Post by rberman on Jul 25, 2020 19:24:34 GMT -5
Marvel’s “Epic Collection 11” contains stories from Denny O Neil’s early 80s run as writer of Iron Man, a series of issues which saw Tony Stark recapitulating O’Neil’s own struggles with alcoholism, and James Rhodes taking over operation of the Iron Man suit.
David Michelinie and Bob Layton had already told the well-received “Demon in a Bottle” alcoholism story in issues #120-128 in 1979, but O’Neil clearly had something to say on the matter as well. His story was something of a slow burn that unfolded between 1982 and 1985, more issues than a single “Epic Collection” holds, so we join the story already in progress:
Iron Man Annual #6 by Peter Gillis is an odd story, a Kirby tribute in which Iron Man plays a relatively minor role. The main plot involves the Eternals escaping from captivity by the Deviants, and then deciding to relocate to another planet.
Iron Man #178 For Assistant Editor’s month, two stories. First, Bob Harras tells a cute story of a gang of street kids who like to dress up like the Avengers, and they solve a mystery when their “Iron Man” appears to have turned to evil.
Second, Tony Stark, now a vagrant, admits that he can barely make it a day without resorting to alcohol. Tony shacks up with Gretl, a pregnant alcoholic. A strong character-based story.
Iron Man #179 In Hong Kong as Iron Man, Rhodey tangles with the Radioactive Man and starts having splitting headaches.
Iron Man #180-181 Still in Hong Kong, Rhodey has an inconclusive set of encounters with the Mandarin, who is surprised to find a black man under the armor and eventually realizes he’s not up against the “real” Iron Man. More headaches. At the end of #181, Rhodey enters the Beyonder’s portal and is transported to the Secret Wars adventure.
Iron Man #182 Gretl gives birth to her son on a snowy street and dies of exposure. Tony huddles in a doorway with the infant until the cops find and transport them to the hospital.
Rhodey returns from the Secret Wars to find his Battleworld upgrades don’t work on Earth and have fouled the Iron Man armor.
Iron Man #183-85 Rhodey repeatedly faces off against a group of Zodiac-themed villains, without the benefit of Iron Man’s malfunctioning repulsor gloves. Rhodey and his friends set out in a rented van to open a tech start-up in California. This justifies Iron Man’s involvement in Hawkeye’s new West Coast Avengers team. Newly sober Tony joins them. Tony wears the Iron Man helmet for a moment to talk to Nick Fury; Rhodey feels jealous.
Iron Man #186-7 Tony fixes the repulsor gloves so Rhodey can face earthquake-themed villain Vibro, who seems pretty similar to the Vibe hero that joined the Detroit-based JLA the same month that Iron Man #187 was published.
Iron Man #188 Rhodey’s headaches are because of a brainwave mismatch with the Iron Man suit. He worries that Tony’s recovery means he’ll lose the suit. Battle against the fairy-tale themed Grimm Brothers.
Iron Man Annual #7 The West Coast Avengers tangle with a villainous Goliath in this Bob Harras story.
Iron Man #189-90 Rhodey rescues a cute social worker taken hostage. They go on a date, but he’s so uptight that she doesn’t want to see him again. Tony uses Forge’s mutant-neutralizer gun to eliminate the villainous mutant Termite. Rhodey breaks the gun, enraged that Stark is building a new Iron Man Mark 1 armor suit.
Iron Man #191 Rhodey faces an escaped Vibro and gets more erratic, endangering civilians. Tony dons his new spare suit, which is much less advanced than Rhodey’s suit.
Iron Man #192 Tony captures Vibro. Rhodey goes nuts on Tony, who uses his superior knowledge of Rhodey’s suit to immobilize it. Rhodey calms down for now. Tony also scores a moral victory when part of the fight takes place at a winery.
Iron Man #193 Wearing the primitive new suit, Tony reveals his identity to the West Coast Avengers and reluctantly helps them defeat the kaiju-master Doctor Demonicus.
Iron Man #194 Tony falls in the ocean and is forced to let his Mark 1 suit sink. Rhodey returns to New York with his Iron Man suit and rescues Hank Pym from a psychedelic dimension.
Iron Man #195 Alpha Flight’s Shaman takes Rhodey to the Ditkoverse to cure his headaches and agitation.
My Two Cents: The strongest parts of the series are the intermittent character bits; I wish there were more of them. The villains and fight scenes which occupy most of each issue are pretty perfunctory and colorless, with constant thought balloons from Rhodey describing his various tactics. In an interview in Marvel Age #18, Denny O’Neil reports that Mark Gruenwald was heavily involved in uncredited plotting, including coming up with the villains. Overall, I can see why this run isn't spoken as highly of as the concurrent work on Thor, Cap, Daredevil, Spidey, X-Men, etc.
