Invincible Iron Man #247: Review

Oct 1989

David Michelinie, Bob Layton

Story Name:

Malled!

Review & Comments

Rating:

Invincible Iron Man #247 Review by T Vernon (September 19, 2017)

Comments: Part three of three parts. Story takes place between THE INCREDIBLE HULK #360 and 361. Assistant DA Linda Vincent appears only here and in the next issue. Hulk hurls a Dreadnought into a Radio Shack and we see toy robots that sound like R2D2 and C3PO (and the one that says “e chuta” to Threepio) from STAR WARS, Robby the Robot from FORBIDDEN PLANET, and the robot from LOST IN SPACE.

Review: A guest appearance by the Hulk! And it's not the usual “Hulk smash!” Green Hulk but one of the interesting ones viz Gray Hulk/Joe Fixit, an intelligent Hulk who sounds like a gangster! Nice guest shot that does not involve the two heroes teaming up but kind of running alongside of one another achieving similar goals (smashing robots) and getting us no nearer to solving the mystery of Madame Masque! And then there's the issue's other big name guest star: President George H.W. Bush. It's always an amusing bit when the current Prez shows up in a comic and this one has the unintended irony that the art makes him look a lot like the bad FBI Agent Mallard. Weird!

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Synopsis / Summary / Plot

Invincible Iron Man #247 Synopsis by T Vernon

At the North Pole, Iron Man meets with the Supreme Hydra and the AIM Scientist Supreme at their request; they want him to capture their rival, the Maggia’s Madame Masque, and deliver her to them to end the war between the Maggia, Hydra, and A.I.M.. Appalled, Iron Man rejects their offer. They turn to plan B....

Assistant DA Linda Vincent stops by to go over some points about the Kathy Dare incident and she flirts with Tony but he isn't interested....

Abe Zimmer checks the results of the worm he put on the net and is surprised....

Gray Hulk, no longer Joe Fixit, arrives in LA and meets with the two criminal leaders at their secret hideout beneath a mall, where he accepts the job of capturing Madame Masque for them. Meanwhile, Tony Stark has contacted FBI Agent Mallard with the info but he tells Stark rudely to mind his own business, so he heads after the Maggia as Iron Man. Hulk captures Madame Masque and Iron Man arrives just in time to follow him to the enemies’ secret hideout. On his way out of the mall after being paid his fee, Hulk is attacked by the Dreadnoughts and Iron Man descends into the secret lower level to battle the combined forces of Hydra and AIM. In the fracas, Iron Man frees Masque and she escapes. FBI Agent Mallard assures him Masque is safe: the Feds have allied themselves with the Maggia to take down AIM and Hydra. Iron Man records this confession of illegal activity and sends it to the President, who announces an investigation of the rogue FBI faction. Hulk, meanwhile, his clothes and cash burned up in the fight, tries to figure out a way to make the LA trip pay off. In the end, Tony Stark decides to step down as head of Stark Enterprises....