Invincible Iron Man #69: Review

Aug 1974

Mike Friedrich, George Tuska

Story Name:

Confrontation! Part One

Review & Comments

Rating:

Invincible Iron Man #69 Review by T Vernon (December 24, 2013)

Review: An all-battle issue is pretty exciting, thanks to the Mandarin looking like a real threat and Tuska’s art maximizes the fun. Plus, getting doused with napalm again causes Tony to regret some of his earlier decisions. And what a thrilling double climax—Ultimo rises and the hero is shot into orbit!

Comments: Part two of four parts, despite the title. First appearance of Marty March. Issue includes a guide to Mandarin’s rings! When last seen in issue #68, Unicorn was lying unconscious on the floor of the lab; he is completely forgotten in this issue as the lab is destroyed and sunk. He’s fine when he returns in issue #113.

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Synopsis / Summary / Plot

Invincible Iron Man #69 Synopsis by T Vernon

An angry Iron Man zooms underwater and smashes a hole in the Mandarin’s undersea base; the villain activates the hydraulic lift and raises the building to the ocean surface. The captive Sunfire encourages the Mandarin to boast about his plans to retake his main headquarters from the usurping villain the Yellow Claw. Iron Man bursts in and a battle begins which ends when a blast from one of the villain’s rings coats the hero in flaming napalm. Shellhead jets high into the air and converts the flames to power but his foe pursues in the sky and, in the dogfight, accidentally destroys his own fortress. As it sinks beneath the waves, Iron Man waits for Sunfire to surface—but he doesn’t….
Back in New York, Eddie March, now paraplegic, assures Pepper Potts he will be fine, once he finds his missing brother Marty. Happy Hogan enters with a surprising proposal to work out his marital problems with Pepper….
In Vietnam, Roxanne Gilbert searches the abandoned village and is seized by a man she recognizes as Marty March….
Iron Man dives into the sinking fortress and destroys the super-manacles holding Sunfire and brings the mutant enemy to the surface. Distracted, the hero is an easy target for the Mandarin’s attacks. The villain blasts his chestplate directly, causing Tony to have heart pain; Mandarin then delivers a karate blow that knocks Iron Man unconscious just as he tries to jet away. Mandarin then turns his attention to the Yellow Claw. The second villain looks out from the battlements of his stolen castle to see Ultimo crashing up from the ground. Meanwhile, an unconscious Iron Man continues to jet upward…into space….