In the 2012 storylines "Demon" and "Long Way Down", Stark is targeted by Justine Hammer, Obadiah Stane and the Mandarin, who publicly expose the fact that Stark was using his armor while under the influence of alcohol during the previous "Fear Itself" storyline, and manipulate the government into forcing Stark to wear a monitoring device on his arc reactor that gives them the ability to shut down his access to the Iron Man armor. To get the device removed, Stark capitulates to venting the Extremis material from his body, quitting Iron Man entirely, and secretly arranges to fake James Rhodes' death, in order for Rhodes to become the new Iron Man. Rhodes' new armor is a black suit whose only visible features are glowing panels and metallic gray gauntlets and boots. This suit possesses a cloaking device that turns it invisible, and can handle underwater pressures exceeding the tolerance limits of the villain Firepower. It can also project freezing cold in a manner similar to the X-Man Iceman, and can release a multitude of ball bearing-sized explosives from compartments mounted on its shoulders that can be directed at an enemy. Pepper Potts' Rescue armor is strong enough to rip the armor covering the lower leg of the Black armor's occupant, though the Black armor can emit a source-focused electromagnetic pulse that can disable the Rescue armor. The Black armor is later confiscated by Stark, leaving Rhodes without a suit.