Invincible Iron Man #179: Review

Feb 1984

Dennis O'Neil, Luke McDonnell

Story Name:

Mission Into Darkness

Review & Comments

Rating:

Invincible Iron Man #179 Review by T Vernon (March 29, 2016)

Comments: Part one of three parts. Mandarin appears as the voice of Radioactive Man's mysterious master. Colorist Roy G. Biv (the mnemonic for the colors in the spectrum) is a pseudonym for an unidentified artist.

Review: Nicely done issue boils down to a battle between Iron Man and Radioactive Man; it's good but lacks a bit of the magic the creators have been offering lately. Still good though.

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Synopsis / Summary / Plot

Invincible Iron Man #179 Synopsis by T Vernon

In Greece, Iron Man (James Rhodes) says farewell to his allies the Eternals (see ANNUAL #6), then phones home to talk to Morley Erwin. Morley tell him that someone is interested in hiring Iron Man in Hong Kong.
Tony and his drinking buddy Gretl Anders (introduced last issue) are getting drunk to celebrate the news that she is pregnant....
Shellhead arrives in Hong Kong at night and is almost immediately attacked by a trio of punks who he easily clobbers. He boards a boat where he meets his client Winston Phlan and his adviser Marko. Phlan is an American movie producer who is shooting a film on mainland China; his problem is that all of the film stock he shipped to the mainland was ruined in transit and he wants Iron Man to find out why. Marko offers a clue: one of the dock workers was super-strong, catching a massive crate as it fell. Now Phlan wants Shellhead to guard the next film shipment. Rhodey heads to the docks where the same three punks from before are looking for something to steal. They are caught by a huge laborer who hurls them away. Iron Man arrives to see this laborer throw a forklift. As he searches the area for this mystery man, his head is suddenly full of pain from an unseen force....
Tony Stark discovers that the last of his assets has been frozen, thanks to the manipulations of Obadiah Stane. His only recourse is to get drunk with Gretl....
Rhodey calls Morley Erwin in New York where he learns that the likely cause of the ruin of the film stock was radiation—and that the Avengers had a foe called Radioactive Man. Morley and Clytemnestra talk about Rhodey and she doesn't envy him. Iron Man now guards the film stock but is spotted by Radioactive Man who reports to his unseen master and is told to kill the hero. They brawl and Rhodey finds his opponent incredibly strong but more concerned about a crate of mechanical devices. Concluding that Radioactive Man was on a guardian job himself, Iron Man rips up the dock and dunks him and the devices into the water. The bad guy swims away and reports to his master who is sorely displeased. Iron Man reports back to Phlan and Marko and is paid his fee....
Bedded down for the night in a flophouse, Tony assures Gretl that he loves her....