01x09 - Iron Man to the Second Power, Part 1

[bunniefuu]

MODOK: Destructors, advance.

Halt. Target subject, forward.

Destructors, destroy!

DESTRUCTORS: We shall reduce
the skeletal creature to ashes.

To ashes. To ash. No!

He is too strong. He is melting us.
Melting, melting, melting...

It works. It works.
I must inform The Mandarin at once.

THE MANDARIN: Full many a rose
is born to blush unseen

and waste its fragrance
on the desert air.

Unlike that poetic rose,
my dear Hypnotia,

we shall not blush unseen.

When I have destroyed Iron Man,

the world shall witness
the flower of my strength grow

until it is too large
and too beautiful to be ignored!

The power in my ring is too great.
The rose has become hideous.

Maybe you'll have better luck
with vegetables.

[GONG SOUNDING]

Ah! That's Modok calling.

He has an unfortunate taste
for the melodramatic.

I wonder where he picked it up.

THE MANDARIN: Enough! I am here.

It was a triumph.

My new robot skeletal matrix
was indestructible,

so I initiated the process
of covering it with its metal skin.

Superb! I can practically taste
the power it will bring me. Us!

The power it will bring us.

[THE MANDARIN LAUGHING]

Don't ice the champagne just yet,
my impatient friend.

First we must be sure
Modok's handiwork is worthy.

- Show me!
-Gladly.

Of course, there is still one area

which requires a few finishing touches,
but nonetheless,

I give you Iron Man the Second!

THE MANDARIN: This is your triumph?

You promised me
an exact duplicate of Iron Man,

but this wouldn't fool anybody!

His shoulder configurations
are incomplete.

I was lacking a few small bytes of data,

but I've arranged to get them,
as you shall see.

One of my robotic agents secretly
planted itself inside Stark's factory.

You may watch the proceedings
through its camera eye.

It is non-metallic,
so it didn't trigger the alarm.

THE MANDARIN: Stark's factory has
been earmarked for sabotage.

Why would it interest me now?

MODOK: Because it will draw Iron Man
into the open.

Watch.

This could be informative.

By increasing the RAM chip capacity,
we've been able to assign

more sophisticated tasks
to our robot workers.

The Stark harvester can be used
to plow or to plant,

an innovation to help end world hunger.

We've done our tour, Tony.

An astonishing accomplishment,
Mr. Stark.

Thank you for donating
your harvesters to my country.

NOW!

THE MANDARIN:
How delightful, Modok.

Your tiny agent has reprogrammed
Stark's assembly line robots.

Julia Carpenter and her guest
are in for a rude shock.

Tony, the robots have gone crazy!

TONY: Have emergency shut down
all on-line robotics, Jim!

JIM: This is the fifth incident
this month, Tone!

Somebody's trying to break
the Stark Industries' bank.

This is James Rhodes.
Activate emergency protocol Omega.

Happy landing.

MODOK: When Stark Enterprises is
in trouble, Iron Man comes to the rescue

and into my hands.

MODOK: Closer, Iron Man.
Move just a little closer.

Yes.

THE MANDARIN: You've blinded him
temporarily, Modok,

but to what purpose?

You do have something in mind,
don't you?

Now I can access the data I've been
missing. The right shoulder first.

Good, good, good. Now the left.

THE MANDARIN: You failed to imprint
his left shoulder.

Not to worry. I have his right one.
I can adapt.

The Mandarin is behind this.

What with the economy, I don't know
where I'll find the money to rebuild.

If you don't, hundreds of thousands
of good people will lose their jobs,

their homes, their hope for tomorrow.

I won't let it happen, Julia.
I promise you.

There.
Your very own Iron Man, Mandarin.

Complete in every detail.

THE MANDARIN: He...
He's coming right at us.

He's... He's out of control, hostile!

You've created yet another invincible
enemy to stand against me, you little

genius.

What would I do without you?
Your creation is perfection itself.

This final act of sabotage
has bankrupted Stark Enterprises,

which means Stark must now
send Iron Man off

to the far corners of the earth
to search for precious metals,

the only way for Stark
to rebuild his fortunes

without causing a panic
in the investment community.

And while the real Iron Man is gone,

my duplicate shall be programmed
to initiate phase one

of Operation Dark Water Fever.

At once, Mandarin. We move!

THE MANDARIN: Prepare the duplicate
for his mission now.

Yes! Yes! Excellent!

Meanwhile, Hypnotia and her team
will pay a visit

to the simple Peruvian village

which lies within the shadow
of ancient Incan ruins.

The peasants
who tend their corn crops there

are in for a very stimulating encounter.

[SPEAKING SPANISH]

DREADKNIGHT: Everybody,
go to your homes.

[ALL SCREAMING]

BLIZZARD: There is no escape.
Go back.

They don't understand English,
you flash-frozen freak!

They understand fear.

DREADKNIGHT: Yes, run, farmers.
Run!

[WHIRLWIND LAUGHING]

You ain't going no place, people. Look.

[HYPNOTIA SPEAKING SPANISH]

DREADKNIGHT:
You were magnificent, Hypnotia.

You can put me under your spell
any time.

Don't call us. We'll never call you.