David Michelinie and Bob Layton had already told the well-received “Demon in a Bottle” alcoholism story in issues #120-128 in 1979, but O’Neil clearly had something to say on the matter as well. His story was something of a slow burn that unfolded between 1982 and 1985, more issues than a single “Epic Collection” holds, so we join the story already in progress:
Iron Man Annual #6 by Peter Gillis is an odd story, a Kirby tribute in which Iron Man plays a relatively minor role. The main plot involves the Eternals escaping from captivity by the Deviants, and then deciding to relocate to another planet.
Iron Man #178 For Assistant Editor’s month, two stories. First, Bob Harras tells a cute story of a gang of street kids who like to dress up like the Avengers, and they solve a mystery when their “Iron Man” appears to have turned to evil.
Second, Tony Stark, now a vagrant, admits that he can barely make it a day without resorting to alcohol. Tony shacks up with Gretl, a pregnant alcoholic. A strong character-based story.
Iron Man #179 In Hong Kong as Iron Man, Rhodey tangles with the Radioactive Man and starts having splitting headaches.
Iron Man #180-181 Still in Hong Kong, Rhodey has an inconclusive set of encounters with the Mandarin, who is surprised to find a black man under the armor and eventually realizes he’s not up against the “real” Iron Man. More headaches. At the end of #181, Rhodey enters the Beyonder’s portal and is transported to the Secret Wars adventure.
Iron Man #182 Gretl gives birth to her son on a snowy street and dies of exposure. Tony huddles in a doorway with the infant until the cops find and transport them to the hospital.
Rhodey returns from the Secret Wars to find his Battleworld upgrades don’t work on Earth and have fouled the Iron Man armor.
Iron Man #183-85 Rhodey repeatedly faces off against a group of Zodiac-themed villains, without the benefit of Iron Man’s malfunctioning repulsor gloves. Rhodey and his friends set out in a rented van to open a tech start-up in California. This justifies Iron Man’s involvement in Hawkeye’s new West Coast Avengers team. Newly sober Tony joins them. Tony wears the Iron Man helmet for a moment to talk to Nick Fury; Rhodey feels jealous.
Iron Man #186-7 Tony fixes the repulsor gloves so Rhodey can face earthquake-themed villain Vibro, who seems pretty similar to the Vibe hero that joined the Detroit-based JLA the same month that Iron Man #187 was published.
Iron Man #188 Rhodey’s headaches are because of a brainwave mismatch with the Iron Man suit. He worries that Tony’s recovery means he’ll lose the suit. Battle against the fairy-tale themed Grimm Brothers.
Iron Man Annual #7 The West Coast Avengers tangle with a villainous Goliath in this Bob Harras story.
Iron Man #189-90 Rhodey rescues a cute social worker taken hostage. They go on a date, but he’s so uptight that she doesn’t want to see him again. Tony uses Forge’s mutant-neutralizer gun to eliminate the villainous mutant Termite. Rhodey breaks the gun, enraged that Stark is building a new Iron Man Mark 1 armor suit.
Iron Man #191 Rhodey faces an escaped Vibro and gets more erratic, endangering civilians. Tony dons his new spare suit, which is much less advanced than Rhodey’s suit.
Iron Man #192 Tony captures Vibro. Rhodey goes nuts on Tony, who uses his superior knowledge of Rhodey’s suit to immobilize it. Rhodey calms down for now. Tony also scores a moral victory when part of the fight takes place at a winery.
Iron Man #193 Wearing the primitive new suit, Tony reveals his identity to the West Coast Avengers and reluctantly helps them defeat the kaiju-master Doctor Demonicus.
Iron Man #194 Tony falls in the ocean and is forced to let his Mark 1 suit sink. Rhodey returns to New York with his Iron Man suit and rescues Hank Pym from a psychedelic dimension.
Iron Man #195 Alpha Flight’s Shaman takes Rhodey to the Ditkoverse to cure his headaches and agitation.
My Two Cents: The strongest parts of the series are the intermittent character bits; I wish there were more of them. The villains and fight scenes which occupy most of each issue are pretty perfunctory and colorless, with constant thought balloons from Rhodey describing his various tactics. In an interview in Marvel Age #18, Denny O’Neil reports that Mark Gruenwald was heavily involved in uncredited plotting, including coming up with the villains. Overall, I can see why this run isn't spoken as highly of as the concurrent work on Thor, Cap, Daredevil, Spidey, X-Men, etc.
