The Masked Marauder leads his men in a raid at Stark Industries' Aerospace facility where they abscond with a new space shuttle. While Tony broods over Roxanne's refusal to see him, Happy asks Pepper to come home, but she refuses. Tony asks Pepper to join him at a nightclub to help cheer him up, but he doesn't realize that she still has feelings for him: it becomes an awkward, silent evening. When Tony hears about the space shuttle theft he departs to catch it as Iron Man. Reaching it, Iron Man is attacked by the Marauder's henchman Steele, who has a suit of armor that he thinks makes him more powerful than Iron Man. After a brief skirmish Iron Man blasts the armor apart with his repulsor rays. The Masked Marauder fights Iron Man, eventually blasting him with his gun, knocking him unconscious. The Marauder carries Iron Man toward the space shuttle.

---