Iron Man Annuals

Iron Man Annual 2007 - Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. - We open with Tony Stark briefing Maria Hill and the top S.H.I.E.L.D. agents on Madame Hydra. She is the ruler of Madripoor, so S.H.I.E.L.D. cannot simply arrest or remove her without causing an international incident. Tony decides the best way to take her down is from the inside. Tony heads to Madripoor posing as billionaire Tony Stark instead of Iron Man. Because he is on a covert mission, he leaves the Iron Man armor in orbit on standby and relies on his training and gadgets. He meets with contacts who are unhappy with Madame Hydra's rule and begins organizing a rebellion against her. Madame Hydra learns Tony is in Madripoor and sends Bloodscream and Roughhouse after him. The two villains ambush Tony before he can call in the armor. Tony uses his S.H.I.E.L.D. equipment and hand-to-hand combat skills to stay alive, but he is badly outmatched. Tony is eventually able to summon the Iron Man armor from orbit. Once suited up, the fight quickly turns in his favor. Iron Man defeats Bloodscream and Roughhouse, then goes after Madame Hydra as the rebellion spreads throughout Madripoor. With the people rising up against her, Madame Hydra is forced to flee the country instead of being captured. Tony's mission is a success because he removes her from power without S.H.I.E.L.D. launching an official invasion. The issue ends with Tony returning to his duties as Director of S.H.I.E.L.D., knowing Madame Hydra is still out there and will eventually return

The Invincible Iron Man 2010 Annual Part II - We open with Jun Shan continuing to interview the Mandarin while filming the movie about his life. The Mandarin continues telling stories about his past, but every version contradicts the last one. Jun realizes the Mandarin is shaping his own legend instead of telling the truth. The more he listens, the less he knows about who the Mandarin really is. As filming continues, Chuntao secretly begins investigating Mandarin City on her own. She discovers the Mandarin has hidden secrets throughout his fortress and realizes there may be a way to stop him. She also reveals she has her own reasons for coming along with Jun and is much more resourceful than the Mandarin believes. The Mandarin eventually learns Chuntao has been snooping around. He captures both her and Jun and prepares to execute them for their betrayal. Before he can carry out the sentence, Chuntao turns the tables and reveals she has been gathering evidence and waiting for the right opportunity to strike. A confrontation breaks out inside Mandarin City. During the chaos, Jun and Chuntao manage to escape while the Mandarin is left to deal with the destruction around him. Although they survive, the Mandarin remains at large and his true origin is still a mystery. The issue ends with Jun and Chuntao escaping with a new understanding that no one, including the Mandarin himself, may ever know the complete truth about his past.

The Invincible Iron Man 2010 Annual Part III - We open with the Mandarin beginning production on the final act of his movie. He auditions actors to play Tony Stark, rejecting one after another until he finally finds someone he believes is right for the part. Jun Shan is frustrated because the Mandarin keeps rewriting the script to make himself look greater than he really is. The filming continues, but the Mandarin constantly interrupts scenes when they do not match the image he wants to project. He threatens the actors and even Jun whenever they question his decisions. Jun realizes the movie is no longer about telling the Mandarin's story. It is about creating the legend the Mandarin wants the world to believe. The next day, the Mandarin tells Jun the third act will end with the death of Tony Stark. To prove he is still the warrior he claims to be, he takes Jun to a dojo and defeats three skilled fighters with his bare hands. Jun watches as the Mandarin kills them without hesitation, reminding everyone around him that he is in complete control. As filming wraps up, Jun and Chuntao finally leave Mandarin City alive. Jun has finished the movie, but he also realizes he never learned the Mandarin's true origin. Every story the Mandarin told contradicted another, making it impossible to know what was real. The issue ends with the Mandarin's legend growing even larger, while the truth about his past remains known only to him.

Iron Man Annual 2014 - We open with Iron Man back on the Moon after the events of Fatal Frontier. Tony is still suffering from Phlogistone poisoning and is haunted by visions of Ho Yinsen. He goes to Udarnik, the Soviet robot he fought before, because he believes Udarnik is the only one who can remove the remaining Phlogistone from his body. Udarnik is still angry at Tony for destroying Tranquility Gulch, but he eventually agrees to help. During the procedure, Tony relives memories and visions caused by the Phlogistone. Udarnik is able to remove the contamination, leaving Tony finally free of its effects. The issue then shifts to Arno Stark. Tony and Arno meet with Eli Warren aboard his orbital space station. Tony proposes building a new orbital platform and asks Eli to be involved. Arno is skeptical of Eli, but Tony believes they can work together. The meeting ends with plans moving forward on the new project. The final story follows Pepper Potts. Pepper meets Marc Kumar after a chance encounter. The two spend time together and quickly develop a relationship. Marc seems like an ordinary man, but it is revealed he is actually the Liar (the Mandarin ring that deceives). Pepper has no idea who he really is as the issue comes to an end, setting up future stories in Kieron Gillen's Iron Man run.

