street. Chaos filled the neighborhood around him. Buildings were burning, people were hurt and trapped beneath rubble, and a gaggle of draconic lizard-men were shooting lasers at a young woman with a strikingly otherworldly appearance. Another figure in familiar red and blue floated nearby, though he wasn’t the man Kid Flash expected. An article Iris had read to Wally tickled the back of his brain like a half-remembered phone number. “Gonna guess you’re the super-tyke.” Rising to his full, unimpressive height, Wally spread his hands. “But who’re these clowns?”
Location: City Streets -- The City-State of Thorinn, Aetheria
Graves stared down at his hands- at the ghosts of scars he'd given himself. His healing never quite reached the incisions he made to draw his power from. He flinched away from Seele's touch at first, gentle as it was. Though he knew she meant him no harm he reacted on instinct long in the making. He stood stock still, listening. Trying to hear instead of rejecting her words out of hand. He had known men like the ones Seele spoke of: men who used up those around them and threw them away like garbage. Part of him had always wondered if he destined for the same. 'I don't want to be that person anymore.'
He didn't believe he was good, as she said. Not really. But he had it in him to try to be better than he was. Graves kept his eyes on his hands even as Seele let go of his shoulder and moved in front of him. His heart rate spiked when he felt her fingers wrap around his wrists, hiding what lay beneath. It was odd. Her hands looked too small to be as strong as they felt.
'You're allowed to be happy. You're allowed to have friends.'
Graves started to move his arms up slowly, deliberately. He hesitated for only a moment before wrapping Seele in them and dragging her up onto her toes. He squeezed and buried his face in the crook of her neck. "I'm sorry." He croaked. "I'm so sorry."
Location: City Streets -- The City-State of Thorinn, Aetheria
It wasn't a surprise when Seele chased him down. Graves knew the woman well enough to know she wouldn't give up that easily. Usually, he found her stubborn determination admirable. Today? Today it was infuriating. She wouldn't let anything stop her: not pain, not him, not even the truth. What did surprise him, however, was the look on her face when she finally got in front of him. She was angry. Try as she might to hide it, it boiled up in her voice like a fire that wouldn't be doused. Liar.
Graves stopped in his tracks. He wouldn't be able to get by without touching her and he'd never lay his hands on any of them again. Instead he stood, jaw set, eyes wet with tears. He felt a tremble in his hands he couldn't make go away. A thump in his ears like someone was taking a jackhammer to the inside of his head. It was all too much. Andrew wanted nothing more than to find his usual little hole in the dark so he could curl up in it and forget he existed. But that hole wasn't here- it was a world away. And he was trapped on this street with no easy exit.
"I know!" He roared back, throat raw with emotion. Like trying to speak past a gag. "This has been...You all have been the best thing to happen to me in years." Graves turned away, walking a few steps to the side so he might hide his shame. "Runnin' around on my own ain't exactly paradise. Think I know better n' anyone else that I'm not good company. I thought I could make it work. Make some things right that've always been wrong."
He looked down at his hands.
"If I stay I'll just hurt somebody again. S'only a matter'a time."
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