A.I.M./Stark Weapons Smuggling Conspiracy

*"They're completely insane! A nuclear facility?"
"I get it, man, look..."
"Those maniacs are crossing the line. I make weapons smarter, more accurate, more efficient. But nuclear energy? That's indiscriminate destruction!"
"Yeah, you could hurt somebody. Look, I need to talk to you about - "
"**A.I.M.** is a menace!"
"That's what I need to talk to you about - "
"Rhodey, look at this! Triggering a nuclear meltdown, but to what end? At first I just wanted to destroy my own weapons and that was simple, but...I...now, I mean now I know about A.I.M. and since I know I have an obligation to do something about it. Right? Don't I?"*
―Tony Stark and James Rhodes[src]
**Advanced Idea Mechanics**, better known by its acronym **A.I.M.**, was a secret weapon and intelligence agency. They were former clients of Stark Industries who built an army based on Stark technology, with some of it being sold clandestinely by Obadiah Stane. When Tony Stark started searching for stolen Stark technology using the Iron Man armor, he faced A.I.M. and their nuclear depots in Russia, facing their own version of Iron Man, the Titanium Man, and the twisted Controller. Since Iron Man thwarted every attempt of A.I.M. to get power sources, they decided to launch a massive attack on Stark Industries, kidnapping Tony Stark's secretary Pepper Potts. When Potts was saved, A.I.M. decided to deploy a Proton Cannon in charge of the Melter with the intention to attack civilian targets, but they were stopped again by the armored hero.

## History

A.I.M. was the top buyer of Stark Industries weapons until Tony Stark announced that he would no longer be producing weapons. Afterwards, Obadiah Stane contacted the A.I.M. President to broker a merger. He insisted it would be wise with both Stark Industries and A.I.M. coming under attack from groups such as the Maggia. The A.I.M. President asked about Tony Stark, whom he considered a "billionaire brat", and Stane advised him not to worry as Stark was entering the philanthropic phase of his life. With Stane promising that a merger would make both companies stronger, more profitable and safe from outside influences, the A.I.M. President expressed interest to go through with the alliance.

The A.I.M. President agreed to Stane's proposal, though Stane advised him to keep the merger under wraps for the time being until they ironed out the kinks. Stane offered to begin working together immediately, and sent some new technology to A.I.M. to find out what they could do with it and what they could find out about the Arc Reactor.

Stark's friend James Rhodes informed him of A.I.M.'s suspected occupation of a nuclear base in Russia, stating that the United States Armed Forces could not send in troops for fear of starting a nuclear war. Once Pepper Potts confirmed that A.I.M. had been Stark Industries' top buyer, Stark set out for the base. Stark destroyed all of the Stark Tech at the base, was informed by J .A.R.V.I.S. of a strong radioactive signal. Following the signal, Stark encountered Boris Bullski, who wore radiation-powered armor similar to the Iron Man suit. Due to the limitations of Bullski's suit, Stark was able to defeat him.

Upon returning to the United States of America, Stark expressed his disgust at A.I.M.'s use of nuclear weapons. Rhodes informed him that an advanced prototype ship that he sold to the United States Armed Forces had disappeared from contact on its maiden voyage in the Arctic. As their troops were unable to reach it fast enough, Stark located the ship and found it under attack from A.I.M. forces led by Basil Sandhurst. Stark deduced that since they were in need of a power source, they were seeking the nuclear reactor on the ship. Sandhurst attempted to mentally control Stark, who managed to resist him. Stark defeated the A.I.M. forces and prevented them from stealing the reactor.

Stane was furious when the A.I.M. President informed him that they had not finished the prototype of the Arc Reactor. The A.I.M President requested a more complete version of Iron Man's armor to help the engineers along. Stane declared that they had everything they needed and that if they could not send the prototype then they did not really have one. The A.I.M. President was insistent that they had one, and Stane implored him to send it, but he replied that it was not that simple. Stane advised him to make it simple.

A.I.M. forces led by Bullski launched an attack on the Stark Industries Headquarters in an attempt to steal the Iron Man suit. Stark defeated Bullski and his troops, but not before Bullski revealed that Stane had been working with them.

Stark confronted Stane about his involvement with A.I.M., and Stane incapacitated him. He was woken by Rhodes, who informed him that A.I.M. had captured Potts. With Rhodes' help, Stark tracked her down to an A.I.M. research facility located at a dam. Once Stark fought his way through the base, A.I.M. began targeting their own reactor with missiles, intending to kill Potts. Stark put an end to this by destroying facility's main computer and rescued Potts.

Once A.I.M. completed the prototype of the Iron Man armor, Stane ordered them to prepare it for mass production.

A.I.M. deployed a proton cannon that had been created by Bruno Horgan at another facility. Unable to damage it due to the force field surrounding it, Stark attacked the shield generators powering it and destroyed them. Once the force field was down, Stark destroyed the cannon and confronted Horgan, who was intent on detonating the power source and destroying the entire island. Though his advanced weaponry made him a powerful opponent, Stark was able to defeat him.

With their assets frozen, A.I.M. holed up in their main headquarters. Stark infiltrated the base and destroyed their battle suits and the main emitter, putting an end to A.I.M. once and for all.

## External Links

* A.I.M. on Wikipedia
* A.I.M. on Marvel Database