Invincible Iron Man #192: Review

Mar 1985

Dennis O'Neil, Luke McDonnell

Story Name:

A Duel of Iron

Review & Comments

Rating:

Invincible Iron Man #192 Review by T Vernon (July 4, 2016)

Comments: Part two of two parts. Vibro is next seen in CAPTAIN AMERICA #340, escaping from the Vault.

Review: It's brains versus brawn as Tony in a primitive armor takes on Rhodey in an advanced suit and everything goes well, bringing the “crazy Rhodey” subplot to its peak, ready to move back toward the status quo once again (the last page says, “A New Beginning” for next issue). And in a bit of psychological depth, Tony has to keep his Tony Stark and Iron Man identities separate lest he crack-up again (like Rhodey). And it's a nice touch when Rhodey taunts Tony about his alcoholism during the chase through the winery, giving a sharp emotional edge to the physical violence. Very nice opening expands on the cover of TALES OF SUSPENSE #39 as Tony dons the armor for the first time since issue #169 (not counting the final page of the last issue). The rest of the art is spectacular with several nice sequences in the Iron Man versus Iron Man duel—and the Tony versus Vibro bit is way cool.

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Synopsis / Summary / Plot

Invincible Iron Man #192 Synopsis by Rob Johnson

Tony Stark, wearing the new suit of clunky gray Iron Man armor (modeled after the original), is determined to stop an out-of-control James Rhodes in the superior current armor; Clytemnestra Erwin gives him a kiss for luck and hopes he will be all right....
At the air show, Rhodey IM puts a hole in a wall to help evacuate the building while the villainous Vibro shoots down an airplane and sends a series of powerful shockwaves through Shellhead when he tries to rescue the plane heading for the crowd; suddenly a new gray Iron Man arrives to guide the plane to safety. Rhodey IM has to duck out of sight to recover his equilibrium so Tony IM tosses Vibro into the air, using his repulsors to blast him higher and higher until the lack of oxygen causes him to pass out and he carries the baddie off....
Rhodey learns from the Erwins that Tony was in the other armor and he takes it as a personal insult so when a humble Tony returns, Rhodey picks a fight with him and clobbers his one-time friend. While Tony tries to reason with him, Rhodey blasts him with the repulsors and then the unibeam; a makeshift reflector sends the latter blast back to its source, shorting it out. Tony draws Rhodey away from the firefighters who arrive to extinguish the fires and once more tries to reason with him. That doesn't work so Tony emits a shrill whistle to disorient Rhodey long enough to magnetize his suit with a positive charge. Tony does the same with his own armor ensuring that the two combatants keep repelling one another. Tony then uses his projector to create a host of duplicate Iron Men, further confusing Rhodey, allowing him to snag one of Rhodey's power pods and he takes refuge in a winery. Rhodey chases Tony, overpowers him, and takes back his power pod—and then suddenly the rogue hero can't move. Tony tampered with the pod to paralyze the armor so that he can talk to his old friend safely. Rhodey insists all he has ever wanted since he was a little kid was to be a hero—and now Tony is going to take that away from him. Tony denies it and takes off the gray armor bit by bit and repairs the power pod, telling Rhodey he can now do anything he wants. Rhodey slowly rises from the ground—and shakes his friend's hand....