Iron Man #256 1990

Iron Man #256, published in May 1990, finds Tony Stark as Iron Man battling a deadly A.I.M. virus on an abandoned space station. Trapped under wreckage after a bomb explosion, Iron Man races against time to decontaminate the station before it crashes to Earth, risking a global pandemic. This issue is notable as Bob Layton's final writing contribution to the series and sees John Romita Jr. return on pencils. It also subtly foreshadows future complications with Tony Stark's spinal neural chip, a significant plot point for collectors.