The U.S. government had asked Tony Stark to send his bodyguard (Iron Man, natch!) to investigate what had happened to a team of scientists in an orbiting satellite. Stark agrees and to his horror finds what the U.S. was up to: a biological [foreign] satellite killer that is impervious not only to the vacuum of space but to many forms of attack as well. And not only that, it is quite equipped to do its genetically-programmed job -- razor-sharp claws and teeth are in abundance all over its body!

The Killer had violently dispatched of the crew of scientists, and then had fled to another satellite -- Stark's own space platform, which at this time is still uninhabitable due to an A.I.M. anaerobic plague. But remember -- the Satellite Killer does not need air! Iron Man and the Killer do battle in the dead silence of space in one of David Michelinie's best single-issue offerings...until Shellhead gets a great idea: activate his station's internal atmosphere -- which will awaken the A.I.M. virus!! He does just that, and as the plague begins to attack the Satellite Killer, IM can hear his enemy at last: "Why you kill me?" it asks. Indeed -- the Satellite Killer was only doing what it was programmed to do.

First IM Appearance: Iron Man #237.