The Origin of Pepper Pott’s RESCUE Armor

We’ve all seen that photo of Gwyneth Paltrow’s armor for Avengers 4 and fans are already jumping into the conclusion that this is going to be the debut of Pepper’s RESCUE Armor. But where did that armor come from and how did Pepper use it back when she was in control? Here’s the origin of Pepper Pott’s RESCUE armor.

Pepper’s RESCUE armor first appeared in Invincible Iron Man # 10 which was under the Dark Reign banner. In this storyline, Tony Stark had become a wanted fugitive and Norman Osborn and HAMMER took it upon themselves to arrest Stark and seize his belongings, including all of his armors. This was also an integral plot at the start of the first volume of Dark Avengers.

Tony runs off leaving Pepper to sort out the mess between the government and his company.

In a fit of rage, Pepper Potts discovers a hidden room in her office…

where she first gets a glimpse of the RESCUE armor.

Hours later, HAMMER agents are at the door ready to arrest Potts…

*There’s also a subplot of Tony Stark having a one night stand with Maria Hill and then asking her to blow up his armory.

Pepper and the RESCUE armor escapes the building.

In Invincible Iron Man # 12, Pepper is introduced to her A.I. which is also a JARVIS system.

At this point in time also, Pepper Potts has had several cybernetic implants in her body after sustaining massive injuries in an explosion that killed her husband Happy Hogan.

With every passing moment, Pepper becomes acclimated with the RESCUE armor. She’s become used to it that she managed to save a school all by herself.

This gets Norman Osborn’s attention soon enough.

And it was inevitable that she and the former Green Goblin meet eventually. That’s exactly what happens after she rescues a wayward airplane.

In Invincible Iron Man # 14, we see RESCUE brought back to New York, to Avengers Tower to be interrogated by Osborn.

When Osborn realizes he can’t detain her because she hasn’t done anything and that she’s pretty much “registered” under the SHRA or Super Human Registration Act, he lets her go.

We continue Pepper Potts’ first story arc as the armored hero RESCUE with her seeking medical advice over the continued use of a repulsor generator in her chest to power her suit.

She immediately leaves when she gets the go ahead; she also officially adapts the name Rescue. She follows a repulsor signal in Russia where Tony Stark has met with old ally Crimson Dynamo (the good guy) and is looking for away to his old Repulsor generator with the hope of flushing out the data in his head before Osborn gets to him.

It’s also in Russian airspace that Pepper and Tony are reunited.

… they also have a fight.

… Mostly because Tony Stark doesn’t remember he made the RESCUE armor for Pepper.

In Invincible Iron Man # 15, Tony finally remembers who Pepper is and what she’s become. But at the same time they are also being stalked by long-time Iron Man villain Madame Masque.

In the last minute, Tony recognizes Pepper and the two catch up. Still unknown to them they are being followed by Madame Masque.

Its implied later in the issue that Tony and Pepper have sex and when they wake up, they share a snuggle moment. Why is this even important? Because we ship Tony Stark and Pepper Potts.

And Madame Masque finally tracks them down begins torturing Pepper in front of Tony Stark.

After a creepy interlude where Masque admits her feelings to Stark, the Rescue armor comes to the rescue (no pun intended). Stark escapes to continue his mission leaving Pepper to face off against Masque.

Later its revealed that Pepper “perished” and Madame Masque survives with the armor intact. She also gets the necessary pick-up from HAMMER.

They take the RESCUE armor back to the armory for storage too.

Next issue reveals that the Madame Masque that was picked up was actually an impostor with the real Masque stored neatly inside the old Crimson Dynamo armor Stark used in Russia.

It was actually Pepper in disguise. With that time she had, she was able to (a) rescue Black Widow and Maria Hill from HAMMER (b) implant a virus that renders all the hacked Iron Man armor useless for Norman Osborn (c) notify the media that Norman Osborn is tracking Tony Stark en route to Dubai with the intention of killing him.

That’s the end of the first main story arc that RESCUE aka Pepper Potts was involved in. She next appears in “Stark Disassembled” where they try to bring back Tony AND introduce the Bleeding Edge armor.

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