Disgusted, Stark's best friend, U.S. Air Force Lieutenant Colonel James Rhodes, dons Stark's prototype armor and tries to restrain him. The fight ends in a stalemate, and Rhodes confiscates the armor for the U.S. Air Force. Nick Fury, director of S.H.I.E.L.D., approaches Stark, revealing that "Rushman" is agent Natasha Romanoff and that Howard Stark was the S.H.I.E.L.D. founder whom Fury knew personally. Fury explains that Vanko's father and Stark invented the arc reactor together, but when Anton tried to sell it, Stark had him deported. The Soviets sent Anton to the Gulag.
