Invincible Iron Man #303: Review

Apr 1993

Len Kaminski, Kev Hopgood

Story Name:

Kids These Days

Review & Comments

Rating:

Invincible Iron Man #303 Review by T Vernon (December 11, 2018)

Comments: “Crash and Burn” part three of six. Cap's problem with his Super-Soldier serum is the “Fighting Chance” story arc in CAPTAIN AMERICA #425-437 at this time. Issue includes an announcement of the forthcoming FORCE WORKS.

Review: Tony Stark is a poor schnook: he just wants to make everything right and people keep picking fights with him. Here, Iron Man gets to whip a team of young heroes and schools them in age and treachery, like sticking an anti-gravity device to the humongous Rage. The fight scenes are rather nicely done, including two double-page spreads and are a lot of fun. On the other hand, the Tony/Steve meeting, designed to remind Tony (and the reader) that Tony has friends when he needs them, looks strange with the poorly drawn faces and the pink/white skin coloring; don't these guys go out in the sun? And at last I must confess, the story does jump around in time quite a bit so I put it in chronological order to make it an easier synopsis. And you thought my job looked easy.

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Synopsis / Summary / Plot

Invincible Iron Man #303 Synopsis by T Vernon

Captain America meets with Tony Stark to find out how he's handling the latest scandal. Tony confesses he has been overwhelmed by the public backlash over the reports of criminal behavior by Stark Enterprises. Steve in turn reveals that he is losing his powers and they trade tips on how to cope with frustration; Tony mentions driving a car for the first time since his recovery (and telling Veronica Benning about his past with Bethany Cabe). Steve and Tony chat about the importance of secret identities and Cap's plans to choose a successor: John Walker didn't work out; Tony's choice of Jim Rhodes as the new Iron Man was also a problem. Tony is alerted to trouble so Cap takes his leave, and they arrange to meet over dinner later....

Tony dons the Iron Man armor and checks out the problem: a Stane hydroelectric dam in Africa is the target of the New Warriors, Night Thrasher calling for an evacuation before they demolish it. Shellhead heads to the scene and confronts the team; Thrasher explains that Stane used criminal tactics including murder to suppress local opposition and now the dam is a threat to the environment. Iron Man insists he won't let them destroy it. A battle breaks out with Iron Man holding his own against Night Thrasher, Speedball, Rage, Firestar, and Nova—for a while at least. The ruckus causes the dam to collapse, burying Shellhead; when he comes to, he spies an equally demolished Thrasher. Helping his foe out of the rubble, Iron Man is now confronted by Thunderstrike, who promises to kick Shellhead's butt....