Invincible Iron Man #170: Review

May 1983

Dennis O'Neil, Luke McDonnell

Story Name:

And Who Shall Clothe Himself In Iron?

Review & Comments

Rating:

Invincible Iron Man #170 Review by T Vernon (January 18, 2016)

Comments: Part two of the two-part Magma story. Wasp has a cameo at the other end of a telephone.

Review: Rhodey’s baptism by fire comes at the hands of a third-rate baddie but it’s good enough, we witness his struggles and questions about the new responsibility he has taken on and the ride is thrilling. A very good issue, even though it’s at the expense of Tony hitting bottom; that only ratchets up the drama and uncertainty of where the series is going. And I like Morley Erwin, delighted to be able to help Iron Man though curious as to why Shellhead doesn’t know how his own armor works; some cute irony there.

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Synopsis / Summary / Plot

Invincible Iron Man #170 Synopsis by T Vernon

James Rhodes dons the Iron Man armor as the villain Magma is on his way driving a deadly machine and Tony Stark has passed out drunk. Unsure of how to work the armor, Rhodey asks the first person he meets, new Stark employee Morley Erwin, to help him puzzle it out….
Elsewhere, Obadiah Stane hears the news of Magma dispatches his Knight to join in the game….
The newbie Iron Man attacks his foe in vain, eventually getting the idea to maneuver Magma into firing upon a tank of liquid oxygen which explodes violently…but a few moments later Rhodey learns that the villain’s murder machine is unharmed….
Back at the plant, the power comes on again and the drunken Tony sees on the scanner that another Iron Man is fighting the bad guy. He tries to enter his armory but finds he can’t remember how to open the door. Frustrated, he takes another drink….
Magma decides to destroy a small building unaware that it is Tony’s private lab and that Tony is inside. As Tony gives in to despair, the new Iron Man expends all his power to prevent the villain. Suddenly, the Knight dispatched by Obadiah Stane arrives and fires a bolt that shorts out all of Magma’s systems. [Stane explains to Indres Moomji that his interest is not in saving Stark but in preserving his property for his own use.] The villain escapes his now-useless monster machine and enters the lab encountering Tony Stark. Rhodey enters behind him and the hero dodges his enemy’s fire and then, at Tony’s suggestion, responds with his own repulsors. Magma is out of ammo and easily subdued; Shellhead tosses him to the police while dropping his monster machine off at the junkyard. Rhodey returns to Tony who tells him to keep the armor, he will be enjoying himself for a change. Rhodey warns him about drinking but Tony shuts him up and heads out. Frustrated, Rhodey calls Avengers Mansion to say he is quitting the team to deal with Stark’s troubles full-time….