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Invincible Iron Man #219: Review

Jun 1987

David Michelinie, Bob Layton

Story Name:

Ghost Story

Review & Comments

Rating:

Invincible Iron Man #219 Review by T Vernon (February 21, 2017)

Comments: Part one of three parts. First appearance of the Ghost. First appearance of Bert Hindel, Tony's lawyer. Revelation: Rhodey likes Zagnut candy bars. Tony has developed a state-of-the-art health monitoring system. SHIELD's attempt to take control of Stark Industries in issues #119 and following is referred to.

Review: I must admit—I found the Ghost to be an intriguing new villain for Iron Man. Not because of his character, he's the standard embittered ex-employee type, but for his skill set. This guy really can reach anyone, anywhere and no one is safe from his attacks. And this is tied in with Tony's financial troubles—a situation unique to Iron Man—putting more than just lives but several livelihoods at risk. And it was nice of Tony to rescind Zimmer's forced retirement, showing he knows how to take care of his employees. The art is quite good and makes much of a spooky invisible man in an impossible cat-and-mouse chase. The oddest part is in the beginning with several hot babes going plotzo over Tony; is he really that sexy?

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Synopsis / Summary / Plot

Invincible Iron Man #219 Synopsis by T Vernon

Tony jogs along the beach, attracting the attention of every woman there, while listening to notes transcribed by his secretary through a tiny earphone. A pair of ravishing ladies offer Tony a ride (calling him “Sly,” as in “Stallone” I guess) but he turns them down as his ride—a massive helicopter—has arrived. Tony showers and changes on board as Rhodey flies him to a meeting with Accutech; when they arrive, they discover a forest fire threatening the company HQ. Tony quickly dons the Iron Man armor and zooms ahead to dig a firebreak between the flames and the building; he then takes a tanker full of fire-retardant foam from the airport and uses it to extinguish the bulk of the fire....

As Tony Stark he arrives at the Accutech meeting. There he sees the plans for the Beta Particle Generator, which will provide a cleaner energy source when it is perfected. The problem is, after a run of bad luck, the company is on the verge of bankruptcy and must sell out to Stark. An older employee, Abraham Zimmer, claims the company has been sabotaged by a ghost, which he has seen; he is dismissed as a crank by the CEO and will be forced into retirement next year....

Tony returns to his office to find the place a madhouse, barely contained by his secretary Miss Williams. He goes into his quarters and broods as to how, if the Accutech deal fails, he may lose everything. The next day, Tony returns to Accutech to finalize the deal when security guards are attacked by an unseen menace and the alarm triggered. Once more changing into Iron Man, the hero searches for the cause and sees a ghostly figure materialize out of thin air. The fellow introduces himself as the Ghost and challenges Shellhead to catch him. Crashing through walls, the Golden Avenger realizes the futility of trying to catch a foe who can turn invisible and pass through solid objects; the baddie escapes but leaves a small bomb behind for Iron Man to find. In the automated wing, Shellhead sends out a painful sonic wave which forces the Ghost to rematerialize. Guards and executives arrive on the scene, so the Ghost tosses another bomb; Iron Man leaps on it to shield the others and the Ghost gets away. Iron Man vindicates Zimmer's story and then a message arrives on a monitor: the Ghost threatens to kill Tony Stark....

Barberoids 1 cover original artwork on ebay

David Michelinie

Bob Layton

Bob Sharen

Bob Layton (Cover Penciler)
Bob Layton (Cover Inker)

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