Be A Good Fellow And Die, Won't You?

 

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Name This Marvel Villain??

 

The Battle of Heaven's Hand!

At the tail end of 1981, Tony Stark's personal life was in a tailspin! We'd better get started patching it up, eh?

Here's the gist:

• Stark's girlfriend, bodyguard/P.I. Bethany Cabe, suddenly takes off on a mysterious quest to Europe. Soon after, Stark comes across a newspaper article which reports she's been arrested behind the Iron Curtain on charges of espionage.
• Unknown to Stark, Bethany has a husband--Alexander van Tilburg, formerly West Germany's ambassador to the U.S. and presumed dead until recently. In actuality, the Russian KBG had captured him and faked his death in order to interrogate him to gain data on N.A.T.O.'s long-term espionage sleeper agents stationed in Europe. When the use of drugs failed, the Russians decided to use Bethany as a lever; to that end, they leaked word that her husband was still alive as a way to lure her to his side.
• Stark finds out through social and political contacts that Bethany is being held in Der Hand von Himmel ("Heaven's Hand"), a top secret security/research complex in East Germany.
• When diplomatic outreach to the international community fails, Stark decides to use his new stealth armor to infiltrate and gain intelligence on the installation, barely making it out in one piece.
• Stark and his pilot and friend, James Rhodes, mount a rescue mission using the data gathered by Iron Man's previous stealth mission.
• Once inside the installation, Stark locates Beth and discovers to his surprise that she had set up her own capture in order to stage an attack with a band of mercenaries to create a diversion so that she could break her husband out. You can guess which news comes as the greater surprise to Stark.
• With Stark inadvertently interrupting her plan, Beth is forced to reveal her knowledge that Stark and Iron Man are one and the same in order to implore Stark to suit up and assist, knowing that Iron Man is now the only chance for everyone to escape alive.

It's admittedly a lot for Stark to take in all at once--but what do you think he's going to do?

Under the circumstances, the only thing he can!

All things considered, this rescue's going off without any significant hitch so far, thanks to the presence of Iron Man. But the East Germans have another guest at Heaven's Hand--one whose thirst for revenge appears to outweigh the need for secrecy in regard to his benefactors, and whose power brings down Iron Man with a single strike.

Well, Mr. Stark, it was either facing the Living Laser or a love triangle, sir.

Count your blessings.

...In Battle We Join!

Believe it or not, there was a time when the Sub-Mariner and Iron Man had mutual respect for one another--but the last we may have seen of it was in 1979, in a two-part story that saw Tony Stark's problem with alcohol becoming more apparent by the day, and the Sub-Mariner showing fierce loyalty toward a human, both situations giving us a different perspective in how we're used to seeing these characters. In Stark's case, he's begun imbibing more than usual as a result of S.H.I.E.L.D. initiating a hostile takeover of his company, Stark International, in an effort to return S.I. to the business of manufacturing munitions--while Namor, having recently been rescued from toxic waste poisoning by a lone island dweller named Hiram Dobbs, now occupies that island with Dobbs against the incursion of a U.S. Special Forces unit that wishes to evict Dobbs for his own safety due to the island having been used for several years as a government dumping ground for radioactive waste.

And when Iron Man is drawn into Namor's clash with the Army unit... well, take a wild guess as to how things escalate from there.

But... shouldn't Namor want to be helping his new friend?

Titania Strikes Back!

During the events of Secret Wars, the villain well known as Dr. Doom supplemented his forces by using the advanced machinery he'd discovered to endow two willing subjects with abilities and powers which made them forces to be reckoned with--a status which others before them have embraced, though none more so than Skeeter MacPherran.

And the woman called Titania does indeed get the chance to prove her might, when the heroes also trapped on the Beyonder's world attack their foes' fortress while coming to the aid of the embattled She-Hulk. Yet instead of overwhelming the equally well known hero who takes her on, Titania learns a harsh lesson in both overconfidence and underestimating her opponent that will remain with her well after her return to Earth.

But where other villains have bounced back from prior defeats (and stints in prison) to menace anew, Titania was among those who became gun shy about meeting other super-powered opponents in battle once more--particularly Spider-Man, who seemed to deal with her without effort. Considering how arrogant Titania was, out of the gate, we could rightly assess how the mighty have indeed fallen.

