Invincible Iron Man (1998 series) #74

Comments: “Stu Conrad,” President George W. Bush’s Chief of Staff is a fictitious character; Bush’s CoS at the time was Andrew Card, who served from 2001-2006. White House Press Secretary Artemus Pithins is also fictitious; Bush had four Press Secretaries in his two terms; Pithins was Stark’s publicity man for several issues in the 1970s-80s, starting with IRON MAN #124. John Tower, President George H.W. Bush’s rejected nominee for Secretary of Defense, was a real person (1925-1991) and his confirmation battle is accurately described. The claim that no President’s Cabinet pick has ever been rejected by the Senate is not accurate: Tower was the ninth nominee to be rejected in US history. The New Republic is a political commentary publication (since 1914), leaning to the liberal side of the spectrum; Robert Novak (1931-2009) was a political columnist. Tony’s assistant Friday appears as a stereotypical secretary.

Review: Tony Stark shows he is a patriot: he chooses to do what is best for the nation and not for himself. This means taking a high-level position in the government viz. Secretary of Defense so he can control what weapons are used in war and how. It’s nice that Marvel had this debate over the first forty years of Shellhead’s comic book history so that it can all be stuffed into a single movie in 2008. And as I guessed, all of the conflicts in the tale are political, even, in a way, Tony’s trouble with Rumiko. They do get to sneak in an explosion, though, to wake up any readers who don’t appreciate the significance of the political controversies. There’s more to come with Tony’s audacious claim that there can be war without fatalities.