It's All In the Wrist: Gladiator vs. Iron Man!

 

If you weren't impressed by the debut of the bruiser named Gladiator in the pages of Daredevil, including his performance as part of Electro's Emissaries of Evil, you might have shrugged when you spotted him on the covers of a two-part Iron Man story published at the end of 1968:

Yet other aspects of this story help to bring it alive for Iron Man fans and make it a good all-around read, with the Gladiator also managing to stand out in an ambitious bid to wrest control of the criminal organization known as the Maggia for himself. For instance, we're seeing some early work on the title by artist George Tuska, who is now the book's regular artist (off and on) after previous penciller/inker Johnny Craig shifted over to handling inks exclusively. We also learn of the origin of Whitney Frost, the Maggia's current "Big M," who is putting together a raid on Stark Industries to seize Stark's secret weapons reserve even as she seeks to protect her lover, S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Jasper Sitwell, who acts as Stark's head of security--an origin which includes the revelation that her real father is the notorious Count Nefaria. In addition, Archie Goodwin continues as the book's writer to chart a course for Tony Stark and Iron Man in this new title.

At this point in time, Stark is beginning to have romantic feelings toward Janice Cord, who took over her father's plant but on the advice of her attorney, Vincent Sandhurst, is considering selling it to Stark. We would eventually learn that the days of both Cord and the shifty Sandhurst are numbered in this book, with Iron Man being involved in each case--but for now, he'll have his hands full with Gladiator, when the villain decides to take Sandhurst, Cord, and Stark hostage in an effort to force Iron Man to come to their defense and thereby leave Stark's factory vulnerable to the Maggia's raid. (Not to mention giving Gladiator a chance to wipe away the stigma of past defeats at Daredevil's hands and thus raise his profile to gain the support he needs to become Big M.)

As for Stark, he improvises a desperate escape in order to gain an opportunity to become Iron Man; but in the meantime, the furious Gladiator places Sandhurst and Cord under heavy machinery and begins to slice away at its support while demanding Stark surrender in order to save their lives. Luckily, Iron Man returns in the nick of time, though it may cost him when he must turn to face Gladiator.

The difference between Iron Man and Daredevil in battle, of course, is that Iron Man is more free to mix it up with a deadly opponent like Gladiator, rather than dart and dodge while looking for a weakness. This time, however, Gladiator has taken advantage of technical upgrades provided by his former boss, the Masked Marauder, to make himself a more powerful threat--while Iron Man, under Goodwin, must unfortunately fall victim to the by now obligatory armor failing(s) all too often used to put him at a disadvantage against a foe.

Meanwhile, in an equally tense scene, the Maggia raid on Stark's factor is underway--and it begins to become clear why SHIELD has added its own security forces to Stark's, if this man is securing weaponry in a vault which could threaten the entire world in the wrong hands. To make matters worse, the Big M's team has been conducting drills in preparation, allowing them to be both swift and efficient in getting through any resistance, while Whitney has become aware of vulnerabilities in those defenses thanks to information subtly gleaned from the unsuspecting Jasper. To say the raid is going well would be an understatement.

Gladiator is admittedly doing pretty well himself, still very much in this well-choreographed fight by Tuska and coming back at Iron Man no matter how often the Avenger attempts to put him down. As we've seen, Tuska often steps well outside traditional square or rectangular panels, a technique he would maintain throughout his tenure on the book and which serves to enhance the action nicely; and Gladiator certainly can't complain of the treatment he's being given by the artist.

With the priority now focused on the Maggia's status at Stark's plant, Iron Man and Gladiator manage to return at the point where the weapons vault has been blasted open. But Sitwell, waiting inside with armed SHIELD agents, has surprised everyone--even Stark, who was thinking Sitwell might have been inadvertently leaking classified information to Whitney--and he and his team move against the Maggia men determined to take them into custody, even as Iron Man and Gladiator close on each other once more. As for Whitney, she remains on the fence as to whether she'll finally have the strength of will to walk away from her life in the Maggia--while Jasper faces the choice of forcing the issue when the time comes to do so.

Whitney Frost, as herself and later as Madame Masque, would have quite a history in the book over time, even to the point of becoming involved with Stark--while the resourceful Jasper, of course, would be an asset to both SHIELD and Stark in perpetuity. As for Goodwin, he would stay with the book for a little over two years, before other writers like Gerry Conway and Mike Friedrich would step in to make their own mark.