Yet in her rematch with the wall-crawler, one thing that may tip the odds in her favor is the fact that this time, her boyfriend's come to the party!

With Crusher Creel, the Absorbing Man, by her side, is this the day when Titania gets her moxie back?

The Strongest One There Is

In 1967, the "Who's stronger?" debates that readers often engaged in which attempted to establish whether X character was stronger than Y were going, er, strong in the letters pages of Marvel titles, probably because there were so few super-powered heroes to choose from at the time. It was a subject that everyone seemed to have an opinion on, and the back-and-forths between readers were harmless and good-natured. For the most part, Marvel staff that responded in print remained coy and neutral as far as providing a definitive, set-in-stone answer to such a question; after all, the interest and enthusiasm being generated by these debates were all a publisher could ask for, helping to maintain "Marvel mania" as well as contribute to the promotion of titles that some readers may not have sampled yet. Keeping those embers burning probably seemed more sensible than dousing them prematurely.

At the time, the high bar in strength was set with Thor, even as a battle between himself and the Hulk in early '65 sought to make fans of both characters happy. Two years earlier, though, the big debate was between the Hulk and the Thing. You could have knocked me over with a feather when Marvel actually (kinda sorta) settled the matter in the Q & A segment of the '63 Fantastic Four Annual. But look how cleverly their response is worded--leaving room for dissent, while also describing how the Thing compensates for the Hulk's strength advantage:

So while the answer was satisfactory, no one could really point to it and say that Marvel had put the issue to rest. (I'd say FF #25 did that.)

In '67, it was interesting to see the new kid on the block take himself out of the running completely, though admittedly there couldn't really be much argument on the point given his competition at the time.

What a difference almost a decade makes, as Mark Gruenwald and artist Bob Layton supplement the 1981 Amazing Spider-Man Annual with a more extensive chart that ranks Spider-Man's strength with a more broad assembly of heroes that had since been introduced. And even though the "Who's stronger?" debate has long since wound down, I found myself shifting a few characters around in instances where I didn't totally agree with their placement.

For instance, if Iron Man is going to use the argument that he belongs in the top category because he can charge his armor to attain that strength level (if only for a few moments), you can make the same case for the Silver Surfer, who can also use his power to increase his physical strength. Regardless, perhaps Iron Man and Namor need to be in same category, since they've clearly demonstrated they're well-matched on land. And since Namor has gone toe-to-toe with the Hulk in both environments, he should probably be moved up to the top tier. (I'm still on the fence about it.)

I also have trouble believing that Spider-Man could survive the weight of a jetliner wing falling on him, as Colossus did, to say nothing of brushing off the impact and resuming the fight with his foe. I'd move Colossus up a notch--along with the Valkyrie, who should be able to more than hold her own against Doc Samson. She can be replaced with the Beast--he well outclasses Captain America and several others in the "mediumweights" in strength.

The Mastermind Of The Master Mold!

Around the time that the Hulk began undergoing psychoanalysis with Leonard "Doc" Samson, the monster was briefly borrowed from Gamma Base by writer Roger Stern to take part in the 1978 Hulk Annual--and it looks like he had some company along for the duration!

The issue is a bit of harmless fun for the reader, with no real impact on or consequences for the heroes involved in the story, as its conclusion makes perfectly clear. Stern also chooses two unusual co-stars for the issue: the Iceman and the Angel, former X-Men who are under the radar as far as characters you'd want to plunk down 60¢ for to see in their own story, to say nothing of an odd fit for a conflict involving the Hulk. But Stern crafts more of an adventure here that isn't meant to be heavy reading by any measure, a fine story for the Hulk fan who's picked up the mag wanting to see the rampaging Hulk beat the holy crap out of his foe.

And that beating may well start with his analyst.