Iron Man Annual 2021 - We open with Miles Morales - Spider-Man and Iron Man fighting hundreds of Moloids in NY. But, they quickly realize they are not fighting, they are more like tourists, so Tony calls in his event coordinator. This helps, then Miles tells Tony about the Assessor who kidnapped him and got away and threatened his family. Tony said he will take a look. Tony finds remnants of a drone. He tracks the Assessor down and goes after him breaking into the Brooklyn building. He dispatches the goons, then he comes to Quantum who attacks Iron Man. He's the teleporter to takes Iron Man to the Assessor to a screen in a room. Iron Man fights back but seems to just go to another room. It's a wind tunnel and a combat simulator. Lasers and wind, Iron Man blows up one end. Test after test continues. Iron Man gets to the Assessor and Quantum is teleporting punches and kicks until Tony pairs the frequency. He blasts Quantum. The Assessor is an A.I. body and Tony send some nanobots in to disrupt the network. Tony downloads the A.I. into his new home. And, Quantum and another Assessor A.I. discuss at another location. The Infinity Stone has claimed Quantum and he cannot get free and the Assessor cannot help at this time anymore. Nick Fury, Jr. sees patterns emerging and sees that he needs to get involved.

Iron Man Annual 2022 - We open with Patsy Walker (Hellcat) having a nightmare about marrying Tony Stark. The wedding quickly turns into a nightmare with demons and fire. She wakes up realizing something is wrong. Tony checks on her, but she tells him she needs to handle something from her past first.

Patsy heads to San Francisco to clean out her late mother's old house. She runs into Hedy Wolfe, an old friend from her childhood. While inside the house, strange things begin happening. Patsy starts seeing visions and hearing voices connected to her past. She realizes something supernatural is after her.

The demon Blackheart has been manipulating everything. He wants Patsy because of her connection to Hell from her past with Daimon Hellstrom. Blackheart pulls Patsy into Hell. Tony arrives too late but immediately suits up and follows her into Hell.

Iron Man battles demons while trying to find Patsy. His armor is not nearly as effective against magic and demonic creatures. Blackheart overpowers Tony and focuses on convincing Patsy to embrace the darkness inside her. Patsy refuses to give in. Instead, she accepts her past without letting it control her. She uses her own experience and connection to Hell against Blackheart. Tony recovers and helps keep Blackheart occupied while Patsy lands the deciding blow. With Blackheart defeated, Tony and Patsy escape Hell together. Patsy has finally confronted a part of her past that has haunted her for years. The issue ends with the two returning home, their relationship stronger after everything they went through.

Iron Man Annual 2023 - "Contest of Chaos: Part Two":

We open with Storm floating in the clouds. Storm follows mysterious voices she believes are coming from the weather spirits. The voice sounds like her late grandfather, Befar, and leads her to a hidden cave on the west coast of Mexico.

At the same time, Tony Stark is investigating strange magical disturbances tied to the ongoing Contest of Chaos event. Both heroes arrive at the same ancient site for different reasons.

Inside, they discover a mystical artifact connected to Agatha Harkness' scheme to create a new Darkhold. The artifact manipulates their perceptions, causing them to distrust one another. As happens throughout the Contest of Chaos crossover, the heroes are magically compelled into a battle. Storm and Iron Man initially try to understand what's happening, but the enchantment escalates the conflict into a full-scale fight.

Tony adapts his armor to counter Storm's weather powers, while Storm uses lightning, wind, and her tactical experience to overwhelm his technology. They both see their past, Ho Yinsen regretting helping Tony and attacking him, and Storm seeing the Shadow King. Then, Hellcat and others attack in Tony's mind. Tony sees Storm down and is without his helmet. Storm attacks with lighting and crystals suddenly appear. The confrontation ultimately produces the magical energy Agatha needs for her larger plan. Neither hero is truly the villain—they're both victims of the spell manipulating them.

The issue also includes a backup chapter that advances the overall Contest of Chaos storyline, following Jessica Jones, Spider-Man, Scarlet Witch, and the investigation into Agatha's plot.

The Invincible Iron Man 2010 Annual Part I - We open with award-winning filmmaker Jun Shan accepting an award for his latest movie with his wife, Chuntao. Their celebration is interrupted when armed men kidnap them and take them aboard a private jet. They soon learn they have been abducted by the Mandarin.

The Mandarin tells Jun he admires his work and wants him to make a movie about his life. Jun refuses, but the Mandarin immediately throws acid in his face and threatens to blind Chuntao if he does not cooperate. Realizing he has no choice, Jun agrees to make the film. Jun and Chuntao are taken to Mandarin City where Jun begins interviewing the Mandarin. As the interviews begin, the Mandarin starts telling different stories about his childhood and family. Every version is different. In one story he comes from royalty. In another he is born into poverty. In another he claims different parents and a different upbringing. Jun quickly realizes the Mandarin is constantly changing his own history and cannot tell what is true and what is a lie. As Jun continues filming, he sees firsthand how dangerous the Mandarin is. Anyone who questions him or displeases him is punished without hesitation. Chuntao also begins revealing she knows more about the Mandarin than she first admitted, but she keeps her true feelings hidden. The issue ends with Jun trapped in Mandarin City, forced to continue making the film while trying to figure out which parts of the Mandarin's life are real and which are nothing more than another story.