Tony Stark and Wonder Man are in Pittsburgh, being shown a steel mill Stark is considering buying from Vince Paretta. Their presence draws attention from the workers, leading one old timer, Joe Conroy, to recount when Thor visited the mill to repair his hammer; Joe shows off the chip of Uru he found afterwards, which he carries for good luck. Intending to ask for the visitors’ autographs for his daughter, Joe leaves the others, only to be ambushed by Tim Turpin, who knocks him into one of the giant cauldrons of molten ore, incinerating him. The cauldron tips, spilling molten metal across the factory floor, but witnessing this, Wonder Man dams the tide using metal I-beams. At Avengers Mansion, having been ordered to respect the team’s autonomy by the recent Senate hearing, Gyrich begrudgingly departs, as does the Scarlet Witch, telling the Vision she needs time to figure things out; though unable to comprehend why she is going, he supports her choice and they kiss before she leaves. Back at the mill, the ore Conroy fell into has been poured into a large memorial ingot, but it explodes, releasing a man of living molten slag a bystander dubs Inferno. He lumbers towards Paretta’s office, smashing aside Iron Man and Wonder Man, who hurriedly signals the Avengers for backup.