Iron Man #167

"The Empty Shell"

0.60 ¢ @ February 1983

Writer: Denny O'Neil
Penciler: Luke McDonnell
Inker: Steve Mitchell
Colorist: Bob Sharen
Letterer: Rick Parker
Editor: Mark Gruenwald
Editor-In-Chief: Jim Shooter

Synopsis: A tormented Tony Stark is in his room. He found a whiskey bottle and glass in his room and reached for it. As he held it, he thought about not knowing who put it in his room, but they probably did him a favor. A drink right now can get rid of the voice(s) yammering in his mind about his vanished friend, Jim Rhodes, his ruined armor, his wrecked offices, and a billionaire killer named Obadiah Stane who is out to put him out of business. A drink will give him peace of mind. And he threw the bottle against the wall and laid face down in bed forcing himself to sleep.

Thousands of miles away, Obadiah Stane, The Chessmaster, plans to put his final gambit in play to destroy Tony Stark.

The following morning Tony Stark snapped at Mrs. Arbogast and Vic Martinelli for telling him he looked ragged and should get help. Vic told him in the office that Tony should fly to Switzerland to talk to the competitors led by Obadiah Stane banding together against him to form an international group of industrialists. Tony had his secretary set up a charter plane. Vic told Mrs. Arbogast someone better be there to pickup the pieces when Tony Stark eventually cracked up.

After an airplane ride to Switzerland, a haggard looking Tony Stark, in a Swiss Inn opened his suitcase and put on his old Iron Man armor as he had time to kill before the meeting with the group of competitors. He saw Indrie's picture at the suitcase and remembered how much he missed her, and gave her a call across The Atlantic Ocean to tell her he loved her. Hearing her voice was like getting a shot of adrenaline. Iron Man flew out of the hotel.

The Chessmaster's Pawn reported to Obadiah Stane that Iron Man has flew out of the hotel. Obadiah knew that Iron Man defeated his Knight, Bishop, and Rook. But he vowed Iron Man's defeat as those chess pieces had a second set in each chessboard game.

Above the snow-covered mountains Iron Man felt free, until he got a feeling of calmness and drowsiness. Then he got hit by The Bishop's staff. Iron Man then realized there are two pairs of every powerful piece in a chess set with the exception of the Queen and King. He tried to defeat this Bishop like the way he defeated the other by hitting the transmitter in the Bishop's hat with his repulsor but there was no effect. Obadiah Stane made adjustments. He was more maneuverable than the Bishop so he circled around and attacked but then attacked him in front but noticed The Bishop looking behind him, and Iron Man ducked in time from being speared by the incoming Knight with is lance. The Knight missed but his momentum was too much and knocked a cable car loose from its cables and it plummeted down to crash. Iron Man immediately pursued the spiraling cable car and got a hold of it and placed it on the ground of one of the mountain steps. He noticed he did something similar in New York but it wasn't much of a sweat then, and that the armor he was wearing then was in better shape, and frankly so was he. The Knight continued his attack nailing Iron Man with his lance and Iron Man hurled downwards with his jet booster not propelling him, so he landed in the snow covered grounds below.

Meanwhile a few miles away at a meeting hall, Obadiah Stane at the head of the conference table announced to his fellow industrialists that Tony Stark will be late. He told them in the meantime to behave like their favorite animals. And each industrialist with their headphones on started imitating the voices of the respective favorite animals. The headphones were hypnotizing them and would believe anything Obadiah Stane ordered them to do. Stane told his other Rook that he is satisfied with his work. Stane wondered where Tony Stark was?

Back in the snow-covered mountains Iron Man emerged from the ground and pulled down the Bishop by the ankles crashing him in the snow. The Knight was hovering as well but avoided Iron Man's tackle assault. His repulsors didn't slow The Knight as it seemed less powerful as the Iron Man armor has expended too much energy saving the falling cable car. As The Knight approached a frontal assault, Iron Man blasted the snow sending it up and surrounding The Knight thus unseating him and crashing to the ground. Iron Man picked up his lance and used it to destroy his metallic steed.

