- "I'm here about Tony Stark. I believe he was murdered."
"What? By whom?"
"Me. Or at least someone's trying to make it look that way, using this." - ―Black Widow and Betty Ross[src]
The Assassination of Tony Stark was a murder of Tony Stark, carried out by Yellowjacket to disrupt the Avengers Initiative.
Background[]
- "You filled her head with nonsense about protecting humanity and saving the world. You just left out how she died the same way her mother did, doing S.H.I.E.L.D.'s dirty work!"
"And that gave you permission to murder them?" - ―Yellowjacket and "Nick Fury"[src]
Following the steps of her mother, Hope van Dyne joined S.H.I.E.L.D., however, she was killed during the mission in Odessa. Blinded by grief and rage, Hank Pym blamed S.H.I.E.L.D. and Nick Fury in van Dyne's death and swore revenge. Using her old S.H.I.E.L.D. clearance, Pym found out that Fury started the Avengers Initiative to put together a group of remarkable individuals. Armed with the Yellowjacket Suit, Pym took it upon himself to ruin everything Fury wanted to build by killing any candidate for the Initiative.[1]
Assassination[]
Tony Stark is killed by Yellowjacket
- "It's not a cure, it just... abates the symptoms?"
"Stark! You okay?" - ―Nick Fury and Black Widow[src]
Aware that Tony Stark was a potential candidate for the Avengers Initiative, Yellowjacket hid in the ampule with the Lithium Dioxide that S.H.I.E.L.D. intended to use against Stark's Palladium infection. When Black Widow injected Stark with the antidote, Yellowjacket took the opportunity to enter Stark's body and rearrange his organs. Stark suddenly started convulsing and collapsed on the floor before dying, to Fury and Black Widow's shock.[1]
Aftermath[]
Black Widow is in the by STRIKE custody
- "Someone inside S.H.I.E.L.D. compromised Stark's antidote. I need someone on the outside to find out who."
"Sure you wanna take another big swing on me, boss?"
"Safest bet I'll ever make." - ―Nick Fury and Black Widow[src]
A prime suspect of Tony Stark's murder, Natasha Romanoff was apprehended by the STRIKE agents. Alexander Pierce ordered Brock Rumlow to bring Romanoff to New York City for questioning. Nick Fury, however, was certain that Romanoff was innocent and that Stark was killed by someone who compromised the antidote. Suspecting that the murderer had the S.H.I.E.L.D. connections, Fury ordered Romanoff to went off the radar and find the culprit, giving her an ampule with the Lithium Dioxide.
Natasha Romanoff approaches Betty Ross
As Romanoff was escorted to New York in the convoy, Romanoff freed herself and fought off all STRIKE agents before escaping. On the run from S.H.I.E.L.D., Romanoff arrived at the Culver University where she approached Betty Ross, asking her for help. Ross ran the tests on the antidote ampule but could not find any trace of foreign substances. However, she noted that the antidote did not even enter Stark's body in the moment of his death. She told Romanoff that whatever was the cause of Stark's death, it was not biological.[1]