Invincible Iron Man #155: Review

Feb 1982

David Michelinie, John Romita Jr.

Story Name:

The Back-Getters!

Review & Comments

Rating:

Invincible Iron Man #155 Review by T Vernon (October 6, 2015)

Comments: Co-plotter/artist Bob Layton leaves the title with this issue. Publicity director Artemus Pithens was previously seen in issues #146-148; his next appearance will be in #173. Boxing champ Larry Holmes is mentioned briefly as are the Bee Gees singing “Stayin’ Alive.” .

Review: A smaller scale story about family relations, neglected teens, and workaholic fathers add some human dimension to the series (it can’t all be about supervillains). The scenes with the out-of-control tank seem roughly shoehorned in but it was the only way to have some actions in the show. And for some comedy, there was the soldier in charge of the tank having conniptions as it is slowly bashed apart by Iron Man. Okay.

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Synopsis / Summary / Plot

Invincible Iron Man #155 Synopsis by T Vernon

Late at night in a suburban Long Island high school, a boy named Gerry is running frantically from unseen tormentors. In his panic he stumbles on the stairs and is knocked unconscious….
Days later at Stark International, a heavy crane is improperly parked and it begins to roll downhill toward some unsuspecting workmen. Suddenly, Iron Man swoops down and brings the machine to a halt. He gives the workers a warning and zips off to Tony Stark’s new working/living area. Changing into his alter ego, the hero takes care of some business and stops by the publicity department to meet with Artie Pithins. Tony arrives to find Pithins firing staffer Ms Caruthers over a minor mistake. Pithins is in a bad mood because his son Gerry (from page 1) was beaten up in school, the latest in a series of assaults and drug overdoses at the school. The school is holding a career fair the next day, and Pithens asks Tony if Iron Man could attend as a good role model for the youths….
At home for dinner, Artie has a confrontation with his son, who lies about his injuries and accuses his father of being overprotective….
At the fair, Pithins is approached by a group of boys led by Mark Simmons, student council president; they ask about Gerry, then wander off. Gerry apologizes to his Dad and wants to talk but Iron Man arrives at just that moment to put on his show. While Shellhead does acrobatics, Gerry is lured to the gym with a fake note. There he is confronted by Simmons and the gang who want to finish their job. Gerry calls for help but the whole crowd hears and comes running preventing Pithins and Iron Man from reaching the gym. A kid sitting in a tank accidentally starts it up and it heads for the school; Iron Man turns aside to stop it which is more difficult then he had hoped. Meanwhile, Pithins faces the punks beating on his son; it is revealed that Gerry is the source of the bad drugs that have caused several injuries and the good kids have been dishing out some vigilante justice. Pithins persuades them to talk it out, which, had he done so earlier, his son would not have turned to crime.
Epilogue: The boys will get off lightly for their crimes. Ms Caruthers is reinstated and a huge bouquet of roses welcomes her back. And though he isn’t talking, Tony suspects the roses came from Artemus Pithins.