During the Cold War, the United States government commissioned Howard Stark to build a doomsday weapon only to be activated should the U.S.S.R. invade America. As part of Project Tomorrow, Stark developed a prototype weaponry system named Arsenal of which there were two units: Arsenal Beta and Arsenal Alpha. Both units' programs consisted of executing a plan called "Scorched Earth" in case of foreign occupation; the destruction of the critical infrastructure of New York and surrounding areas.