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Invincible Iron Man #79

Jun 2004
John Jackson Miller, Philip Tan

Invincible Iron Man #79 cover

Story Name:

The Deep End Part One of Four: Meeting Hell


Synopsis

Invincible Iron Man #79 synopsis by T Vernon
Rating: 3 stars
In Hatra, Iraq, a team of American soldiers discovers archaeologist Rob Schweiger in a ruin late at night; Rob claims it is a temple of Ishtar. Suddenly the group comes under fire with brightly lit blasts. Then, the goddess Ishtar appears to Rob and offers him her hand….

In Washington, Tony Stark is sworn in as Secretary of Defense in a huge public ceremony. Afterward, he greets the crowd of well-wishers. Then he meets with his team at the Pentagon and hands out assignments to the undersecretaries, and dashes back to his office for some privacy before heading to the White House. On the way, he is intercepted by Commander John Rayburn, who tells him that Sonny Burch’s goals were sound even though his methods were dishonest (see issues #73-78); Tony wants transparency in all of the Department’s dealings. At the National Security Council meeting at the White House, the other members haze him a bit by suggesting the President expects a detailed plan on fixing everything; Tony catches on that they are joking. General Gabriel gives a briefing on the situation in Iraq, noting the disappearance of an American team and an archeologist. There seems to be a new faction in the area that has not yet been identified and they are buying paintball equipment. President George W. Bush orders Tony to go to Iraq….

Not far away, Force (Carl Walker) is plotting vengeance against Tony Stark….


 

Review / Commentaries


Invincible Iron Man #79 Review by (April 16, 2021)
Comments: Tony Stark doesn’t don the Iron Man armor in this issue; in fact, we see only a damaged helmet of our title character. Among the Avengers seen at Tony Stark’s swearing-in ceremony are Captain America, Warbird, Falcon, and Black Panther; among the real-life celebrities are Secretary of State Colin Powell and National Security Adviser Condoleeza Rice, and from the usual supporting cast, Pepper and Happy. Later, Tony meets with President George W. Bush and Vice-President Dick Cheney. And he also invokes the name of Robert McNamara, Secretary of Defense from 1961-1968. Force (Clayton Wilson/Carl Walker) was introduced in SUB-MARINER #66-69 and was last seen in IRON MAN #299-300. This is the first brief appearance of the new villainess Ishtar; she appears in this four-issue arc and that’s it. There’s a joke about ISHTAR, a notorious movie flop from 1987.

Review: “Tony Stark, Bureaucrat” is what they could have called this issue. Tony certainly gets thrown into the deep end and has to keep his head above water as he tries to swim for shore (to continue the swimming pool metaphor). The main trouble with this story arc is the gritty art: everyone’s face looks dirty or scarred and Tony Stark with his beady eyes and gigolo mustache looks like a weaselly sort of fellow, the guy we would want the hero to be suspicious of, except he is the hero. The last page gives a hint of excitement to come so we have to be patient.



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Main/1st Story Full Credits

Philip Tan
Philip Tan
Chris García
Adi Granov (Cover Penciler)
Adi Granov (Cover Inker)
Adi Granov (Cover Colorist)
Additional Credits
Letterer: Randy Gentile.
Editor: Tom Brevoort. Editor-in-chief: Joe Quesada.

Characters

All stories. Listed in alphabetical order.

Iron Man
Iron Man

(Anthony Stark)
Plus: Force, President George W. Bush (George W Bush).

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