As the Tony Stark LMD is rushed to a nearby hospital, Iron Man hurries to his Long Island plant and regains control of the android before anyone discovers its nature; he later places it in storage. Meanwhile, in Florida, Jasper Sitwell and other SHIELD agents recover Whitney Frost's escape vehicle. In New England, Vincent Sandhurst visits his brother Basil, who was paralyzed in a lab accident months earlier and now lives in an automated house. However, Basil, using his mechanical know-how and mental energy research, has become the Controller, enslaved his servants to drain their minds to empower his exoskeleton, and now adds Vincent to his retinue before enslaving a nearby town. Tony and Janice arrive days later, searching for Vincent, whom Stark has realized is deliberately mismanaging Janice's affairs. The Controller abducts Janice. Iron Man follows, but the Controller quickly defeats and abducts him as well.

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