BLACKLASH: It takes little
to make a man feel like a child.

My spell has secured the villagers
for 24 hours.

Their crop is ready for harvest.

Well done. There is no time to waste.
Modok, my Iron Man?

- MODOK: His programming is complete.
-Excellent.

[LAUGHING]

To work, my friend.

Do my bidding well

and you shall bring me
one step closer to triumph. Now, fly.

THE MANDARIN: Fly!

My duplicate Iron Man
will now pay a call

on Hammer Industries'
Biotech complex,

and Justin Hammer
will be waiting to welcome him.

Mr. Hammer,
Iron Man is heading directly at us.

Iron Man?

No reason to worry.
Nevertheless, full alert.

This vault holds
the only known supply of the antidote

to deadly Dark Water Fever.

If Iron Man were to steal it... But, no.

What reason would make him
stoop so low?

[ALARM BLARING]

Is there no one we can count on
any longer?

THE MANDARIN:
Congratulations, Modok.

Your duplicate is providing Hammer
with evidence

of Iron Man's criminal behavior.

The world will soon believe
that old Shellhead has gone very bad.

[THE MANDARIN
LAUGHING MANIACALLY]

Calm down, Mr. Hammer.
Dark Water Fever has been wiped out.

Its sole source was a fungus
which only grew on a rare strain

of Peruvian corn from the high Andes.

- Isn't that right, Al?
-Correct.

The World Health Organization
reported

that strain had been
rendered harmless years ago.

But suppose Iron Man
has an evil confederate

who can revive the deadly fungus
to increase the value of the antidote.

[PRESIDENT CLINTON LAUGHS]

I don't think we need to lose any sleep
over that, but thanks for your concern.

That's funny.
Hammer campaigned for Perot,

and now he's suddenly my best friend.

What chutzpah!
It might be smart to check it out.

Good thinking. Alert Special Forces

and have them bring in both Tony Stark
and Iron Man for questioning.

THE MANDARIN: The hypnotized
villagers have work to do, Modok.

Patch me in to Hypnotia.

DREADKNIGHT:
Give me a chance, Hypnotia.

I'll make you lose your taste
for Tony Stark.

I'm more likely to lose my lunch.

Pitiful to watch a warrior beg for favor
from her who loves him not.

Knock it off! We have work to do.

[BUZZING]

Duplicate Iron Man has successfully
completed his mission.

And as the real Iron Man may well have
accompanied the missing Tony Stark,

it is an ideal time to use the duplicate.

Launch Operation Dark Water Fever.

Make the farmers
spray their crop with the fungus.

In 36 hours, it will breed enough
Dark Water Fever toxin

to decimate Los Angeles.

[DREADKNIGHT CHUCKLING]

Los Angeles, fire, floods,
riots, earthquakes

and now fever! How stimulating.

Tony Stark will be blamed
for using Iron Man to steal the antidote,

and the world will surely pay
to avoid a plague of Dark Water Fever.

Yet all victories are hollow
without someone to share them.

Ironic, when the one I would choose

is the one who will be ruined
by our success.

THE MANDARIN:
And now the adventure begins.

How appropriate that
Stark's own communications satellite

shall serve as the site for my duplicate
Iron Man's broadcast to the world.

[THE MANDARIN LAUGHING]

The media is already asking
about Stark himself.

SAM JAGGERS: Current speculation
has it that Tony Stark,

troubled by catastrophic
financial losses

due to a series of industrial accidents,
has fled the country.

Furthermore, it is rumored

he has engaged
in an unspeakable criminal enterprise

to get the money he needs
to save his company.

Don't look so depressed.
We all know it's hogwash.

Right. Tony told me he was going to get
the funding he needed legitimately.

Now that's good enough for me...

DUPLICATE IRON MAN:
Leaders of the world,

I hold the only supply of the antidote
to Dark Water Fever

and enough revived strains of the
fever fungus to depopulate the earth.

Unless your governments deliver to me

$100 million in gold by midnight,

the fungus will be released
over your great cities,

Moscow, London, Paris,
Rome, New York.

Justin Hammer tried to sell me the idea
of Iron Man having an evil confederate

who'd maybe use the stolen
Dark Water Fever antidote

for blackmail, but I wasn't buying.

I think Hammer knows a little too much
not to be involved,

but he's not my problem right now.

Afternoon, General.
Yeah, I'm watching, too.

We're not just going to sit there
and take it.

And to prove that
this is not an idle threat,

I intend to release a small dose
of the fungus over Los Angeles now.

The cards are dreadful,
but this cannot be my Tony.

It looks like Iron Man.
It sounds like Iron Man.

If it isn't him, who is it?

Look!

JIM: Iron Man!
And he's got the fever fungus!

BATTLESHIP CAPTAIN:
The White House hotline called it right.

Orders are not to risk any action
that might rupture the spray tank.

All right, that means
we have to fry him and it first time out!

We go for it!

[ALARM BLARING]

JULIA: Tony. No! No!

JIM: Look!

BATTLESHIP CAPTAIN:
We didn't even slow him down!

THE MANDARIN: Watch, Modok,

as the world learns
of the power of Dark Water Fever!

Midnight. $100 million or die!

'