The Death Chair of M.O.D.O.K.!

 

The 1977 Iron Man Annual, written by Bill Mantlo with art by George Tuska and Don Perlin, could be viewed for all intents and purposes as a Hail Mary pass to benefit the mid-'70s super-team the Champions, who co-star with the title character in a battle which would involve the forces of Advanced Idea Mechanics (aka A.I.M.) and M.O.D.O.K., their creation which has once again imposed his will on the organization. At this point in time, the Champions book was two issues away from cancellation, which, taking into account its bi-monthly publication status, gave the book four months to reflect any sales bump which it might have received as a result of the group's appearance in the annual. We know in hindsight that such a sales increase either didn't occur or was negligible--yet for Iron Man, the pairing of himself and the Champions made for a decent story, while also serving as a last hurrah for a team which never quite resonated with readers.

Most of that likely has to do with Mantlo playing to one of Iron Man's strengths which is separate from his armor--specifically, his status as a member of the old guard who at times throws his weight around with those he considers less seasoned than himself, who then tend to fall in line and defer to his better judgment. We get a look at such character dynamics up front in this issue when Iron Man realizes he could use backup in this affair--particularly when he investigates a deserted AIM base in Nevada and discovers evidence of MODOK being close to achieving a threat level that could endanger the world.

Feast Your Eyes Again on... The Blood Brothers!

 

It's a disturbing trend that we've seen developing in regard to the bruising, bloody threat of the Blood Brothers, who first appeared in 1973 as enforcers of the will of Thanos of Titan--but even more disturbing concerning the invincible Iron Man, who in consecutive battles has needed to be paired up with additional muscle from a second party in order to hold his own against these brutes. First, in responding to a telepathic distress call, he joined forces with Drax the Destroyer against their mutual foes; and in a second encounter with the pair later that year, he and the Thing successfully derailed their threat, after which a wrathful Thanos used the Cosmic Cube to (presumably) eliminate his thralls.

But in mid-1976, the Blood Brothers resurface, having escaped whatever fate Thanos had consigned them to when he met defeat himself at the hand of Captain Marvel--only to now find themselves acting in accordance with the commands of the Controller, who needs their assistance in freeing his trapped form from tons of rubble he found himself beneath at the site of his own clash with Mar-vell. Fortunately for the Blood Brothers, securing transportation isn't much of a problem, after stopping for a quick bite.

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And so these two head for New York, and a third encounter with Iron Man (who, coincidentally, goes way back with the Controller), crashing their way through police blockades en route. The prospect of Iron Man finally heading into a battle with the Blood Brothers on his own could certainly be a clash that we readers would be down with--after all, writer Archie Goodwin wouldn't have him being forced to enlist the help of another hero, right? Right?

WRONG!

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.

In The Clutches of... The Collector!

Of all the Marvel characters who have fallen victim to their will being usurped by a nefarious foe, you'd think that Thor, the God of Thunder, would be an exception to such a ploy. Instead, we've seen over the years that Thor has proven especially susceptible to mind control--and in light of the main focus of today's post, it seems appropriate to first take a brief look at the circumstances wherein the Thunder God has fallen under the power of another and been compelled to do their bidding.

The method which appears to be the most popular among villains who wish to subvert the will of Thor is hypnosis. For a god of Asgard who thrives on conflict, and whose natural instinct would be to keep his guard up when confronting his foe(s), it's frankly surprising what an easy target Thor makes for such a subtle means of seizure.  Naturally, our go-to villain when it comes to hypnosis is the Ringmaster, who succeeds more often than not with a number of high-profile characters, thanks to that rigged top hat of his:

Then there's Thor's half-brother, Loki, who doesn't need primitive accessories to employ his hypnotic technique:

And you'd think the last person to bother with hypnosis would be the Radioactive Man, but darned if he wasn't adept at it even when he was just starting out.

There are those who took a more direct approach with Thor, however. For instance, Nebula, who used small devices attached to the back of the head to seize control of the Avengers, including, lastly, Thor.

While an erstwhile Avenger, Moondragon, used her own formidable mental powers to align the Thunder God's will to her own, while *ahem* enjoying the fruits of her labours.

Obviously, Thor makes for a powerful tool for a villain bent on keeping the Avengers in check--or anyone else they feel like trouncing. Take the Puppet Master, who, with the help of Radion, the "Atomic Man," adds a little punch to his radioactive clay so that even Thor falls under his control. And you can probably guess who the Puppet Master would want to send Thor after.

In the ensuing fight (if you could call it that), Thor clobbers the FF (minus the absent Thing)--but when the shock of what he's done has him reverting to Donald Blake to see to their injuries, the Puppet Master loses control of him, just before the Thing arrives and is told of what occurred.  (At least as much as Blake knows, though still unaware of the identity of whoever took control of Thor.)

