Invincible Iron Man #78: Review

May 2004

John Jackson Miller, Jorge Lucas

Story Name:

The Best Defense Part 6: Confirmation

Review & Comments

Rating:

Invincible Iron Man #78 Review by T Vernon (April 9, 2021)

Comments: Tony Stark is said to be the 24th Secretary of Defense; the real 24th Secretary would be Chuck Hagel who served from 2013-2015 during the Obama Administration. The current Secretary when the comic was published was Donald Rumsfeld, in office 2001-2006; he was number 21. President Bush previously appeared in issues #73-74.

Review: Patriotic cover matches a terrific issue as Iron Man not only performs great feats of heroism in averting the air disaster set up last issue but also outlines his attitude as a superhero. He has performed many heroic acts, never taking credit for them because they were done for the people; he says this will also define his attitude as Cabinet member. It’s usually Captain America who gets to explain what a hero and a patriot is; it’s nice that they let Tony Stark have a say in the matter too.

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Synopsis / Summary / Plot

Invincible Iron Man #78 Synopsis by T Vernon

The F-16 fighters have spotted the crashing transport plane but they are targeted by missiles from the buggy defense system installed around Washington. Iron Man arrives to shoot down the missiles and has the jets divert them away from the transport. One of the jets is damaged and Shellhead guides it safely down to a landing in the Tidal Basin. Tony unlocks the missiles’ security codes and has them self-destruct. He boards the plummeting transport and discovers the prototype Iron Man suits, stolen by Sonny Burch. He has the crew members don the armor and dive overboard, controlling their descent to the ground. Iron Man gets under the plane and takes it down into the reflecting pool between the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial. He crawls from the wreckage to find the armored crew members saluting him….

In the hospital the next day, Tony is visited by Chief of Staff Stu Conrad, who fills him in on the aftermath of the disaster, including Sonny Burch’s suicide and the examination of all equipment he had used. He also informs Tony that after Iron Man’s heroic actions, the Senate reconsidered its vote and President George W. Bush enters to tell him he is the new Secretary of Defense….