Yesterday... And Tomorrow

"...while I've battled major bad-guys as the astonishing Ant-Man ... it's scary to think that [my daughter] Cassie could be orphaned by an average Joe whose brain synapses happen to fire wrong!" -- Scott Lang

Since we began our look at Marvel's composite cover images released during the period from 1981 to 1992 with artist Bob Layton's cover to Invincible Iron Man #144, it seemed only fitting that we finish up with issue #244, published eight years and exactly 100 issues later. It's Layton who brings us full circle, once again rendering the cover but also handling both pencils and inks in an oversized 48-page story that will again provide brand new material from Iron Man's earliest days in his gray armor, though for different reasons. In that prior issue, Stark had been musing about his first meeting with the man who would become his friend and chief aviation engineer, Jim Rhodes, forming a bond under fire in the jungles of southeast Asia that would see them through the evolution of both Stark Enterprises and Iron Man. This time, Layton and writer David Michelinie (with whom Layton shares plot credit) have given Stark good reason for returning his thoughts to those early days--a reason which you and I would probably best label as "therapy."

Unfortunately, Stark is very much in need of therapy, both physical and mental. As this story opens, Stark is beginning the recovery process from a near-fatal attempt on his life by Kathy Dare, a former girlfriend who ranks right up there with Alex Forrest in both an unbalanced mind and vengeful behavior. (In fact, Kathy could probably teach Alex a thing or two about payback.) Arriving home, Stark was surprised in the darkness of his home by Dare and was shot, the bullet severely wounding him and lodging near his spine. The bullet was removed in surgery--but its passage caused irreparable damage to vital nerve tissue along the spinal column, rendering Stark permanently unable to walk. Dare was taken into police custody--but the damage, as they say, was done.

And so Stark, now a paraplegic, must pick up the pieces of his life and resume his work as head of Stark Enterprises, while his career as Iron Man seems to be a thing of the past. Michelinie and Layton have taken an intriguing turn with the character, given Stark's hands-on management style in regard to both his business and his personal life, to say nothing of his years as a heroic figure; now he must pivot and begin living his life in an entirely different way, just as any person would under these circumstances. As with his alcoholism and the prior loss of his company, Stark is faced with another situation where he must pull himself up and muster the resolve to go on rather than descend into bitterness or depression. The parallels to his experience in Vietnam--another instance where his life took a turn for the worse and forced him to re-evaluate how he would go on--are clear; indeed, the story would make strong use of that incident in determining if and how Stark will cope, as we'll see.

For now, however, we must--as Stark must--begin at the beginning of this process which, for Stark, means leaving the hospital and facing the fact that he's unable to do so under his own power. Thanks to Michelinie and Layton, it makes for an unforgettable page one, giving Stark a blunt picture of how his life would be from this point on.

Iron Man Has Your Back

This week, the PPC will be taking a look at a few issues featuring composite covers--where the cover, like the story inside, is split down the middle and offering the reader a little more bang for their buck. The books we'll be covering range from 1981-1992, though you may find yourself being reminded of Marvel's line of feature titles from the mid-1960s which gave you two stories for the price of one. Both the similarities and the differences are apparent when you line them up together; but it's clear that Marvel, inadvertently or otherwise, had found a way to inject new life into a successful concept from its silver age.

This kind of imagery would be used sparingly in the more contemporary books since the characters involved were already established in their own long-running titles, but it shook things up nicely from time to time and no doubt made for a nice surprise on the comics racks (or, for the collectors among us, in our pull stacks).

Artist Bob Layton gets this ball rolling with his cover from Invincible Iron Man #144, which features Iron Man wrapping up his conflict with Sunturion (which also introduced the new outer space model of armor). As we'll see, the centerpiece of their battle--the Roxxon Oil space station--has been damaged, its explosive core hurtling to Earth; and Sunturion finds himself in the position of making sure his life's work, meant to benefit mankind (before Roxxon had other ideas for it), isn't instead responsible for the deaths of millions.

The Hammer Strikes!

When we left Tony Stark and James Rhodes, they were probably wishing that Stark's invincible bodyguard, Iron Man, was standing with them front and center, as they found themselves surrounded by an assault team that had landed on a Monaco beachhead on the orders of Justin Hammer. Arriving in the city-state to track down a lead on the man he believed was responsible for framing him for murder, Stark, along with his wingman, Rhodey, was soon attacked by armed men when he was getting too close to discovering the identity of his enemy--and after he and Rhodey had barely escaped with their lives, the two engaged in a highway firefight with their pursuers until finally crashing on the beach and finding themselves surrounded and outnumbered by well-equipped reinforcements.

