Advanced Idea Mechanics

Advanced Idea Mechanics (A.I.M.) was a privately-funded, government sanctioned think tank.

In 2012, A.I.M. became marred with controversy when it was revealed that its founder and CEO, Aldrich Killian, had used the company to attempt to seize the United States.

History

Advanced Idea Mechanics was conceived by Aldrich Killian, who sought to establish a think tank for significant scientific advancements. Killian had pitched the company to Tony Stark at Bern 2000; Stark declined, taking more interest in Maya Hansen, another attendee at the conference, and her work on Extremis. Killian would later hire Hansen and helped her develop Extremis as a form of gene therapy.

Over the next decade, Killian's intentions would change. Using military contracts to grow A.I.M. into a profitable business, Killian would use the Extremis program as a way to overthrow the United States government. Killian would craft the fictitious identity of the "Mandarin", and hire the failed British actor Trevor Slattery in filling the role of the Mandarin. Killian would also conspire with the Vice President, Rodriguez.

Killian's attempted coup of the United States, which later came to be known as Aldrich Killian's War, concluded with the kidnapping of Matthew Ellis, the President of the United States, and the battle on the Norco, an event that resulted in Killian's death. Following the battle on the Norco, A.I.M. is presumed to be dissolved.