Guardsman I & II
 STATUS: Deceased

Real Name: Kevin O'Brien
Occupation: Engineer for Stark Industies
Identity: Secret
Legal Status: Citizen of the United States with no criminal record
Other Aliases: None
Known Relatives: Michael (brother)
Place of Birth: Unknown
Group Affiliation: None
Base of Operations: Long Island, New York
First Appearance: (Kevin O'Brien) IRON MAN #31, (as Guardsman I) IRON MAN #43

History: Kevin O'Brien was an engineer working for the newly-opened Lakani island plant of Stark Industries who came to the attention of Anthony Stark, when he invented a stun-ray that managed to harmlessly disperse a crowd of violent protestors. Stark invited O'Brien to transfer to Stark's main plant on Long Island, New York, and he accepted. Despite a careless streak that once caused the laboratory he was working in to explode, he became a close friend of Stark, and was soon appointed head of Stark's research department.
On several occasions, O'Brien assisted Stark and his supposed bodyguard Iron Man, who was really Stark himself, notably against the Spymaster and the Espionage Elite, saving Tony' Stark's life on more than one occasion. Stark then decided to reveal to O'Brien that he was secretly Iron Man, and to build for him s second suit of armor for use in the event of an emergency. That emergency came a short time later, when Iron Man and his girlfriend Marianne Rogers were taken captive by the superhuman madman Mikas the Soulfather. Putting on the armor before it was fully tested, O'Brien fell prey to a malfunction in the cybernetic curcuitry controlling the armor which apparently stimulated the regions of the brain where rage and jealousy originate.

O'Brien found himself seized with sudden attraction for Stark's girlfriend Marianne Rogers, and became extremely jealous of Stark's power, looks and fortune. At the same time Simon Gilbert, then chairman of the board of Stark Industries' stockholders, grew alarmed that Stark was moving out of munitions production and mapped strategies with the board to seize controlling interest in the firm from its principal stockholder, Stark himself. O'Brien, clad in armor and calling himself the Guardsman, offered to aid the board in their plot against Stark. As a show of support, he agreed to quell a protest rally outside the plant. The Guardsman aimed his repulser rays at the crowd, injuring four protesters. Sickened by what he did, O'Brien turned on the renegade board members, roughing them up. But seeing Tony Stark's with Marianne Rogers caused him to once again become unbalanced and he went outside to vent his rage on the growing crowd of protestors. Stark donned his Iron Man armor and engaged the Guardsman in battle to prevent him from doing more damage. Losing, the Guardsman sought refuge in an experimental tank. In an attempt to stop him without hurting him, Iron Man trained his repulsor rays on the vehicle and accidentally hit its fuel supply. The tank exploded, killing Kevin O'Brien.

Height: 5 ft. 10 in.
Weight: 175 lbs.
Eyes: Blue
Hair: Red

Strength Level: Without his Guardsman armor, Kevin O'Brien possessed the normal human strength of a man his age, height, and build.

Known Superhuman Power: None
 

GUARDSMAN II

Real Name: Michael O'Brien
Occupation: Former police sergeant, security director of Project: Pegasus
Identity: Unknown to the general public, known to the administration of Project: Pegasus
Legal Status: Citizen of the United States with no criminal record
Other Aliases: None
Known Relatives: Kevin (brother, deceased)
Place of Birth: Chicago, Illinois
Group Affiliation: None
Base of Operations: Project: Pegasus, Mount Athena, New York
First Appearance: (Michael O'Brien) IRON MAN #82, (as Guardsman II) IRON MAN #97

History: Some months after his brothers death, when the details of the incident came to public light, Kevin O'Brien's brother Michael, a sergeant on the New York City police force, decided that the official investigation exonerating Iron Man's actions was a cover-up. Reopening the investigation without official sanction, O'Brien confronted Stark, interrogated several of his employees, and finally hired an unscrupulous private investigator to get him inside the Long Island plant. 
There O'Brien located the Guardsman armor and put it on, determined to use it to bring Iron Man to justice. However, the malfunction in the cybernetic circuitry, that affected his brother, also affected his brain and he flew into a rage seeking to kill Iron Man. Iron Man confronted his attack and finally convinced him that the armor was causing him to act insanely. Stark took Michael O'Brien into custody rather than press criminal charges, hoping to convince the man of his innocence in his brother's death. While Stark worked on a new set of armor, the Japanese mutant Sunfire attacked the plant. Stark was unable to put on his new armor since it had not yet cooled and unable to find any of his spare suits of armor since a saboteur had stolen them. Hence he was forced to put on the Guardsman armor to fight off Sunfire. O'Brien witnessed Stark's heroic attempts to save lives over a video monitor, aware that Stark was risking a major heart attack by the strenuous activity. Escaping confinement, O'Brien decided he was wrong about Stark and determined to help him by donning the now-coot Iron Man armor. Thus clad, he was mistaken for the real Iron Man and kidnapped by the Mandarin. Stark discovered an old set of Iron Man armor that the saboteur had overlooked and went to China to rescue O'Brien. Upon rescuing him, Stark chose to reveal his true identity to O'Brien before he went off to battle the Mandarin. O'Brien flew back to New York where he took custody of the Guardsman armor once more.

After Iron Man defeated the Mandarin, Stark fixed the malfunction in the Guardsman armor's circuitry so it was safe to wear. Michael O'Brien was determined to use the armor to vindicate both his brother's and his own senseless actions. When Stark International was taken over by the criminal Midas, the Guardsman joined with a number of Stark's other friends and allies to battle Midas's men. He was turned to gold by Midas's power, but was later restored to flesh. Having quit the police force, O'Brien interviewed for the position of security director at Project: Pegasus, the government energy research facility, after its previous director, Quasar, quit. With a high recommendation by Tony Stark, O'Brien got the job. Some time later, while guarding the Project, O'Brien's Guardsman armor was damaged in a battle with the subhuman Lava Men. It was later repaired at the Project's expense. O'Brien, as the Guardsman, has been living and working full-time in the Project since his appointment and has performed his duties capably.

Height: 5 ft. 11 in.
Weight: 195 lbs.
Eyes: Green
Hair: Red

Strength Level: Without his Guardsman armor, Michael O'Brien possesses the normal human strength of a man of his age, height, and build who engages in extensive regular exercise. With the Guardsman armor fully charged and augmenting his strength to its fullest, he can lift (press) approximately 40 tons.

Known Superhuman Powers: None

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