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Iron Man #137

Aug 1980
David Michelinie, Bob Layton

Iron Man #137 cover

Story Name:

Facades!

Synopsis

Iron Man #137 synopsis by T Vernon
Rating: 4 stars
At the third Annual Employee Appreciation Party, festivities are in full swing at Tony Stark’s pad: Rhodey is dancing with Yvette Avril, Erica Sondheim is beating Scott Lang at video games, single men are hitting on Bethany Cabe, etc. The big entertainment of the bash is a live feed from an oil drilling rig in the Baltimore Trench, a test of Stark’s sonic borer. The partygoers watch in horror as the borer explodes; Tony dashes from the room (knocking over Uranus Bliss—see Comments below) and dons his armor, heading to the disaster site as Iron Man. Arriving at the scene, Shellhead uses a satellite dish to scoop up workers who had been thrown into the sea. He fires his repulsor rays directly into the spout to extinguish the fire and tears up metal flooring to plug the gas leak….
In Manhattan, Ling McPherson has taken a bodyguard job to fill in for Bethany Cabe. Returning to her client’s hotel room she is greeted by a trio of thugs. This was meant to be a trap for Beth but Ling has walked into it. She draws her gun and shoots the gun out of an enemy’s hand but they overpower her and beat her brutally (off-stage)….
A brief investigation of the drilling rig shows that the disaster was deliberately caused; foreman Ted Calloway is missing, along with the prototype Energizer Link—and a helicopter. Iron Man pick up the chopper’s trail and as he is about to catch up, the pilot traps him in an energy net; Shellhead overloads the cage and burns it out. On shore he finds the abandoned chopper. Returning to the factory, he learns that from security chief Vic Martinelli that Ted Calloway was just found bound and gagged in a closet. A call reaches him from Beth at the hospital where Ling is fighting for her life—and likely losing….


 

Review / Commentaries

Iron Man #137 Review by (June 1, 2015)
Comments: Part one of three parts. Uranus Bliss was knocked down by Tony Stark on an airplane in issue #120 then bowled over at a Vegas casino by Tony in #123; here we learn that Ms. Bliss is Mrs Arbogast’s sister. The thugs who beat Ling are revealed to be Maggia goons in #138.

Review: Again David Michelinie brings together a number of plot threads—including the comical one about Uranus Bliss, which ends right here. The party pages are a nice way to ease into the story as we get some amusing banter and interpersonal troubles among the guests. The disaster scene, where Tony Stark is blamed for the project’s failure, and the subsequent chase are well-done and the energy cage is a cool little sequence. And I really liked Ling—was it necessary to show her beating in the book? Don’t worry, she’ll be okay—she doesn’t go full Woman in the Refrigerator.


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Iron Man #137 cover

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Main/1st Story Full Credits

Bob Layton
Bob Layton
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Bob Layton (Cover Penciler)
Bob Layton (Cover Inker)


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