Invincible Iron Man #71: Review

Nov 1974

Mike Friedrich, George Tuska

Story Name:

Battle: Tooth and Yellow Claw! Confrontation: part 3!

Review & Comments

Rating:

Invincible Iron Man #71 Review by T Vernon (January 7, 2014)

Review: Thrill-a-minute action issue: this is what Silver Age comics are all about! By the way, if Iron Man’s armor can be immobilized by breaking just one wire in his wrist, I’d call that a major design flaw.

Comments: Part four of four parts, despite the title. On the cover, Iron Man is burning through page 4 of issue #70. Tony mentions helping Roxie Gilbert search for Marty March just before he leaves Vietnam but it never occurs to him to check to see if she’s found him—or even still alive, since he abandoned her in the jungle while he dealt with Sunfire in issue #68.

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Synopsis / Summary / Plot

Invincible Iron Man #71 Synopsis by T Vernon

As Iron Man zooms to the late Mandarin’s castle for a confrontation with the Yellow Claw, that villain is gloating over his scheme to possess the Golden Globe offered by the Black Lama to the greatest supervillain. Meanwhile, the Claw’s servant, Loc Do, has confiscated the Mandarin’s rings and plots to wield power himself. The hero crashes into the villain’s lair and the Claw calls out his first weapon. It is a cyborg green blob, which ensnares Iron Man in its pseudopods and drags him toward a furnace. Shellhead blasts open the furnace wiring and the monster is electrocuted and disintegrates. Iron Man is then attacked by an army of mini-robots firing small laser guns and which explode when hit. They swarm over the hero and disconnect his wiring. They then place him in a rocket full of explosive mini-robots and launch him into the sky; the hero manages to reconnect his wiring and escape in the nick of time. He shocks the Yellow Claw by returning unharmed….
Meanwhile, Marty March has introduced Roxanne Gilbert to the mysterious underground city which he helped build—and the chief, Kuon Set, decrees that he must die to maintain the secret of Dragonfire….
Back at the castle, the Yellow Claw has sicced a giant bug which breathes radioactive fire on Iron Man; the hero smashes direly through the beast and its blood extinguishes the flames. He then dives into a pool to wash off the acidic blood. As the Claw is claiming the prize from the Black Lama, Iron Man walks in and surprises them again. Shellhead blasts the Lama but the ray passes right through him and destroys some machinery. The castle explodes but the two villains and the hero escape safely.
Epilogue: Tony Stark returns to New York where he receives the good news about Happy and Pepper’s reconciliation—and he hires Happy as chief of security.