The magician Merlin enacted a plan that shunted Iron Man and Dr. Doom into a[n] [alternate] future to assist a reborn King Arthur defeat a grave threat to not only England, but the entire planet. That threat turned out to be another Iron Man (and apparent other-dimensional Tony Stark relative Arno Stark) and the alternate future counterpart of Dr. Doom who had begun utilizing old “Star Wars” (or “Strategic Defense Initiative”) space platforms in order to fire neutron beams at Earth -- killing people, but leaving infrastructure intact.

Iron Man’s first encounter with Iron Man (Earth-8912) in space didn’t go very well, as the future Iron Man’s weaponry was far more advanced. Later, back on Earth, Merlin weaved a spell which brought forth the sword Excalibur for Iron Man to use at their next encounter. Iron Man jetted back into space to face his counterpart, while Doom flew off to confront his own. With Excalibur at his disposal, Iron Man quickly defeated Iron Man (Earth-8912), while Doom blasted his doppelganger to shreds. The threat ended, Merlin returned Iron Man and Doom to their proper era (and dimension).