apparently dies. Eventually revived, the Laser battles Iron Man once again; and during the "Acts of Vengeance" storyline battles the hero Quasar. The Laser reappears in a new photon form, posing as the deceased Titanium Man while taunting Iron Man. The villain is eventually defeated and banished to an alternate universe. He eventually escapes, and mounts a new attack on Stark Industries. James Rhodes—Stark's friend and employee, currently acting as CEO and the new 'Iron Man' while Tony is apparently dead—tricks the Laser by offering him a position at the company before trapping him in a wide-beam communication chamber which disperses him across the Andromeda Galaxy, although Rhodes wonders if he did the right thing and even the Laser privately wondered if he would legitimately accept Rhodes' offer to return to a research role or just take it to destroy the company from within. The Laser returns as an employee of the A.I.M. member MODOK, and later as a member of the criminal army formed by the villain the Hood. The villain sides with the heroes during the Secret Invasion storyline in a pitched battle with the alien Skrulls, and has a number of encounters with various teams of Avengers. Mandarin and Zeke Stane recruit Living Laser to join up with other Iron Man villains in a plot to defeat Iron Man. Upon receiving upgrades, Living Laser managed to break Tony Stark's repulsor arc causing him to go into cardiac arrest. During the "Opening Salvo" part of the "Secret Empire" storyline, Living Laser is recruited by Baron Helmut Zemo to join the Army of Evil. Living Laser, Batroc the Leaper, and Whirlwind attack a haggard, bearded man in torn World War II army uniform who identifies himself as Steve Rogers. He is assisted by people that appear to be Sam Wilson and a Bucky Barnes with both his arms. During the "Search for Tony Stark" arc, Living Laser rejoined Hood's gang and assisted in the attack on Castle Doom. In a lead-up to the "Sins Rising" arc, Count Nefaria using a wheelchair later forms his latest incarnation of the Lethal Legion with Grey Gargoyle, Living Laser, and Whirlwind in a plot to target the Catalyst. At Empire State University, Dr. Curt Connors reveals the Catalyst to the crowd when the Lethal Legion attacks. While Grey Gargoyle and Whirlwind attack the people present, Living Laser helps Count Nefaria to operate the