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Tony Stark is a genius inventor and billionaire industrialist, who suits up in his armor of cutting-edge technology to become the super hero Iron Man. The adopted son of weapons manufacturer Howard Stark,[50] Tony inherited his family's company at a young age following his parents' death.[51] While overseeing a manufacturing plant in a foreign country, Stark was kidnapped by local terrorists. Instead of giving in to his captors' demands to build weapons for them, Stark created a powerful suit of armor for himself to escape.[52] Returning to America, Stark further upgraded the armor and put his vast resources and intellect to use for the betterment of the world as Iron Man,[53][54] also quickly giving up weapons manufacturing, having experienced first-hand the horrors of war.[55] Tony kept his alter-ego a secret for most of his career, juggling his responsibilities as head of Stark Industries while becoming a key player in the superhuman community as Iron Man and founding the world's premier super hero team, the Avengers.[56] Over the years, Stark has faced numerous enemies, such as the Mandarin, Justin Hammer, Iron Monger, and the Titanium Man, as well as many personal demons, most notably his addiction to alcohol.[57] For many years, Tony covered for his alter-ego by claiming that Iron Man was his anonymous bodyguard, but Tony eventually brought his dual identity to the public light.[58] Recently, Iron Man was cornered by the anti-mutant industrialist Feilong, who seized control of Stark Unlimited and repurposed its technology into mutant-hunting Stark Sentinels, servicing the pro-human think tank Orchis in their campaign of oppression. Teaming up with a mutant counter-offensive, Tony played a key role in bringing Orchis' ultimate defeat.[59] As he reclaimed control of his company, Tony's grasp was quickly challenged by an alliance between the terrorist organization A.I.M. and the unscrupulous oil giant Roxxon.[60] Although Tony managed to fend off his company from a hostile acquisition,[61] he was left locked out of his armory by a magical virus, which forced him to jerry-rig an Improvised Armor to remain in fighting form.[62]
Five years ago, Tony Stark was kidnapped by terrorist forces during a weapons demonstration, but he returned a different man, an Iron Man. Acting as the armored hero for the past five years, Stark not only faces terrorist threats and supervillains, but also corporate threats, even within his own company, which isn't so happy with how he's running it. Currently, Tony finds himself forced to deal with several crises on multiple fronts. Stark Industries' stock is plummeting, while its rival, Hammer Industries, is on the rise. Reporter Christine Everhart is getting closer and closer in the hunt to discover who is behind Iron Man. SHIELD is on his tail lately. As if the situation couldn't get worse, Tony discovers Mandarin, a Chinese warlord, who is linked to his kidnapping, financing the terrorist group that kidnapped him. Furious, Iron Man attacks Mandarin during a diplomatic visit to the United States, which puts him against SHIELD. While being hunted by the agency, Tony attacks several linked operations that connect to Mandarin. With Iron Man's actions drawing his attention, the warlord decides to respond with something he should have done five years ago: to take down Iron Man himself, who represents the modernity and the West that he so despises. Meanwhile, Iron Man is forced to leave his comfort zone, confronting the mysticism surrounding Mandarin
