Comic Browser:

#46
#47
#48
#49
#50
#51
#52
#53
#54
#55
#56
#57
#58
#59
#60
#61
#62
#63
#64
#65
#66
#67
#68
#69
Selector

Invincible Iron Man #51

Apr 2002
Mike Grell, Michael Ryan

Invincible Iron Man #51 cover

Story Name:

Jane Doe


Synopsis

Invincible Iron Man #51 synopsis by T Vernon
Rating: 4 stars
A teenage prostitute is murdered on the streets; she is listed as “Jane Doe.” Tony Stark picks up teen hooker Shelly…and takes her to The Haven, a place run by Abby St. Clair, a former prostitute, to help other girls escape the dark life. Shelly is skeptical but Tony pays for her time while Abby shows her around….

Tony assembles several industrialists and entrepreneurs for a conference to create a plan for helping the nation formerly run by General Radanovich (see last issue) and rebuilding the economy. He chats with up-and-coming American political whiz Randall Johnson Jr. and his supportive wife Helen, French businessman Jean Claude de Beaubienne, British Thomas Adkins and his abused assistant Mary Reilly, and Japan’s Anjira Shigeta. Playboy Jean Claude hits on Pepper Potts but she shuts him down with some cold beverage to his pants. The men debate the suitability of women for business which annoys Tony….

Abby tells Shelly about her own experience in the streets, how a “client” brutally beat her, leaving her in a coma; she has been painting as therapy but cannot recall the man’s face clearly. Abby gets a call that Tony left his briefcase (not the one with the armor) at The Haven and Abby volunteers to bring it to him….

Later that night, a massive warehouse fire breaks out, with several firefighters trapped inside. Iron Man shows up and leads the men to safety. A quick scan of the building shows someone in the basement. Iron Man goes down and finds Abby—with a bullet wound to the chest—as the burning building collapses around him….


 

Review / Commentaries


Invincible Iron Man #51 Review by (November 6, 2020)
Comments: Part one of two parts. “Jane Doe” is a name given by US police to an unidentified female homicide victim; “John Doe” is the male equivalent (used by baddie Kevin Spacey as his pseudonym in SE7EN). None of the business types assembled is seen again after issue #52. Happy Hogan can be spotted in the background at the party.

Review: Mike Grell wanted to start an Iron Man comic off in a bold and original way and so he did: Tony Stark picking up a teenage hooker is something we’ve never seen before. Iron Man on the trail of a serial killer of teen prostitutes is also rather offbeat subject matter, more likely to fit in with one of the urban heroes such as Daredevil or Luke Cage. Pretty grim doings, with an array of suspects laid out before us (c’mon, the killer has to be one of the characters in the story, this isn’t real life) with the whodunit to be solved next issue. The fire sequence is very effectively done and the discovery that sweet Abby is the latest victim really hurts. Usually one doesn’t get too emotionally invested in a new character but this lady deserved all the sympathy. More to come.



> Invincible Iron Man comic book info and issue index

Elektra
Invincible Iron Man #51 cover

Excelsioring your collection:
Marvel Iron Man MARK7 Statue ARTFX 1/6 Statue
Holy smokes, Batman!
(The Boy Wonder)

Michael Ryan
Sean Parsons
Edgar Tadeo
Michael Ryan (Cover Penciler)
Sean Parsons (Cover Inker)
Angelo Tsang (Cover Colorist)
Additional Credits
Letterer: Chris Eliopoulos.
Editor: Tom Brevoort. Editor-in-chief: Joe Quesada.

Characters

Listed in alphabetical order. All stories.

Iron Man
Iron Man

(Anthony Stark)
Pepper Potts
Pepper Potts

(Pepper Hogan)


The Marvel Heroes Library is a fan Marvel Comics site
Version 14.8.23 (Nov 19, 2024. VS22)

Copyright © 1997-2024 Julio Molina-Muscara (creator, webmaster)
Site content is a collective effort by the MHL team and Marvel aficionados

Characters are copyright © Marvel or their respective owners. All portions of this Marvel fansite that are subject to copyright are licensed under a creative commons attribution 3.0 unported license All rights reserved