What happened next, Rhodey remembers to a certain point. What he doesn't remember is what happened to his boss, who is now missing along with those who attacked--leaving him to deal with the locals, who obviously have not rooted for the underdog in the fight that took place in their midst.

While Rhodey attempts to prove his bona fides with the gendarmes, we have the advantage of being able to look back and see what actually happened when he and Stark found themselves forced to make a last stand against Hammer's goons. Had Iron Man actually been with them, things might well have turned out differently, and it would be the goons heading off to jail; but as long as Hammer's technology had forced Stark to sideline the Iron Man armor, Stark was forced to make do with a crash course in self-defense, courtesy of Captain America--and the pupil was unfortunately not yet near the level of prowess of his teacher.

Unceremonious as his capture was, Stark will at least find he's accomplished in defeat what he came to Monaco for: learning the identity of the one who has it in for him. At last, Stark meets his new business competitor--and his ruthless new foe.

Iron Man: Marked for Murder!

While the cover of Invincible Iron Man #125 is shrewd enough to provide its money-maker title character exposure in some capacity, the character who steps forward to take the lion's share of this issue's story is none other than... Anthony Stark, man of action!

That shift in focus is due to the machinations of Justin Hammer, whom we have to thank for taking Iron Man out of action by framing him for murder. This story lands us in the middle of a crisis for both Stark and Iron Man, following a U.N. reception for the Carnelian ambassador where the press and an assembled crowd watched in horror as Iron Man put a repulsor ray through the ambassador's chest. It was one in a string of unexplained malfunctions of Iron Man's armor, and surely by far the deadliest one--and this time, there would be consequences, as the police move in to arrest the Avenger.

Enter At Your Own Risk--The Adap-tor!

Remember the 1980s David Michelinie run on Iron Man, when it was actually fun reading about Tony Stark, Jim Rhodes, and the other assorted characters who made up Stark's business world? Before the events of Civil War soured us on the man? Back in the days of Stark International, we were only beginning to see the Tony Stark who would later emerge to hammer the Superhuman Registration Act into law--the days when he engaged in the so-called Armor Wars in the belief that he was doing what was right no matter how many lines he had to cross. For the most part, Iron Man, month after month, was a great read at the time, with excellent stories and artwork. We may have almost admired Stark then, given all that he'd built and accomplished, to say nothing of the man's brilliance and his drive to help bring the world into a better future.

Michelinie took a hiatus from the book when Stark relapsed into alcoholism, and Rhodes took his place as Iron Man--but when that long series of excruciating stories had played out and Stark began rebuilding both himself and his company, Michelinie returned to give us a sense of the Tony Stark we held in such esteem, which held true as well for the armored hero he would suit up as. Iron Man was hitting its stride, again--and the book likely found its way into pull stacks once more.

We could take a look at almost any story from this rebirth period and experience that magic again--but it seems appropriate to feature the issue where Stark publicly relaunches Stark Enterprises and makes that announcement to both the press and to the world, as the story contains many of the elements that Michelinie brought to the table for Stark and his alter-ego. And judging by its cover, it's already looking like it's shaping up to be quite a ride, eh?

Especially for the hapless Mr. Rhodes!

The Power And The Pride!

In a very clever and fun Mighty Thor tale from 1985, you won't find the hero of the hour to be the God of Thunder, but rather the Prince of Power--Hercules, out for a stroll in the park with the Avengers' faithful retainer, Edwin Jarvis, as they plan a lavish feast for the Assemblers worthy of (who else?) the gods. The story briefly interrupts the very successful run on the book by writer/artist Walt Simonson, with Bob Harras, Jackson Guice, and Bob Layton combining their talents to create a splendid interim tale to tide us over while Simonson pivots to begin work on an unnamed limited series (likely Balder The Brave).

And while Thor is indeed present in this issue, let's just say that Hercules will have a different idea of how the Thunder God should be portrayed to those he encounters in the park.

(Heh heh--"leg warmers." Remember those?)

A Clash Out Of Legend!