Soon afterwards, a more haggard looking Tony Stark finally arrived in the meeting. Tony made an impassioned speech regarding the value of individuality in terms of person, company, and country. Stane's plan to form a secret association across national boundaries denies that value with the purpose of destroying laws, traditions, and identities of countries where they do business. That's not their right, and he won't be a part of it, and he hopes they won't either. Stane then suggested the group reply to Stark's eloquent speech. They responded by making different animal sounds like pigs, dogs, cows, etc. And infuriated Tony Stark told Stane he had them hypnotized using the earphones, which Stane agreed and furthermore told Tony it almost worked with his agent Tattoo at Stark Enterprises. Tony is unguarded and unarmed and surrounded by Stane's puppets, so he asked him why doesn't Stane kill him then and there? Stane responded not all the chess pieces are in play just yet. He wished to destroy Tony Stark in a more interesting manner.

Outside the meeting hall, Tony gathered his thoughts and passed by an Ale House and pondered for a moment entering and getting a drink. He regained control and decided against it and walked back to his hotel and thought about getting back home to New York and regroup. He decided being drunk wouldn't help him, Jim, or Stark International. He thought about seeing Indries, yes, he decided he definitely needed Indries right now.

At that moment in Scotland, Jim Rhodes flagged a taxi cab in a rural area. Gunmen shot the taxi driver, but Jim Rhodes got inside the cab and he drove off leaving the injured cab driver. The gunmen couldn't believe Jim was in good enough shape to stop them at the doctor's office earlier, and now escaped. They are worried about the repercussions from their boss Obadiah Stane regarding their failure.

The following day at Stark International looking worse for wear, Tony Stark arrived with his briefcase in his office. His secretary told him he looked even worse and perhaps she should call a doctor for him. He didn't need a doctor and asked her to call Indries Moomji, which his secretary pointed out was waiting in his personal office. An overjoyed Tony Stark was glad to see Indries, who was cold and non-receptive to him. Her demeanor changed and is opposite of her positive and loving demeanor of the past previous issues. In fact she was talking down on him in a pitying manner and was flattered from his attention but that he was a poseur hiding behind his bank account. Other than his money he is shallow. Tony thought that she loved him. And after lighting a cigarette, sarcasm engulfed her voice as she pointed out how can someone like her ever love someone shallow like him, and it is astonishing how he can be so stupid. Devastated by the rejection from the woman he thought he truly loved, a defeated Tony Stark left his personal office. Indries then made a phone call to her master and reported that all is done. On the other line, the Chessmaster was happy to hear from his last piece, The Queen, and announced his victory, "Checkmate!"

In another room, Tony entered the dark room, and opened his suitcase and held up his Iron Man helmet saying it is an empty shell. He picked up the bottle he threw against the wall the other day, and opened it and gulped down the whiskey.

Comments: And Tony Stark's fall from grace finally happened. It was a rather short road, as repetitive exposure to the world of alcohol can eventually lead to being back to engulfed by the disease of alcoholism. He probably would have had a longer road, and a longer time of rejecting his demons, but the constant daily stress of being Iron Man and dealing with his enemies as both Tony Stark and as Iron Man shortened the road to being an alcoholic once more.

There was a study that men can take a break up worse than women, because after a while it sets in the men's minds and it lingers and lingers. And if you have a problem with drinking. Sometimes to quiet the demon, and to kill the combination of the pain of heartache and tormenting of the mind, drinking your problems away can help alleviate the pain and torment temporarily. TEMPORARILY. It only gets worse from there. Looks like Dennis O'Neil is going to sink Tony Stark's personal life, professional life, and any kind of life, even more in the upcoming issues.

