I always enjoy these recaps of yours. The plot seems to be getting satisfyingly meaty, but it's in a sort of illusory way. It's a bit like the Da Vinci Code - everything builds up, more characters, more adrenaline, and it isn't until you take another look that you realise the whole thing makes less sense in the middle or at the end than it did at the beginning!

I mean, giving money to Henry: good! But getting him and Rhodey involved: stupid! And I can see that Tony's kind of making a goodbye tour because he really *knows* that this will be the last time he sees his friends, but tactically it's a risky indulgence that he's allowing himself. But for the writers to try and showcase it as having importance to the plot... well unless he's using it as a distraction to keep Osborne's attention from Maria and Pepper, it's not exactly his best idea.

Also, Fraction using nothing but "bleeding edge technology" to describe both Iron Man and War Machine is plain silly. "Bleeding edge" is when the tech's still so new you're still finding problems with it - Tony would certainly do that with his own suits, but although War Machine's a really souped-up armour, I don't think he'd give Rhodey anything quite that untested. Bottom line Fraction: Tony's bleeding edge, Rhodey's cutting edge!