Comic Browser:

Iron Man #117

Dec 1978

David Michelinie, John Romita Jr.

Story Name:

The Spy Who Killed Me!

Synopsis

Iron Man #117 synopsis by T Vernon

Rating:

In the middle of a dark night, a bullet crashes through an office window and hits Tony Stark in the head, killing him instantly. Hired killer Spymaster, congratulates himself on a job well done and moves along to phase 2 of his mission. Back in the office, Iron Man surveys the dead Tony—actually the Life Model Decoy which has been his tool and enemy for many years. Shellhead pursues the departing craft and boards it only to discover it is a trap. He avoids the explosion and races back to Stark Industries. This has not been his day….
He muses over how he was evicted from his apartment by request of the other tenants in the wake of the bomb blast in his penthouse (last issue). To set a trap for his would-be assassin he attended an ambassadorial party where he met the gorgeous Bethany Cabe and spent some time talking with her. The Spymaster followed him home with the results seen at the start of the issue….
Arriving at Stark Industries, Iron Man follows a trail of unconscious guards to find Spymaster in the labs. The villain blasts Shellhead with an anti-Iron Man shot gun and heads further into the complex. Spymaster rams the hero with a flying jetcart but IM is able to shoot it down with a huge chunk of ripped up floor. The mercenary then fires an advanced heat-seeking missile at his foe but Iron Man is able to easily extinguish the fire. As the baddie tries to escape via monorail, Iron Man derails it and faces Spymaster who is armed with electric nunchakus. Iron Man merely crushes the things in his hands and punches the villain’s lights out. Shell head then discovers that the spy was trying to make off with a file containing the names of all of Stark’s stockholders….
We then learn that the whole episode was being watched by a quartet of sinister men lead by one Buck Richlen who had hired Spymaster to steal the file so they could bring down Stark. The big surprise comes when the villains leave the room to attend a SHIELD meeting where Nick Fury addresses them as the security team….

Review / Commentaries

Iron Man #117 Review by T Vernon (December 8, 2014)

Review: Nice action-packed issue pits our hero against a mediocre villain but David Michelinie makes it exciting by turning it into a running fight with a resourceful baddie who finds ever increasing firepower to employ against Iron Man. John Romita Jr. gives the art a nice sheen, conveying all the thrills the plot calls forth. Only complaint: Bethany Cabe looks like she has no neck. Hint of things to come?: Tony needs booze to get him through the party.

Comments: Part one of three parts. First appearance of Bethany Cabe and the villainous Buck Richlen. Final appearance of the Tony Stark LMD. Spymaster previously appeared in issues #32-34. Title is a play on THE SPY WHO LOVED ME, a recent James Bond film. Spymaster refers to the Fernwood Flasher, a character on the short-lived soap opera parody MARY HARTMAN, MARY HARTMAN (1976-77).

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Holy smokes, Batman!
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Main/1st Story Full Credits

David Michelinie

John Romita Jr.

Bob Layton

Ben Sean

John Romita Jr. (Cover Penciler)
Bob McLeod (Cover Inker)

Additional Credits

Plot: Bob Layton. Letterer: John Costanza.
Editor: Roger Stern.

All stories. Listed in alphabetical order.

Iron Man
(Anthony Stark)

Nick Fury
(Nicholas Fury)

S.H.I.E.L.D.

Plus: Bethany Cabe, Tony Stark LMD, Buck Richlen, Spymaster (Spymaster 1).

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