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Iron Man #248

Nov 1989

David Michelinie, Bob Layton

Story Name:

Footsteps

Synopsis

Iron Man #248 synopsis by T Vernon

Rating:

A bitterly frustrated Iron Man prepares to smash the anti-grav chair the paralyzed Tony Stark has been using for mobility but James Rhodes arrives to talk him out of it. Tony is still struggling with the idea of giving up being the handicapped Tony to live full time as the invincible Iron Man—and Rhodey reminds him of his responsibilities as Tony Stark. Tony reluctantly goes along with him....

Tony has called a press conference, planning to announce Marcy Pearson will be the new head of Stark Enterprises. Early in the meeting he receives a message from Abe Zimmer and cuts the meeting short without making the key announcement about Marcy. As Iron Man he heads to Zimmer's lab where Abe shows him what he found: notice that Cordco Incorporated is experimenting with biochips that may help the body reconstruct damaged nerves....

Tony has Rhodey fly him to Cordco in New York; on the way they received word of a hijacked jet near them. Rhodey has to shame Tony into taking action; Iron Man invades the plane, takes out the bad guys, makes his apologies and leaves. Soon, at Cordco, Tony asks to have the experimental biochip implanted in his body; when the director balks, Tony buys the company and demands the surgery but the chip's inventor refuses to allow such a dangerous and risky operation to be performed so Tony goes home disappointed....

At Kathy Dare's hearing to determine whether she is fit for trial, she repeats the lies Bert Hindel has coached her in, asserting that Tony Stark was abusive and she shot him in self-defense. Tony's lawyer Felix Alvarez bring forth a series of character witnesses to testify that Tony was not abusive: Mrs. Arbogast, Rhodey, Arthur Dearborn (Sunturion), Mayor Tom Bradley, Senator Paul Collins, Rae Lacoste, and secretary Atha Williams. The final witness is Albert Montenegro, a psychiatrist who treated Kathy Dare for her obsessive-possessive behavior which led her to (maybe) kill her younger brother and torch the home of a former lover, leading to a recommendation that she be put away permanently. The judge rules Kathy be institutionalized until she is fit for trial; Kathy greets Tony with a veiled threat and is taken away. Tony greets the press and shocks and offends Marcy by changing his mind about stepping down. Rhodey brings in Dr Erica Sondheim who had previously helped Tony and she is willing to perform the risky surgery....

The operation takes hours to perform and when it is done, Erica releases the results by having Tony walk out of the recovery room under his own power....

Review / Commentaries

Iron Man #248 Review by T Vernon (September 26, 2017)

Comments: Comic moment: a little kid mistakes Iron Man for RoboCop. LA Mayor Tom Bradley is a real person; Senator Paul Collins appears to be fictitious. Arthur Dearborn is Sunturion, appearing in issues #143-144; Atha Williams makes her sole appearance here, though some sources claim (inaccurately) that she is in IRON MAN #21 (1970). Dr Erica Sondheim previously appeared in issues #131-133 with a cameo in #137. Kathy Dare's story will be concluded in issues #285-286.

Review: We see a multitude of sides to Tony Stark in this one: bitterly frustrated over his condition, tearfully grateful to Abe Zimmer, ready to blow off an opportunity to save lives, arrogant in buying a company so he can force its staff to accede to his demands, concerned over the damage to his reputation, angered over the outcome to Kathy's hearing, utterly insensitive to Marcy's position, and happy that everything seems to be going well. All well and good, since the main plot is about Tony's inner workings (both emotional and physical). Yeah, the disabled Tony and crazy Kathy plots have been wrapped up a bit abruptly (though Kathy will be back briefly) but this means we can forget about both of them as Michelinie can now move in a different direction—for two issues anyway. But what a pair of issues!

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Main/1st Story Full Credits

David Michelinie

Bob Layton

Paul Becton

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

Additional Credits

Letterer: Janice Chiang.
Editor: Howard Mackie.

All stories. Listed in alphabetical order.

Abe Zimmer
(Abraham Zimmer)

Iron Man
(Anthony Stark)

James Rhodes
(Rhodey)

Plus: Bert Hindel, Erica Sondheim, Felix Alvarez, Kathy Dare, Marcy Pearson, Mrs. Arbogast, Rae LaCoste, Sunturion.

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