Invincible Iron Man #203: Review

Feb 1986

Dennis O'Neil, M. D. Bright

Story Name:

The Maze

Review & Comments

Rating:

Invincible Iron Man #203 Review by T Vernon (October 4, 2016)

Comments: Part two of three parts. Obadiah Stane is seen only in the flashbacks, of course. Iron Man mentions having trouble with A.I.M. last issue; it was actually #201 and the fill-in issue #202 got in the way. The price is raised to $.75 with this issue.

Review: Mind-swap tales can be pretty silly but this one keeps it fairly normal by focusing on the hero's “fantastic voyage” into a computer. Shellhead's journey anticipates THE MATRIX (or rips off TRON) and manages to be similar to yet different than the alien dimension in issue #194. It's cool and (sort of) different and works on all levels.

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Synopsis / Summary / Plot

Invincible Iron Man #203 Synopsis by T Vernon

A flashback reveals what's going on: Obadiah Stane had his personal mad scientist Dr. Theron Atlanta switch the minds of Bethany Cabe and Madame Masque in their bodies....
Now Iron Man shows up at the airport to pick up “Bethany” as Madame Masque seeks revenge for the death of her father in issue #116. He flies her to his rented beach house, where they are interrupted by a bitter Clytemnestra Erwin bringing info on where Obadiah Stane has hidden all of Tony's stolen wealth; Shellhead has only fifteen hours to enter the computer and remove the cash before it is automatically deleted. Meanwhile, “Bethany” is waiting for a clear shot at Tony's head, though Cly is in the way. This urgent matter takes Tony off again, frustrating Masque's scheme one more time....
On Long Island, “Madame Masque” forces a pilot to fly her to California....
Though Tony has mixed feelings about recovering his wealth (will the need to drink return with it?) he has Hank Pym shrink him down to microscopic size and he enters Stane's computer via the modem. The hero makes his way through the maze that is a computer, dodging hostile programs called ermarks. After a tense time against the enemy programs, Shellhead manages to boost his power from a transformer housing and destroys the ermarks. He is then just in time to rescue the file from erasure and learn where his money is hiding....
After his adventure, Tony returns to the beach house where “Bethany” steps out, gun pointed at his face, preparing to kill him. Suddenly, “Madame Masque” bursts in and shoots the other woman in the shoulder, leaving Tony Stark totally confused....