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Invincible Iron Man #224

Nov 1987
David Michelinie, M. D. Bright

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Story Name:

Low Noon!


Synopsis

Invincible Iron Man #224 synopsis by T Vernon
Rating: 4.5 stars
In the police station, Clay “Force” Wilson is about to be killed by Justin Hammer's costumed goons Blacklash, Beetle, and Blizzard while Tony Stark stands by helplessly. A rally by the cops distracts the villains and Blizzard seals the room shut with a wall of ice. Outside, Rhodey drives a SWAT tank through the prison wall and drives off with Tony and Clay. As Rhodey takes Clay back to Stark Enterprises, Tony returns to the station to find that the bad guys have departed in a flying car. The police captain wants to arrest Tony on multiple charges but his one phone call—to Mayor Tom Bradley—gets him off the hook, for now. Clay Wilson is kept in protective custody at the company—and Rhodey still isn't sure Wilson is legit....

The three villains in their civilian clothes meet with Justin Hammer who is disappointed in them. Blacklash and Beetle blame the rookie Blizzard for the foul-up. Hammer has them cool their heels while his intelligence team locates Wilson again....

Interlude: Scott Lang moves into a Los Angeles suburb with his daughter Cassie and his Ant-Man suit.

Tony Stark asks the police to patrol near the old Gunshot Gulch cowboy amusement park, knowing that Justin Hammer's spies will assume Clay Wilson is being held there and inform their boss. Soon the bad guy trio arrives at the park where they are met by Iron Man and Clay Wilson. Rhodey, working the animatronic figures remotely, has the mechanical cowboys open fire on the baddies; Shellhead then goes for the distracted villains. Clay arrives in his Force armor and sends out an EMP to cancel out the baddies' weapons; problem: it also shuts down the Iron Man armor. The good guys have 6 minutes to defeat the villains before their power returns. Rhodey finds Blacklash in the saloon and beats him in a martial arts duel, nunchucks vs. bo. Iron Man confronts Beetle in a barn where they fight until Beetle unwittingly pulls down the central support to use as a weapon; Shellhead gets out before the place comes down. Force faces Blizzard in the control room. Panicking, the now repowered Blizzard fires an ice beam at Force—which conducts the latter's electrical charge back to its source, knocking Blizzard for a loop. Blacklash and Beetle get away as the heroes take custody of their amateurish partner. What to do about Justin Hammer, though? Tony reports to the police that Force was killed in an accident, after which “Carl Walker” begins a new career at a Stark subsidiary.

 

Review / Commentaries


Invincible Iron Man #224 Review by (April 4, 2017)
Comments: Part two of two parts. Title is a parody of the classic Western film HIGH NOON, the climax of which is loosely reenacted here. There's a joke about Edwin Meese, Attorney General in the Reagan Administration. Tony phones Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley (in office 1973-1993).

Review: Western action in Iron Man? Why not? An attractive wrap-up to the two-part tale combines the cowboy stuff with that prison break opening for a clear win. Oddest bit: the thugs meet with Hammer in a sumptuous office—then it is revealed they are on his private plane' I'm not sure why the creative team thought that was a big surprise? One big question: since Iron Man's plan was to trap the villains at the park, why did he actually have Clay Wilson there? He would be safer literally anywhere else. But then James Bond did the same thing with M in SKYFALL and we know how that turned out [heh heh]. Oh well, I guess Tony (and the writer) wanted the extra help fighting the baddies.


> Invincible Iron Man comic book info and issue index

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