THE MASK IN THE IRON MAN (2000)

Don't you hate it when one of your trouser legs turns inside out when you take them off, so the next time you put your trousers on it feels like they're trying to kill you? Well, imagine if your trousers are a sentient suit of armour capable of flight, repulsor blasts and feats of super-human strength. And it's gained sentience. And it is trying to kill you.

Inspired by the threat of Y2K (which proved not to be a threat at all), get ready for Tony Stark vs Iron Man...

Previous events that directly impact this story:

• HEROES RETURN - Introducing the Iron Man Armour Model 16

Minor Crossover: The New Warriors issue ties in to the story, but can be skipped without missing a beat. Most people don't even know the tie-in exists.

• Iron Man #26-29
• New Warriors #9 (tie-in) (also see THE RETURN OF K'UN-LUN)
• Iron Man #30

Iron Man #26
Tony Stark wonders if he can keep up with his fun-loving girlfriend Rumiko Fujikawa, especially when he's trying to conceal his double-identity as Iron Man. When Stark tries to protect her from a horndog on the dancefloor in Miami, he winds up back in his hotel room nursing a broken nose. To escape his problems and avoid hitting the bottle again, Tony puts on the Iron Man armour and immediately runs into Whiplash whose sporting a leather make-over. Their scrap is interrupted when they're struck by lightning. Iron Man crashes to the ground below. He wakes up in hospital to find the world knows he's Iron Man.

Iron Man #27
A kid opened the unconscious Iron Man's faceplate and now Stark's identity is known to the world. The Mandarin returns, kills Tony's friends and finds him hitting the bottle hard. But Tony Stark wakes again, realising he's dreamt the whole thing and is still lying in the middle of a road in Miami. Returning home, the sentient computer Jocasta runs diagnostics and discovers Tony's armour is alive...

Iron Man #28

Believing Tony will shut it down for good, the amour tries to convince him to allow him to live. Eventually, Tony takes the armor out for a spin and finds it's better than ever! Working as a team, Iron Man catches up with Whiplash again, easily outmatches him. But the armour takes control and kills Whiplash, remorselessly throwing his body into the ocean.

Iron Man #29

The sentient armour starts taking control of Tony's life, threatening to hurt his loved ones if he doesn't allow it to continue to live. Together, they confront Whiplash's employer Trevor Donohue but the armour becomes violent. Tony tries to show it the effect of taking a life in an attempt to stall for time and let his power run down. When his plan fails, Tony dons his old Modular Armour and tackles the sentient armour head-on. He's savagely defeated, torn from his armour and left on a remote island owned by Tony's father...

New Warriors #9 (tie-in)

Back in New York, Nova arrogantly tries to take on the Blizzard only to find himself defeated and ridiculed. The sentient Iron Man armour arrives, answering an Avengers distress call, and almost beats beat Blizzard to death. Nova's fellow New Warriors try to 'Iron Man' him from killing Blizzard so he grabs Nova by the throat. The armour comes to its senses, ditches Nova and flies back to the island...

Iron Man #30

Back on the island, Tony sets a series of traps and lies in wait. But they do little to slow the sentient armour when it returns. Tony has a massive heart attack and dares the armour to kill him. Instead, the armour tears out its own robotic heart and shoves it into Tony's chest saving his life and dying in the process. Tony buries the armour and sends a distress call to the Avengers. But what could have caused the armour to gain a mind of its own...?

Iron Man #31 (2000) 

Iron Man goes back to wearing the old Iron Man Armour Model 4 to avoid unexpected upgrades; Tony tries to explain away his recent behaviour during THE SONS OF YINSEN.

Fantastic Four #31 (2000) 

The Invisible Woman's apparent marriage to Doctor Doom is resolved during WHEN WORLDS COLLIDE.

Iron Man #41-44 (2001) 

The real Iron Man has his 'rematch' with Blizzard; Tony Stark upgrades to a SKIN (Synth-Kinetic Interface Nano-fluid) prototype; Iron Man sports his next new suit of armour.

New Warriors #10 (2000) 

The New Warriors go to Hollywood; Night Thrasher rejoins the team during THE RETURN OF K'UN-LUN.

Avengers: The Ultron Imperative #1 (2001) 

The Avengers learn about the Ultron Imperative programme created by Ultron to perpetuate himself in the event of his destruction during THE KANG DYNASTY.

Iron Man #46-48 (2001-2002)

It's revealed that the sentient armour was created when Jocasta downloaded her AI into Iron Man's armour, carrying the Ultron Imperative with her and unleashing Ultron's personality into it; the Ultron programming comes to the fore again and uses the sentient armour as a new body for Ultron-13; the resurrected Ultron/sentient armour is defeated by Iron Man and Jocasta; Jocasta uploads into a robot body, allowing everyone to believe she's been erased.

Spider-Man's Tangled Web #13 (2002) 

Leeann Foreman claims the Whiplash identity.

Iron Man #56 (2002) 

Tony Stark is publicly outed as Iron Man when he rescues a dog; the revelation causes further issues in his relationship with Rumiko Fujikawa who is angry that Tony never confided in her.

Iron Man #77 (2004) 

Tony and Rumiko's relationship ends when Tony becomes the American Secretary of Defence and has too little time for her.

Iron Man #87 (2004) 

Rumiko Fujikawa is murdered by an Iron Man impostor during AVENGERS DISASSEMBLED.

Iron Man #4-6 (2005-2006) 

Tony Stark's real heart presumably regrows when he's injected with Extremis.

Thunderbolts #104 (2006) 

Another female Whiplash emerges during CIVIL WAR.

Iron Man vs Whiplash #1 (2010) 

A new male Whiplash (Anton Vanko) makes his debut.

Avengers AI #2 (2013) 

Sentient virus Dimitrios obtains and inhabits the once-sentient Iron Man armour during MARVEL NOW!

See how this story fits into the wider Marvel Universe continuity:

• AVENGERS: Living Legends (1999-2000)