It seems unthinkable that, up until the 1980s, there was as yet no battle on the record books between the invincible Iron Man and his villainous armored counterpart, Dr. Doom--each man an electronics genius, and each wearing a formidable suit of armor that would have ensured such a meeting to be a clash of titans. All we really had was their "clash" from a 1976 issue of Super-Villain Team-Up, which took place while Doom was becoming involved in a power play of the undersea warlord, Attuma--a one-page skirmish occurring while Iron Man's armor was damaged and barely operational, and which was over and done with before you could say "Bah!". But surely it was well past time for a proper match-up between these two determined men, and with proper stakes involved.

And "time" becomes the key to their long-awaited face-off, finally taking shape in late 1981 in a two-part story that pits these two armored figures against one another and ends up thrusting them headlong into the 6th century.

But rather than take the route that the SVTU story chose and abruptly halted before the encounter truly began, co-plotters David Michelinie (scripter) and Bob Layton (finisher) make full use of both of these complicated and seasoned characters and craft a well-thought-out tale which factors in their individual strengths as well as their flaws. That's especially good news for those of us who are intrigued with Doom and his reasons for acting as he does, for Doom is given a generous amount of story space here that not only plays off of Iron Man well, but also enhances the overall story to a great degree. In fact, thanks to our two talented co-plotters, the characterization given Doom lets him all but walk away with this tale, all by himself.

The Hunger Of The Gods

"Nationalism is power hunger tempered by self-deception." -- George Orwell

You wouldn't think a revolutionary coup ďétat taking place in the Central American country of Costa Diablo would have any bearing on super-heroes, nor would it necessarily merit the involvement of the invincible Iron Man. Unless, that is, there's a branch of Stark International operating in the country that a military junta is very interested in securing for itself.

It would be easy to assume that this junta's siege of Stark's facility would pose little to no challenge for the likes of Iron Man to deal with, even when it appears he's heading into a hostage situation; indeed, much of this story provides a textbook demonstration of Iron Man's formidable strengths, combined with his ability to think on his feet and adapt to the forces set against him. Yet this single-issue story by David Michelinie, John Romita, Jr., and Bob Layton (co-plotting with Michelinie), while a fun page-turner on that basis alone, may be headed for more than just the defeat of the bad guy; in fact, Iron Man will find in this case that victory can go hand-in-hand with defeat.

This Rage Forever!

We've already seen Part 1 of a story where Tony Stark attempted to help Bruce Banner in preventing his transformations into the incredible Hulk. It seems we have only to take a look at the cover of the following issue to see how that worked out.

Yet we've jumped a little bit ahead, because there's more to the story. After being taken into Stark's custody following a rampage as the Hulk, Banner thought of the idea of an implant that would regulate his heartbeat, so that, no matter how agitated he became in times of stress, his transformation would never be triggered. Stark grasped the concept and took it from there--enlisting help from his staff to construct the implant, as well as the services of Dr. Erica Sondheim, the world's foremost laser surgeon, to operate on Banner and insert the device in Banner's chest.

Afterward, all signs pointed to the experiment being a success--until a military attempt to take Banner into custody resulted in a grenade being triggered near the fleeing scientist. And for a few seconds, everyone feared the worst--that Banner's implant had failed, and that the Hulk was once again free to wreak havoc. Yet when the dust settled, it was clear the device had functioned as designed--but that Banner's transformation took place on levels other than just physically.

But, despite the glitch in this plan facing them now, Stark and his team are about to find themselves in greater danger from "the man who would be Hulk."

The Worst Of Both Worlds

Even Tony Stark can become gridlocked on the Long Island Expressway. Traffic jams happen all the time, usually caused by breakdowns or some kind of accident. Unfortunately, in Tony's case, this particular accident happens to be--man-made.

If those brave law enforcement officers were smart, they'd let the Hulk enjoy his meal and move on. But since situations with the Hulk have a way of escalating, it's perhaps prudent to take precautions. And that goes for a certain businessman who finds himself at the wrong place at the wrong time.

Oh, you didn't think Stark was going to be let off the hook that easily, did you?

Milk may do a body good, but it's lousy for chopper pilots who need to see their target--leaving no one to deal with this dangerous situation now but Iron Man. But when this skirmish is over, Stark may have a chance to help rid Bruce Banner of his curse forever--that is, assuming the Hulk leaves his armored alter-ego in one piece!