IRON MAN vol. 3 #83 (427 - labelled but really 428)
(July 2004) "Heavy Metal Genocide."
Cover art: Adi Granov.
Script: John Jackson Miller.
Art: Jorge Lucas.
Lucas is back on art chores!! And thank the Maker for it, too. Iron Man recovers consciousness (wakes up?) garbed in yet another new armor (cool!) feeling ... drunk?? Aw no! But wait -- that ain't it! After spewing in his helmet, Stark realizes it isn't a "drunk" sick. He's suited up in his "High Gravity Armor," and proceeds to determine just what is going on. As he [slowly] makes his way around the ... ship(?) the ... Titanium Man appears! Iron Man wastes no time in landing a haymaker, but after the armored duo trade a few blows, T-Man pleads for IM to stop. It's then that Stark realizes where they are: Space! Suddenly, a video recording of Tony Stark appears on a screen detailing the situation: A rogue comet will hit Earth, and the ship IM is on (accelerating at 50 gravities!) is the planet's only hope!
T-Man is revealed to be an "Andy Stockwell," who is to assist Iron Man in his mission. The duo work at the necessary tasks to annihilate the comet, and their first laser blast ends most of the danger. But, in "Deep Impact-like" fashion, there's still a small portion of the comet remaining that can still cause major havoc. As IM prepares to fire a second laser blast to thwart this threat, T-Man rocks IM with a right cross! (On a spectacular splash-page, too!) He reveals himself to be a communist member of The Hammer, and is determined to allow the small part of the comet to hit because it'll destroy the northern Western Hemisphere! As T-Man reaches for the control which will stop the ship's second laser blast, he realizes that IM has firing key! IM informs T-Man that his ploy had several flaws: One, he caught himself almost saying "cosmonaut," and two, he pronounced "Energia" (the massive Russian rocket) with a "hard 'G'" -- the way it should be pronounced in Russian -- as opposed to almost any American who would've said it like the word "energy." Enraged, T-Man attempts to manually destroy the laser -- but it's too late! The massive gun fires, throwing T-Man off into space!
JJM is almost like a 21st century Len Kaminski in that he has expertly woven left-open plot threads into current stories (remember the "silent" IM issue where IM battled T-Man -- vol.3 #49 -- and we all wondered what happened?), and then closed the matter! Excellent! Having Stark use his brain instead of brawn -- again -- is always a great touch. And yet another a new armor! How can you be disappointed? You really can't, unless you wanna nitpick on just how T-Man managed to get aboard the spacecraft, and whether he's still alive or not. (My guess: He is alive. After all, T-Man has boot jets which would enable him to fly, even in space. The laser blast probably just knocked him unconscious, that's why he's seen floating away. The only catching point is just far away from Earth they were. 50 gravities is a hell of a huge acceleration, so I'd posit that they were quite far from Terra. But you know that can't keep a good super-villain down!!)
Hube's Recommendation: 3 1/2 repulsors!
Fan Reaction: Great review on IM #83. I do agree JJ does a great job of weaving in old plot lines into current story arcs without a lot of baggage. However, I still had one question concerning the return of TM. What happened to the bald look he had (okay he grew some hair, I can answer that one), as well as the plug that went into the back of his head into his armor? Was he initially reliant on the armor for life support, and did he "get better?" Was the armor modified so that this plug was no longer necessary? If so, why was it on him in the first place? Was he a "guinea pig" of some sorts over and beyond his explanation about being a security guard to IM? Still some mysteries to be resolved.... --
Fan Reaction 2: I really like the Cold War theme of this story, since Iron Man started out as a cold war character. But this story does nothing to tie up loose ends from issue #49 and I'm really disappointed that Marvel did nothing about it. Is the guy in the Titanium Man armor supposed to be the same character in said issue? -- FastMike71@aol.com