Finally, that cover just told the complete story of the issue. A giant Obadiah Stane clutching a helpless Iron Man in his hand and crushing him. Checkmate! The villain has won. That's exactly what happened in this issue. We have to love these 80's covers telling the readers exactly what the issue is literally about, unlike modern showboating covers that has nothing to do with the story inside the comic book and looks great visually as a poster, but nothing else.

I remember not liking this one as a kid when I read it, but it's probably because I didn't really get it. I should take'em out again

Iron Man #169

"Blackout!"

0.60 ¢ @ April 1983

Writer: Denny O'Neil
Penciler: Luke McDonnell
Inker: Steve Mitchell
Colorist: Bob Sharen
Letterer: Rick Parker
Editor: Mark Gruenwald & Michael Carlin
Editor-In-Chief: Jim Shooter

Synopsis: Apparently drunk, Iron Man flew as if he was erratic and going through billboards. Then after several panels we found out he is doing this deliberately throughout Manhattan, destroying alcohol beverage billboards after alcohol beverage billboards. This was witnessed by the general public who wanted to call law enforcement to curtail this destructive behavior by the armored Avenger. Also it was witnessed by a news team which caught the footage on film, and by a cameo appearance of Daredevil who didn't do anything against Iron Man citing that he is Iron Man, an original Avenger, and must have good reason for doing so. Iron Man found his penthouse apartment and just flew in through the window. Then he congratulated himself for destroying all those billboards and that he needs a reward for doing so. He poured and drank glasses of alcohol and then sat down telling himself he'll beat them all... Obadiah Stane for trying to take over Stark International, and all the women like Indira Voorhies who thought that Tony Stark is a has been.

Somewhere over the North Atlantic, the super-villain named Magma (formerly Jonathan Darque) plotted to get his revenge on Iron Man (whom he lost to and to Spider-Man as well in a Marvel Team Up issue) as he readies his army of men to take on the armored Avenger.

Tony Stark woke up to Channel 3 news coverage of Iron Man recklessly destroying billboards across Manhattan's Times Square. Angered, Tony Stark promises to bring in all the lawyers he knows of to bring a stop to this news coverage that blackened his image. Unfortunately for him, he doesn't recall doing any of this damage and thought he was just resting and sleeping in his penthouse and having a few alcoholic beverages. He suited up to go to Stark International, and cannot remember why he took out his Iron Man helmet from his suitcase. But he defended himself by citing he can't remember everything after all.

Meanwhile, Jim Rhodes arrived at the airport landing Tony's personal plane. He was greeted by Vince Martinelli telling him that Tony's back drinking again. Jim wasn't surprised as he saw Tony heading to that direction for a while now (since Dennis O'Neil took over writing duties for Iron Man).

At Stark International, Tony Stark is pissed off at his team of lawyers whom he assembled to take a lawsuit against Channel 3 news. But instead they told him, Stark International is in dire financial troubles. They defaulted on a big time contract, and mounting loans and their creditors are thinking of selling to a buyer, namely, Obadiah Stane, who can sink them instantly. Obadiah Stane at his Headquarters corrected Indries Moonvhies, that the "Endgame" is finished, that he has defeated Tony Stark, and that he's merely picking up the pieces.

Off the coast of Long Island's shore, a robot has rose out of the waters and started causing havok. Magma's at the controls and headed to Stark International to get his revenge on Iron Man. Back at Stark International, as the team of lawyers left Tony's meeting, Jim Rhodes came in and was greeted by a jubilant Tony Stark who was happy to see his friend back and healthy. He poured a drink to celebrate, which Jim declined to join him, and he drank Jim's drink as well. Head of Security Martinelli barged in telling them trouble is on the way. Tony Stark went to his personal room and suited up as Iron Man to confront the trouble Magma is bringing in. He didn't like Jim Rhodes' disapproval of him drinking.

