As part of a new strategy called
“Heroes Reborn,” Marvel Comics hired back the key Image artists—and
Marvel expatriates—to revamp some of Marvel’s key characters. Jim Lee
and Whilce Portacio introduced their new version of Iron Man in late 1996.
In this rendition, Tony Stark is an insufferably arrogant inventor and
playboy. One of his facilities, housing Bruce Banner’s gamma bomb
project, was taken over by the forces of Hydra. Their plan was to detonate
the bomb and wipe out much of the eastern seaboard. In a last act of
desperation, Banner managed to move the bomb several miles underneath the
earth, sacrificing himself but sparing the world its impact. The resultant
radiation turned him into the Incredible Hulk. When Stark came to the
scene, this new monster downed his chopper, leaving a piece of shrapnel
inches from his heart. To save himself, Stark donned a prototype armor and
became Iron Man.
