Invincible Iron Man #136: Review

Jul 1980

David Michelinie, Alan Weiss

Story Name:

The Beginning of the Endotherm!

Review & Comments

Rating:

Invincible Iron Man #136 Review by T Vernon (May 28, 2015)

Comments: First appearance of Endotherm, who improbably returns in IRON MAN: FATAL FRONTIER and IRON MAN (2012 series) #25-18. Title is a pun on the saying “The beginning of the end.” Tony briefly sings “England Swings,” an American country song by Roger Miller.

Review: Another baddie with ice powers? There had better be something to make this new guy worthwhile, rather than bringing back Blizzard. Wait, he has heat powers too—but the icy stuff predominates. So what makes Endotherm different? He’s a cool professional who turns out to be crazy—which is also not very original. The art saves this story, hiding the derivative plot elements to result in an entertaining read. Plus we have the rocket-powered roller skates not seen in some time, so maybe it all evens out.

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Synopsis / Summary / Plot

Invincible Iron Man #136 Synopsis by T Vernon

Tony Stark arrives by plane in London; on the trip over he has been chatting with Sybil Carmichael, a gorgeous publisher who is trying to persuade him to write his memoirs. He arranges for a dinner date with the lovely lady then heads to Stark International’s London headquarters. There he encounters security chief Tom Wilkins, who assumes Tony is there to fire him from his job. Wilkins blames himself for letting a guard take off to attend his child’s birth which led to an industrial spy sneaking in and stealing some important plans. That incident was followed by several acts of sabotage and theft that Tony has come to investigate. He notices that the building is suddenly growing colder; checking the heating system Tony discovers ice coating the walls. A villain called Endotherm who can control heat and cold by the power of stolen Stark technology enters on a mission to kill Tony Stark for his master; he finds himself facing Iron Man instead. The baddie calls up a raging blizzard there in the hall and Shellhead uses his rocket powered roller skates to zip through the storm, sliding to an undignified crash at the end. A second blizzard kicks up and Endotherm releases a large quantity of heat he has absorbed which, meeting the cold suddenly, causes an explosion that knocks the Armored Avenger flat. The villain uses his power to freeze Iron Man’s armor while he makes his getaway…..
The following day Tony cancels his date with Sybil and finds the bitter Tom Wilkins, who blames himself for the crime spree and resigns. Elsewhere we see Endotherm arguing with his employer on the phone; accused of cowardice the bad guy vows to kill both Stark and Iron Man. Problem is, the phone has been disconnected….
That night, Endotherm enters the Stark building and coats the walls in a sheet of ice. Iron Man arrives, wearing an ice coating, which prevents the villain from absorbing his heat. Instead, Endotherm draws a gun that fires sharp ice particles—which do not affect the hero. The bad guy releases his absorbed heat to melt Iron Man’s protective shell but by the time the ice is gone, the hero is close enough to punch his lights out. Unmasking him, Tony discovers he is Tom Wilkins, driven to madness by his fear of losing his job. Tony grants Tom his pension to pay for his psychiatric care….