Iron Man has been on a new sort of journey recently, looking to get away from all the weapons and high tech gimmickry he’s often associated with these days. It’s a more back to basics approach, complete with a retro-style armor, but don’t get it twisted, because the armor he wears these days still packs a powerful punch. That was on full display when Cardiac took several people hostage in Iron Man #2, which was part of Cardiac’s plan to bring attention to some of Tony Stark’s pharmaceutical investments. The orb Cardiac has them in features a mix of adamantium and vibranium, and it appears with the right method, Tony Stark’s armor can indeed break through it.
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Cardiac starts things off by shouting “You profit off the poor and sick. You invest in doctors, medicine makers, insurers. You let people bleed to death, metastasize, suffocate. All while you count your coins. Your scientists want to develop high-cost cures? Then let them feel the effects of untreated disease at the moment of death! Let them pay the ultimate price!”
The people inside are quickly losing their air and will suffocate to death shortly. That’s when Tony acquires two pieces of specific information. The first is the makeup of the orb, which turns out to be comprised of 32.65% vibranium, 26.28% adamantium, and 41.07% iron. He then asks if he’s a far enough distance, which turns out to be 567 yards away for maximum suit velocity.
Hellcat’s not sure what he’s doing, and that becomes clear when Tony asks if he’s going to survive this. The A.I. reveals a damage assessment, saying that possible damage includes compound fractures to a myriad of bones and several ruptures.
Tony dives forward anyway and punches the orb with all his might, and he punctures the orb. The shot from the other side shows how much damage it did to Tony, as his armor is completely shattered and his arm looks crumpled.
We then get the rundown, and it appears Tony has 17 bone fractures, his left lung is punctured, and he has an irregular heartbeat.
He’s going to be recovering for a bit, but he did shatter an orb made of two of the strongest metals in the Marvel Universe, and that’s pretty impressive.
Iron Man #2 is in comic stores now.