Once Blake departs, however, he makes the mistake of giving his unknown foe another crack at him--and even as prepared as Thor believes he is to withstand another attempt to control his mind, it's the Thing this time who will bear the brunt of his attack.

The Enchantress is also no slouch at bringing others under her control, particularly the male of the species. In Thor's case, she resorts to a potion to subvert his will, in order to use him against the Avengers.

Yet it's the Collector we finally turn to--an antagonist who also has an agenda where the Avengers are concerned, the same one he had when he first appeared in mid-1966. At that time, he began to expand his collection of objects spanning the ages by adding super-beings to his prizes--beginning with a villain (the Beetle), and then capturing the Wasp, the first move in adding the Avengers to his holdings. Failing then, he returns two years later with the same goal--only this time, he starts by capturing the most powerful Avenger, in order to use him to gather the others. To pull that off, it looks like he's decided to take a leaf from the Enchantress' book.

And so begins a tale that takes The Avengers past the 50-issue mark but also finds the group on the cusp of changes to their lineup. But with their most powerful member once more in the grip of an enemy, will the team be in any shape to celebrate?

Judging by this issue's cover, it looks like the celebration's already underway, eh?

The Double-Death Threat!

While it's true that you can't thumb through your stack of old Iron Man comics without coming across at least a half dozen Iron Man vs. the Mandarin issues, do you still recoil with a start when you come across the issue where the Mandarin once battled his armored nemesis TOPLESS?

Yikes! That probably triggered the evacuation alarm at Stark Industries automatically!

"In Battle Joined!"

Writer Roy Thomas often indulged in crossovers back in the day, even before they were formally referred to as such--and a stand-out from mid-1968 was the face-off between the Avengers and the X-Men, bringing the two teams together again 2½ years after their initial clash but this time with the X-Men of course facing a different Avengers lineup. And that lineup had gone through yet another change only recently, which served as the link between the two stories--the departure of Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch, after Wanda had suffered a gunshot wound to her head and her brother Pietro had blamed human antipathy toward mutants for the act (though it was all due to manipulation by Magneto, who had been lobbying for the two to rejoin him).

With Wanda recovering on Magneto's island base, the X-Men have gone in search of Magneto after hearing reports of his return, and are captured. The Angel, however, escapes and flies off to seek help from the Avengers--while Cyclops manages to escape captivity and searches Magneto's stronghold for his teammates. Unfortunately, he runs into someone else, whose loyalties are in question but who means to prevent Cyclops from freeing his friends--and this action-packed two-parter kicks into high gear!

The Master Plan of the Space Phantom!

While the transition between the end of Roy Thomas's long run on The Avengers and the beginning of Steve Englehart's was fairly smooth, the two subplots still unresolved in the hand-off to Englehart might have left you with the impression that the dust was still settling, even as Englehart was gearing up for his first major storyline in the book. The first point of unfinished business involved the search for the absent Quicksilver, missing since the Avengers' climactic battle with the Sentinels in Australia. Given that Thomas had already folded Quicksilver into his plans for Fantastic Four, any loose ends for the character in The Avengers became more of a nuisance plot that sent the team following false leads and had them connecting any unusual report that came their way with Pietro's disappearance. "A group of strange men appeared out of nowhere, and kidnapped three scientists, before anyone could stop them!" "Could be what happened to Pietro!" Talk about grasping at straws.

There was also the plot involving the Grim Reaper, who had approached the Vision with an offer to transplant the Vision's mind into the body of the dead Wonder Man and restore that body to life. When the Vision outright refuses, the Reaper leaves the door open by giving him an amulet as a way of contacting him should he reconsider. The fascinating part of such a plot isn't so much as what might come of this meeting, but the fact that the Vision has left the offer on the table, so to speak, by keeping the amulet. And that ambivalence hangs in the air of Avengers Mansion with virtually every scene the Vision is in.

Yet with the return of Captain America to the book--following his own tense storyline where he encountered his stand-in from the 1950s--there's reason to believe that the Avengers are back on track and ready for Englehart's fresh take on them. But before things settle down, Cap will have to deal with a more recent mystery from his past--while the rest of the Avengers find themselves facing not only the Grim Reaper, but also the return of a deadly foe who dates back nearly a decade.

You Don't Look So Tough To Me

"You're good, kid, but as long as I'm around, you're only second best."
   -- Edward G. Robinson (as Lancey "The Man" Howard), The Cincinnati Kid

It turns out that the classic actor from Hollywood's Golden Age, Edward G. Robinson, had a few fans in the Marvel Bullpen, given the cameo appearances he's made in stories over the decades--some of them caricatures, others depicting the man himself. As we'll see, all of them represent his role as a gangster, a part he played frequently and certainly one which he excelled at. And if you're wondering what circumstances could possibly result in Mr. Robinson showing up in a comic book story--well, comic books are a fantasy/entertainment medium, after all. Suffice to say that, when Edward G. Robinson wants to make an entrance, all of the other characters had best make way for him.

