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Invincible Iron Man #50: Review

Mar 2002
Mike Grell, Michael Ryan

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Story Name:

Tin Man

Review & Comments

Rating:
4 stars

Invincible Iron Man #50 Review by (October 30, 2020)
Comments: Tony makes several references to the TV series MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE (which inspired the more recent movie series of that name); Happy Hogan mentions CITIZEN KANE. The war setting gives Tony a flashback to his creation of Iron Man, with Wong-Chu and Yinsen appearing. And, unlikely as it seems, Ayisha returns in issues #53-55.

Review: US military surplus is the bad guy in this adventure set in an unnamed former Soviet Republic. There’s a lot of dangerous stuff out on the open market and a smart dictator can make a killing—in more ways than one. There is a lot of detail and adventure crammed into this one slim issue that the crowded artwork looks very intense and nerve-wracking—plus Tony is in a dire strait himself. And note: Iron Man plays no part in the proceedings, unless you count the flashback to his origin. In fact, the war might have ended the same way had Tony never shown up; his one contribution was that his presence motivated Radanovich to attack the rebel base. Maybe next time, Tony will just stay home and let these problems handle themselves.





 

Synopsis / Summary / Plot

Invincible Iron Man #50 Synopsis by T Vernon
Tony Stark is being flown over an Eastern European city in a military jet when the plane is hit by a Stinger missile; the pilot quickly ejects Tony—but a little too quickly: the briefcase containing the Iron Man armor is left behind as the jet crashes into the river. Safe on the ground, Tony tries to locate it but fails….

One week earlier, Tony was at a Christmas party discussing arms sales to that European nation with various politicians when he had to excuse himself, leaving hosting chores to Pepper Potts and Happy Hogan. Tony ducked into a back room to recharge his artificial heart. Black Widow appears before him, telling him she wants Milos Radanovich dead. He is the dictator of that unnamed nation, practicing ethnic cleansing and promoting hatred between the Christian and Muslim populations. The US government won’t do anything to stop him because they are dependent on his oil so it’s up to Tony to bring the truth to his political allies. So, Tony visited the nation, to be warmly greeted by General Radanovich, who proudly showed off his Warwagon, a military vehicle purchased from US government surplus. Tony asked to see the rebels close up so Radanovich had a pilot fly him over the city in a military jet, which was shot down….

As he creeps through the sewers, Tony desperately looks for a way to recharge his failing heart. He comes up to the surface only to witness a band of rebels being executed by Radanovich’s firing squads. Tony is caught and the soldiers contact Radanovich who reluctantly gives the order to kill Stark and claim he died in the plane crash. As they are about to kill him, the soldiers are shot down by a sniper: Tony meets the sniper, a young woman named Ayisha, and her young daughter Marika (conceived when she was raped by Radanovich). They are the daughters of Ashirov who, with Professor Yurkovich, is the leader of the Christian/Muslim Coalition in hiding. They explain their goal of overthrowing Radanovich and their plan involves the use of a US military surplus Battlearmor, one created by Tony Stark. Tony explains the chief problem: the suit was designed to survive, sometimes at the coast of the man inside, who needed to be drugged to endure the trauma. Marika charms Tony with her trust; Ayisha explains the atrocities she has witnessed that made her a hardened warrior….

Then the Warwagon arrives, piloted by Radanovich himself—because Ayisha has informed on them, hoping to push the war to a crisis point to achieve any kind of solution. The battle goes against the rebels until Ayisha dons the Battlearmor and takes on the Warwagon. Tony dives into the river to recover his briefcase and joins the battle as Iron Man. He is just in time to see Ayisha destroy herself and the Warwagon in a final attack. The people promise to rebuild….

Back home, Tony hears on the news that things are improving but he can’t forget Ayisha Ashirov ….


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Barberoids 1 cover original artwork on ebay

Michael Ryan
Sean Parsons
Avalon Studios
Greg Horn (Cover Penciler)
Greg Horn (Cover Inker)
Greg Horn (Cover Colorist)
Letterer: Chris Eliopoulos.
Editor: Tom Brevoort. Editor-in-chief: Joe Quesada.

Characters

Listed in Alphabetical Order.

Black Widow
Black Widow

(Natasha Romanoff)
Iron Man
Iron Man

(Tony Stark)
Pepper Potts
Pepper Potts

(Pepper Hogan)

Plus: Ayisha Ashirov.

> Invincible Iron Man: Book info and issue index

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