Soon he is in his armor and confronting Magma. But he is flying to slow and erratically, and Magma gets the best of him and soon has him grounded and crushing him on the ground and applying more pressure as Magma was surprised how easily he is defeating Iron Man. Perhaps there are two Iron Men, and this was the lesser one. Iron Man boasted it's only one Iron Man, and internally he is questioning why is he having difficulty thinking of ways to defeat Magma, and he blamed it was the armor's fault. He finally used the repulsor rays to get Magma's robot off of him. Tony things the armor is low on battery so he made a final attack, and bounced off of Magma, and for the first time ran away from a battle.

Later on a damaged and battered Iron Man arrived in Stark International and met by Jim Rhodes. They made their way to the Fusion Battery facility so Iron Man can absorb more power and recharge the armor so he can re-engage Magma. In the Fusion Battery facility, a Stark Intl employee working overtime wanted to have a few words with Iron Man, but the employee, Morley Erwin, was shoved aside by Iron Man, to Jim Rhodes's disagreement. A little later, Iron Man is hooked up to the main power fusion battery, and powered on, but instead of gaining more power, he blacked out the entire Stark International facility shutting down any source of power within the area. Iron Man forgot he was wearing an older armor, and unable to hold that much power ended up short-circuiting the Fusion Battery. Iron Man told Jim to follow him as his uni-beam will lead the way. Iron Man lead Jim to Tony's Private Sanctum which can only be accessed by Iron Man's hands touching an electronic sensor opening the access doorway. Inside, Iron Man removed his helmet, and Tony Stark revealed his secret identity to his friend Jim Rhodes. Jim wasn't entirely surprised as he had a notion Tony Stark and Iron Man were one person. Tony Stark proceeded to drink more while they talked. Jim told him that he needs to lay off the drink for now. Tony reassured him it's no problem and he needs a few more drinks to be able to deal with the problem of Magma. A little later, outside, Magma has reached Stark International area and Stark security men are ineffective in stopping him in his robot armor. Back inside Tony Stark's private sanctum, we see that Tony Stark has passed out from consuming too much alcohol. Jim Rhodes didn't know what to do, so he started removing the armor piece by piece from Tony Stark and started putting the armor on himself. And holding the last part of the armor, the helmet, he asked himself after he donned the armor, then what is he supposed to do next? And the issue ended on that cliffhanger.

Comments: And here's Dennis O'Neil's payoff issue. The long buildup of breaking down Tony Stark and his re-occurring alcohol problem, has finally paid off. Tony Stark is dangerous and comes across as a villain of sorts. He cannot remember doing damage to private property and is in denial that it is him on the news on TV. He has lapses in memory, which is a symptom of the side effect of increased alcohol consumption. He is also going into battle unprepared by using an old armor, and is impaired in moving erratically and slow, that his opponent is led to believe there is another Iron Man besides him, and that he is the inferior version of two Iron Men. He can't think of a tactic to overcome his opponent, as it takes him a long time to utilize his repulsor rays.

Jim knew Stark and Iron Man were the same, and saw that Tony was going back to boozing as he slowly saw the progression going back to drinking,m but didn't think it was this bad. And wanting to do something about the danger to Stark International as Iron Man is incapacitated he did what he thought was right, but was unsure of exactly how to approach the danger as Iron Man. At the time (early 1980's), a new era in Iron Man was about to begin.

Iron Man #170

"And Who Shall Clothe Himself in Iron?"

0.60 ¢ @ May 1983

Writer: Denny O'Neil
Penciler: Luke McDonnell
Inker: Steve Mitchell
Colorist: Bob Sharen
Letterer: Rick Parker
Editor: Mark Gruenwald & Michael Carlin
Editor-In-Chief: Jim Shooter