From Iron Man #40, 1998 (along with several of his peers):

(pencils by John Romita Sr.)

From The Avengers #s 137-138:

(pencils by George Tuska)

From Tales To Astonish #38 (though not by name):

(pencils by Jack Kirby)

From Fantastic Four #s 91-92 (as Napoleon G. Robberson):

(pencils by Jack Kirby)

The examples above may or may not be a comprehensive collection of his Marvel appearances--but if you recall an appearance that wasn't among these others, do chime in with details! See?

It's Open Season on Tony Stark!

The issue leading up to Invincible Iron Man #100 has so much happening in it and so many players that you may feel a little taxed in trying to put all of its pieces together. It's no wonder Tony Stark has a heart condition, with all that he's asked to keep track of while also suiting up as Iron Man and putting out all the fires he has to manage. But let's see if we can break it down in order to bring you up to date:

• The Mandarin has returned from the dead--and after we were so certain that the Yellow Claw had finally punched his ticket;
  
• Senator Hawk from Washington is pressuring Stark to be interviewed, following up on information that accuses Stark of bribing Japanese officials for the purpose of selling intelligence systems abroad;
  
• Det. Michael O'Brien, who holds Stark responsible for the death of his brother, Kevin, has attacked Iron Man in the Guardsman armor, the same armor that led to Kevin's death;
  
• Due to the return of his heart condition, Stark is forced to cast a new suit of Iron Man armor, redesigned to include circuitry that keeps his heart from failing while in battle;
  
• The ultra-nationalistic mutant, Sunfire, attacks Stark's factory complex, believing the criminal charges against Stark--and with his new armor not yet ready, Stark engages Sunfire as the Guardsman;
  
• O'Brien becomes convinced of Stark's innocence, grabs the new Iron Man suit, and races to help Stark against Sunfire;
  
• Stark, his chest in agony due to the Guardsman armor not having any support for his injured heart, takes the opportunity to get back to his lab to don the new suit, only to find it missing--and in desperation, seeks out his older armor with its life-support chestplate, guided to it by... Madame Masque!?
  
• Both Sunfire and O'Brien are astonished when a teleportation beam whisks O'Brien (still in the new Iron Man suit) away;
  
• Sunfire resumes his attack on the factory, only to be engaged by the "original" red- and gold-suited Iron Man; and finally...
  
• Jeez! Does anybody need some Dramamine before dizziness sets in??
  

There's also the surprise cover to this issue by artist John Buscema, who's drawn Iron Man enough in the pages of The Avengers but to my knowledge has never stepped in as artist on the character's own title. (What other characters' series has Buscema declined? Dr. Strange... Incredible Hulk... Captain America... X-Men and its numerous spin-offs... The Defenders... Marvel Team-Up... quite a few, it seems.) Here, he rewrites the laws of engineering and features the mask of Iron Man actually grimacing.

But we'll have to wait awhile to find out how Iron Man became trapped by the Mandarin, because he still has the hot-headed Sunfire to deal with. And as we can see, the issue's splash page only has room to tell a fraction of what's been happening to Stark and Iron Man--and there's a lot more story development waiting in the wings!

One Man-Monster, Special Delivery!

The so-called War of the Super-Villains taking place in the pages of Invincible Iron Man in 1975 took awhile to run its course--not because of the scope of the conflict or the egos of the villains involved, but mostly due to the book's creative team(s) not being able to meet their deadlines. (A situation which perhaps doesn't speak well of the story's plot, which read as if it were cobbled together.) And so sandwiched inbetween those issues were two inventory stories (diplomatically called "untold tales," which technically would be correct), along with a reprint of a prior story from early 1969--one with a very eye-catching cover which was deemed to be worthy of recycling.

Since this story originally took place in the early days of Iron Man's own title, and since the Hulk and Iron Man had never had it out in the pages of Tales of Suspense, it would be the first-ever solo match between the two (if you're not counting their slugfest in a 1964 alternate reality). And now, six years later, the issue is dug up and thrust into the middle of a story already in progress, without explanation--apparently banking on the still-enticing image of a Hulk/Iron Man throw-down to allow the title a 30-day reprieve in order to complete the next regular issue.

