In issue #3, Howard arrives with a SWAT team and arrests Zebediah. During the skirmish, the toes on one of Tony's feet are severed (which, after a time, grow back due to Tony's regenerative capabilities, highlighting the extent of this ability). After the incident, a transparent version of the armor is developed, and, no longer blue, Tony begins attending a prep school. The story then fast forwards to an older Stark. His father has lost ownership of his corporation to Zebediah's now-wife Loni (who was Stark's first wife, before Maria) and they now live a middle class existence in a normal home. Tony is trying to follow in Howard's footsteps as an inventor and is developing a prototype power-armor. Not the most popular student at his school, he is constantly picked on and bullied. Seeing that he, also, is the victim of his classmates, Tony eventually befriends fellow student James Rhodes.