| For alternate versions of the Battle of Gulmira, see the Battle of Gulmira's Event Hub |
- "You do not send civilian equipment into my active war zone. You understand that?"
"This is not a piece of equipment. I'm in it. It's a suit. It's me!" - ―James Rhodes and Tony Stark[src]
The Battle of Gulmira was an open confrontation between Iron Man and the Ten Rings in the village of Gulmira, Afghanistan. Since Stark Industries's announcement to discontinue the production of weapons, the Ten Rings continued to be funded by Obadiah Stane. Using this weaponry, they captured and took control of Gulmira, forcefully conscripting defenseless civilians and refugees.
During their occupation of Gulmira, Iron Man liberated the village by effortlessly dismantling the terrorist forces that had taken over the village, saving Gulmira. During his departure, Iron Man was engaged by two United States Air Force fighter jets, after which the United States had to cover up their involvement, citing a training exercise.
Background[]
- "Recent violence has been attributed to a group of foreign fighters, referred to by locals as the Ten Rings. As you can see, these men are heavily armed and on a mission. A mission that can prove fatal to anyone who stands in their way. With no political will or international pressure, there's very little hope for these refugees."
- ―Amira Ahmed[src]
Tony Stark, with the help of Ho Yinsen, freed himself from the Ten Rings, who had kidnapped and taken him prisoner for three months. For that, Stark built the first Iron Man armor. Yinsen, a fellow captive, and native of Gulmira whom Stark got to know and befriend, died in the escape.
Upon returning to the United States, Stark had a press conference, denouncing Stark Industries' past, deciding that weapons manufacturing was no longer a part of the company. This angered Obadiah Stane, who over the past three months had the ear of the Stark Board of Directors, who decided to get Tony Stark kicked out of the Stark Industries's board.
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Tony Stark watches news footage of Gulmira
Christine Everhart, a spurned one-night-stand of Stark's, informed Stark that his company was still shipping weapons despite his instructions otherwise. Afterward, Stark went to confront Stane who let him know that he was in charge because the Board believed Stark had PTSD and his decisions were detrimental to the company. Stark went home to watch news footage by Amira Ahmed about the plight of Gulmira while testing the weapons of the Mark III.[1]
Battle[]
Iron Man attacking against several terrorists
- "What the hell was that?"
"Were we clear to go in there?"
"No, sir. They were using human shields. We never got the green light." - ―United States Air Force officers[src]
In Gulmira, the Ten Rings captured all able-bodied men to be conscripted into their organization. One man attempted to go back to his son and Abu Bakaar ordered one of his men to kill him. Before the terrorist could pull the trigger, Iron Man arrived and took him and several other terrorists out with his repulsors. Five other terrorists used civilians as human shields and Iron Man used his shoulder-mounted gun to kill them at once. Bakaar hid in a building and attempted to call for backup. Iron Man punched through the wall and pulled Bakaar through it and into the street. He left him for the villagers to deal with and took off.
Iron Man targets five terrorists at once
While in flight, Iron Man detected Jericho missiles but was shot down by a tank. Iron Man crashed in the street and caused a crater. When Iron Man got back to his feet, the tank fired again but Iron Man dodged the shell and fired a rocket down the cannon barrel and the tank exploded. Iron Man proceeded to destroy the Jericho Missiles and the rest of the Stark Industries weapons and flew away.
Iron Man is attacked by two F-22 Raptor
As Iron Man was leaving Gulmira, he was discovered by Lacy of the United States Air Force, who sent two F-22 Raptors to discover what he was. Simultaneously, James Rhodes called Stark about an incident in Gulmira. Iron Man denied any involvement and Major Julius Allen ordered the Raptors to engage the target. Iron Man evaded the weapons fire and collided with one of the Raptors. The pilot's parachute failed to deploy and Iron Man punched the jammed lever, saving the pilot.[1]
Aftermath[]
James Rhodes issues a press release on the event
- "As for the unexpected turn of events on the ground in Gulmira, it is still unclear who or what intervened, but I can assure you that the United States government was not involved."
- ―James Rhodes[src]
James Rhodes, who had a conversation with Iron Man on what to tell the media regarding the defeat of the Ten Rings and the incident of the F-22 Raptors, decided to state that the incident in Gulmira was a training exercise. Rhodes reported that the pilot was not injured and United States government was not involved with the third party that intervened in a situation with the Ten Rings.[1]