Invincible Iron Man #7: Review

Nov 1968

Archie Goodwin, George Tuska

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Story Name:

The Maggia Strikes

Review & Comments

Rating:

Invincible Iron Man #7 Review by T Vernon (October 10, 2012)

Review: Whoa! Cool cover! It’s always exciting when the villain damages the comic’s logo and the story inside follows up on that promise. I always thought the macho and arrogant Gladiator was a nifty bad guy (buzz saws on his hands? Far out, man!) and Silver Age comics generally were more adventurous and creative in setting a hero against another good guy’s enemies. Here Iron Man meets his match in the Gladiator, despite the latter’s impractical design—no protection on his arms? And putting whirling saw blades on one’s wrists is just asking for trouble: bend the hand the wrong way and he’ll never play the piano again. This issue is a lot of fun: Action! Suspense! Janice thinks Tony is a jerk! It’s all here!

Comments: Part one of a two-part story. First appearance of Vincent Sandhurst. There’s a reference to Long John Nebel, the radio talk show host whose program dealt with UFOs and the paranormal.

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Synopsis / Summary / Plot

Invincible Iron Man #7 Synopsis by T Vernon

As the story opens, Maggia hoods are rehearsing for their coming assault on Stark Enterprises under the supervision of their leader, the Big M. Big M, Whitney Frost, is having second thoughts because of her feelings for Jasper Sitwell, who risked his life for her (last issue). She then reveals their secret weapon: the Gladiator, still reeling from his defeat by Daredevil (in DD #19-23) but, with his new augmented armor, confident of his ability to beat Iron Man. The mercenary pressures Whitney into setting the raid for that evening and she heads to the plant to persuade Jasper to stay away. Meanwhile, Jasper is still bitter at being treated badly by Iron Man (last issue) and Tony Stark is reluctant to voice his suspicions of Whitney Frost. Tony then receives a surprise visit from Janice Cord and her lawyer Vincent Sandhurst with a proposal that Tony buy out her father’s company. On the way back from a tour of Drexel Cord’s castle/laboratory (see issue #2) they are captured by the Maggia and taken to their hideout in an abandoned factory. There, Tony discovers that socialite Whitney Frost is really the Big M, and that he (along with Janice and Sandhurst) is the bait to lure Iron Man into a battle with Gladiator, allowing the Maggia strike force to loot the Stark plant at will. After Big M and her team leave, Tony fakes a heart seizure as a decoy to allow him to escape into the woods and change into Iron Man. Unaware of his dual identity, Janice can only think that Tony is a selfish coward for saving himself. Iron Man arrives moments later and does battle with the guards in the abandoned factory; however, saving Janice and Sandhurst from some falling machinery injures his hands even within his iron gauntlets. Gladiator attacks him and the two foes are evenly matched as the villain’s armor is also wired for electric shocks—and the hero finds his repulsor rays are damaged and useless….

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