Synopsis: Iron Man is back. Jim Rhodes assumed his guise but doesn't know how to use the armor, even though he has seen Tony Stark don the armor numerous times since he has known him. While Tony is comatose, Jim donned the suit, but has trouble controlling the armor as the arm suddenly punched through a piece of the wall. Doubt crept into Jim's mind if he can pull through. He encountered Morley, one of Stark Industries scientists and they briefly go over how his suit works, and off goes Jim Rhodes to fight the super-villain, Magma. It doesn't go well for him as Magma defeats him, and Jim is forced to retreat. Knowing he cannot defeat Magma with brute strength, he used his mind and came up with a game plan to defeat Magma. He saw a huge tank container with "Danger" stamped on it, and lured Magma to shoot at him and hoped that the Iron Man armor can withstand the explosion. A terrific explosion hurled Iron Man and seemingly destroyed Magma. But when the smoke cleared, Magma was still standing in front of him, looks like Jim is going to be on the receiving end of a potential beat down.

Tony wakes up from his drunk slumber and sees on the computer screen an impostor wearing his armor battling Magma, and he made his way to the back up old Iron Man armor to suit up, but cannot remember the codes to access the armor from its storage. Frustrated, he saw a bottle and decided to have a drink to clear his head.

Jim had one of the scientist modify the repulsor ray and went out to have round two with Magma, who was just outside the part of the facility where Tony is at. Tony saw Magma just outside and felt helpless as Magma is about to destroy the building he's in and he is powerless to stop him as he cannot access his armor, and he broke down on his knees helplessly awaiting the inevitable. But the chessman known as The Knight arrived and his lance sends an energy beam that hit Magma and the villain lost control of the robot exo-suit and was depowered. Jim doesn't know who the Knight is, but was thankful for the sudden help. But upon checking out the exo-suit, it is empty. He concluded Magma is on his way inside the building to kill Tony Stark. He was and was about to kill a Tony Stark in his underwear, when Jim arrived and fought Magma, who got the better of him. Tony yelled at Iron Man to use the repulsor rays, which he did and nailed Magma, who ran out of ammunition and Jim just knocked him outside. He took the exo-suit and destroyed it at the local incinerator. Upon going back to Tony, Jim saw that Tony was dressed up and is out to meet a woman for cocktails. Jim disagreed with this, and Tony told him to just shut up and left. Jim took off the helmet and threw it against the wall in disgust. He knew he cannot stop Tony from destroying himself, but perhaps he can prevent others from destroying what Tony built up over the years, and he went about doing so. But first he called Avengers Mansion and tendered Iron Man's resignation from the team.

At Obadiah Stane's HQ, he was question by the Queen, Indries Moomji why he saved Tony Stark. It's all part of his diabolical plan.

Comments: Denny O'Neill hit paydirt on this issue! Finally, a changing of the guards for a major superhero character. At the time in the mid 1980's, this is one of the most sought after back issues as Jim Rhodes was introduced as the new Iron Man. It also, definitely, felt like a lasting change at the time, as Jim assumed Iron Man's identity for several years, and was The Iron Man in the first Marvel crossover major event in Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars maxi series.

We get to see Tony at his worst as he cannot even remember access codes to even save himself in this issue. Luke McDonnell's pencil duties really showcased the helplessness of Tony Stark here, and drawing him in his underwear showed just how a billionaire can bottom out with the dangers of alcoholism. The art conveyed the feeling of helplessness in the panels where Tony is right next to the back-up Iron Man and yet, could not even access it. As a reader, the disintegration of the Tony Stark character is complete. There's no coming back from this lowest of low. Even at the end of the issue, Tony's personality has changed where he doesn't even care about donning the armor and would rather take off and see a lady friend over cocktails. The path to his self-destruction is evident. Frustration is something Jim felt about his friend and boss. But he wasn't going to let all of Stark Industries be taken down, but had to eliminate certain problems for Iron Man as he donned the new persona of Iron Man, quitting The Avengers via a telephone call. Denny O'Neill has crafted a storyarc for the ages here and it's just in the middle so far as years will pass with Jim Rhodes at the helm as Iron Man.

I remember Magma from an issue of MTU with Iron Man. I didn't realize he had appeared before (or was it after?)