Black Widow returns stealing from Nick Fury and the S.H.I.E.L.D. helicarrier, and by circumstance and some cold calculation Iron Man ends up being hunted by S.H.I.E.L.D. for that deed.

After the events involving the Iron Monger armor, Obadiah Stane begins to have it mass-produced. With footage discovered by Tony Stark and Roberta Rhodes which involved his deal with Ghost, Obadiah Stane is fired by the Chairman of the Board. Unfortunately, a comment from Tony accidentally reveals Iron Man's real identity to Obadiah.