Iron Man (1998 series) #73

Comments: First appearance of Sonny Burch, who inspired the character played by Walton Goggins in ANT-MAN AND THE WASP. There is a reference to the Apollo 1 fire which took place on January 27, 1967, killing three astronauts. At this point in time (2003) in real life, there was no vacancy in the office of US Secretary of Defense; Donald Rumsfeld served from 2001-2006. But there was a vacancy in the Marvel Universe as Defense Secretary Dell Rusk was forced out after being exposed as the Red Skull, who apparently likes anagrams, in the contemporary AVENGERS book. And then-President George W. Bush makes an appearance.

Review: Back in the old days, Iron Man beat up bad guys in costumes bearing bizarre weapons. In more recent years, he’s been fighting shady contractors, politicians, and big business types. And now we go to the extreme: Tony Stark finds the arcane rules surrounding national security and patents pushes him to a position where he can’t keep his inventions out of the government’s hands, forcing him to join the government. (And his secret identity as Iron Man plays a part in that fiasco; are such strictures specifically in the US Code?) And so, unlike the “Armor Wars” arc where Iron Man got to beat up bad guys in armor, Tony has to sit in an office in the Pentagon and keep an eye on what his subordinates are doing. It’s not your typical superhero story. So, will a dramatic climax be his refusal to sign an order because of a questionable rider? Here’s hoping Titanium Man or someone like that shows up.