In Iron Man #21, Tony Stark discovers that one of his oldest allies has been killed, and all signs point toward familiar villains as the culprits.

The following contains major spoilers for Iron Man #21, available now from Marvel Comics.

The death of one of Iron Man's oldest allies is poised to uncover a sprawling mystery that goes back decades.

After digging into the goings-on of a newly uncovered black market known as Source Control in the pages of Iron Man #21, Tony Stark explains to his longtime ally James Rhodes -- aka War Machine -- his plan to amass as many of these black-market weapons as possible. While Rhodey is willing to go along with Tony's plan, he bears the unfortunate news that their old friend Vic Martinelli won't be able to act as their ghost buyer. Not only was Vic the one who told Rhodey about Source Control, but he also might be one of their latest victims.

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When Vic was last seen in Iron Man #20, he was in the process of leaving Tony an ominous voicemail while staring into a case containing what appeared to be the Mandarin's iconic rings. It would only make sense that these were what Vic was too scared to tell Rhodey about over the phone. Being in the possession of such impossibly powerful weapons would also put him on the radar of an organization such as Source Control, putting his conversation with War Machine further into perspective as a cry for help.

Vincent Martinelli first appeared in 1979's Iron Man #132 by writers David Michelinie and Bob Layton and artist Jerry Bingham. An expert security specialist, he was placed under witness protection along with his wife after testifying against the mob. His experience went a long way toward both keeping him alive and securing him a position at Stark International. In his time with the company, Vic helped to take down classic villains such as Backlash, and he even stayed on after the transition to Stane International after Obadiah Stane took control.

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The Mandarin's Ten Rings, also known as the Makluan Power Rings, are some of the most powerful weapons in the Marvel Universe. The rings made their explosive debut alongside the titular villain of 1963's "The Hands of the Mandarin!" written by Stan Lee and illustrated by Don Heck for Tales of Suspense #50, in which they set lethal precedents for what they are capable of. The last time Iron Man encountered the Rings, he sent all but one of them out into the cosmos with new alien caretakers.

Iron Man #21 was written by Christopher Cantwell, with art by Angel Unzueta, colors by Frank D'Armata, and letters by VC's Joe Caramagna. The main cover art was provided by Alex Ross, with variant cover art courtesy of Iban Coello and Jesus Aburtov, as well as Angle Unzueta. The issue is on sale now from Marvel Comics.

John Dodge has been an avid consumer of comic books and nerd culture for as long as he can remember. An expert on competitive gaming and obscure kids shows from the 80's and 90's, John has far too many opinions about Beetleborgs for someone in their thirties. You can find him occasionally discussing them over on Twitter at @JohnJDodge.

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