The story still holds up well, and so the reader who's never laid eyes on it before will probably find it sufficiently entertaining to tide them over. It's also mildly intriguing, given how unconventionally the two combatants are brought together. The fight would raise questions with Iron Man as to the Hulk's motives, to say nothing of his methods; but before the two meet in battle, we get a sense of the unusual circumstances involved when we see that a mysterious figure is responsible for the Hulk's appearance, one who arranges for the monster to be secretly brought to the states inside, of all things, a shipping crate. (At least they wouldn't have needed to bother stamping it "FRAGILE.")

My Friend, My Enemy!

The conclusion to Part One of the story which saw the debut of the Guardsman probably left you a little stoked, eh? A tense standoff involving the police, Iron Man, and an angry group of demonstrators, with the police finally being provoked into taking action, with casualties likely? When we open the next issue, we're all expecting a bloodbath waiting to happen--or at least Simon Gilbert, Stark Industries' ruthless Chairman of the Board, yelling the equivalent of "Get off my lawn!" from the offices above, right?

Imagine our surprise when we discover that, somewhere between Parts One and Two, everybody has left the scene. The demonstrators have inexplicably dispersed; Gilbert gives us a two-page ranting of the events of the prior issue and wraps it up convinced things will end in his favor regarding his hostile takeover of the company; and writer Gary Friedrich adds a quick behind-the-scenes recap while driving home the point that it's somehow the fault of the Guardsman armor that the mind of Tony Stark's close friend, Kevin O'Brien, has been impaired.

Meanwhile, each of us would be perfectly justified in asking: "Wait! What... Did I blink??"

But almost immediately, Friedrich and artist George Tuska practically bring us right back to where we left off.

With the difference being that this time, the police are absent, and will be for the duration. (That is if you're not counting Mr. Todd of "Plant Security," whose job description doesn't seem to cover "all hell breaking loose" on the premises.)

At Your Service--The Guardsman!

Marvel has done its fair share of campus unrest stories, particularly in the late '60s and early '70s--so it's probably no surprise to find Tony Stark (and, by extension, Iron Man) coming into conflict with the violent protest movements of the time, in light of the fact that he was still primarily manufacturing munitions and hadn't yet rededicated his company's resources to research and development. Yet in a two-part story, national unrest with the Vietnam War served as the backdrop for a more personal crisis for Stark, involving his best friend--who also would be the first person to don the armored suit of the character known as the Guardsman.

(Get a good look at that campus where Iron Man is getting pelted with rotten fruit and molotov cocktails, because this story doesn't go anywhere near a campus; instead, it takes place entirely on the grounds of Stark's factory. The cover to the story's conclusion in the following issue hits much closer to the mark.)

We've become so used to seeing men in Guardsman armor "guard"ing facilities where super-villains are incarcerated that it's easy to forget that this armor has a tragic history. Designed by Stark to be used by his close friend, Kevin O'Brien, as a fail-safe measure (in conjunction with a special ship), O'Brien suits up in the armor in order to rescue an overdue Iron Man who's battling an agent of the mysterious villain known as Mister Kline.

O'Brien is successful--but there are some complications involved in "the Guardsman" (so named by O'Brien himself) becoming a character in his own right, at least for the time being. First, of course, we should keep in mind that Stark didn't create this suit with the idea of its wearer using it for anything beyond a short-term operation as needed. (Though knowing Stark, you can make a fair assumption that the Guardsman armor is still a cut above the status of a prototype.) That's all well and good, until we discover something festering within O'Brien's mind like a time bomb--the fact that he's developed feelings for Marianne Rodgers, a woman who has slowly but surely acknowledged her own feelings for Tony Stark, with Stark feeling the same. And now that O'Brien has had a taste of the armor's power, his feelings of friendship toward Stark have become conflicted, to say the least.

Unfortunately, O'Brien then overhears Stark and Marianne professing their love for each other--after which, Stark proposes marriage and Marianne accepts. (Good grief! Haven't these two ever heard of dating?) In Kevin's state of mind, it pushes him over the edge; and when the ruthless Simon Gilbert, Chairman of Stark's Board of Directors, prepares a hostile takeover of Stark Industries, Gilbert finds that he's been handed a trump card to play against Stark.

And so for better or worse, the Guardsman is finally committed as a character--though we can all probably assume that the situation will indeed become worse for him. But where does this issue's cover image fit into all of this? Iron Man, appearing to be caught in the middle of a campus war protest? The cover basically has the right idea, but the circumstances are very different. We just have to move the hostilities to a munitions factory like Stark's, a likely venue for demonstrators to target; but before Iron Man can get involved, the demonstrators are going to find themselves being confronted by another armored figure who isn't obliged to be nearly as charitable in hearing them out, thanks to Gilbert.

And if you think the Guardsman being unleashed on essentially unarmed kids is a recipe for disaster, then you're beginning to get a sense of the potentially explosive direction the story is headed in.