After Tony Stark barely escaped captivity with his life, he swore off making weapons and decided to protect the world as the Invincible Iron Man!
Tony was never a team player, but he was beginning to find his stride with the Avengers. For instance, giving Sam Wilson, the Falcon, advice to get episode 3 of his show funded after Face Front suffered budget cuts. However, to Tony's surprise, he was recruited not long after that by Agent Coulson of S.H.I.E.L.D. to stop Falcon from using the Infinity Gauntlet to solve the same problem. And just after Tony had suggested Sam was smart for taking his advice!
Despite warning Sam that the power of the Gauntlet would tear him apart, Falcon snapped his fingers and unleashed it upon an unsuspecting universe.
Soon after that, Nick Fury approached Tony about joining him in a Secret War against HYDRA. Several times. Dealing with the fallout from Sam's snap was honestly taking up a lot of Tony's time, but he did have Fury's Secret War in the back of his mind, creating a new suit of armor for just the occasion. But as Fury was breathing down his neck once again, the city came under attack from the Ten Rings!
Iron Man jetted out, taking on HYDRA and activating the House Party Protocol to save the city. Suddenly, he was attacked and his armor was downed! When the smoke cleared, Iron Man found himself face to face with his greatest foe, the Mandarin.