Arno Stark
Arno Stark operated as Iron Man in the year 2020 as a mercenary, not a superhero, following his predecessor. He was the chairman of Stark Enterprises. The abilities he gained with his suit caused some to believe him not to be human. (COMIC: The Cast Iron Contract)
Biography[[edit] | [edit source]]
According to Athey, Arno inherited his Iron Man suit from his predecessor, and "updated it". (COMIC: The Cast Iron Contract)
Arno retired from being Iron Man after the "Machine Man incident" left him defeated and without work. However, he was convinced to take a payment for a mercenary job while in Stark Enterprises, 2020. (COMIC: Clobberin' Time!) The job involved the protection of two apparent emissaries from another country. Athey recalled that he had taken the job without probing too deeply into the whys and the wherefores of the cover story.
While discussing the job, Chance pointed out that a man such as Arno would surely not need the money from the job, but Athey claimed that he believed it was how he got his kicks.
As part of this protection, he defeated a group of four criminals, leading them to attempt an escape in a Securi-Carry vehicle, only for Arno to blow it up. The emissaries were confused by this, asking who he was, although Arno stated that he'd heard "some guys back home" wanted to see them fail, and for their blood to be spilt on foreign soil, although an emissary referred to this as "fiction", and got their driver to drive them away.
Chance wanted to have another game arranged with Arno, despite the Dicemen having a strict policy on repitition, only involving "players" once. Although Chance insisted that he wanted to recruit Iron Man again, Athey showed him another possible candidate: Death's Head, which immediately changed Chance's mind, with him calling Death's Head "magnificent".
Athey set Death's Head up by providing him with a job to eliminate the two apparent emissaries, claiming them to be terrorists whom Athey couldn't harm due to their diplomatic immunity. Death's Head took the job, but was nevertheless sceptical of it. Meanwhile, Arno was continuing to protect the emissaries as they entered a building, despite them insisting that it was all a dreadful mistake. Once they reached the elevator, Death's Head, already inside, told him that it was full, with Death's Head immediately preparing to eliminate the emissaries.
Arno flew up and broke the roof of the elevator open, only to be hit away by Death's Head. Arno, however, immediately flew back, accidentally cutting one of the elevator's cables. Death's Head commented that Arno was doing his job for him, but Stark picked him up and flew him away, landing atop another building. Death's Head commented that humans like Arno gave mechanoids a bad name.
Stark reflected that he'd allowed Death's Head to kill the emissaries and that any chance of peace between the two countries was gone, before decapitating Death's Head and claiming that there was only enough room for one Iron Man in the city, that being Arno. Although he believed that he had won, Death's Head's body got up and began battling him while he was in the process of monologuing. Death's Head continued to beat down Arno until he "got [it] out of [his] system", which would allow them to talk.
After calming down, Death's Head explained that Arno believed the two he was protecting had peaceful intentions, but that Death's Head was told they were international terrorists, reflecting that "someone's been lied to", although Arno had a suspicion that they'd both been lied to. After discussing their contractors, they discovered that they'd been hired by the same person, with Arno feeling that they'd been set up to fight each other, "like competitors".
They were able to locate a camera watching them, and used it to locate the manor which Chance and Athey were present within, easily getting through the perimeter defences. Athey killed Chance as he had become a loose end, before escaping. Not long after, Arno smashed in through a window, and discovered Chance's corpse, although Death's Head located the money they were promised.
Arno considered the facts of the situation, and suggested that they search the house, only for his suit's internal systems to detect a massive energy build-up under the house, necessitating them to leave immediately, just escaping the explosion, Arno commenting that "someone wanted to leave no traces".
Death's Head left Arno by telling him to be sure of himself, as "everything's straightforward when you believe in what you're doing", finally telling him to strike fast, take the money, and not lose his head. (COMIC: The Cast Iron Contract)
Legacy[[edit] | [edit source]]
Death's Head recalled his encounters with Stark during a battle with Death's Head 4.0. (COMIC: Clone Drive)
