Iron Man (1968 series) #284

Comments: Rhodey dons the War Machine armor for the first time though he'll still called Iron Man. Cameos by Captain America, Thor, Black Widow, Tigra, Wonder Man, Hawkeye, Scarlet Witch, Spider-Woman (J Carpenter), USAgent, Wasp, Living Lightning, Doctor Doom, Bethany Cabe, Pepper and Happy, Nick Fury, Kathy Dare, and Spymaster reacting to Tony's death; Marvel Wikia also lists Rae Lacoste but I couldn't identify her. Villains in Rhodey's dream include Mandarin, Crimson Dynamo, Titanium Man, Fin Fang Foom, Firepower, Doctor Doom, Justin Hammer, Melter, Boomerang, Blacklash, Spymaster, Blizzard, Constrictor, and Porcupine. Dead friends Tony sees in his vision are his parents, Ho Yinsen, Kevin O'Brien, and Morley Erwin.

Review: Well, this was a surprise: after telling us Tony was dying for multiple issues he suddenly dies. Not uncommon for a superhero. Not even Iron Man—who was killed in CIVIL WAR II in 2017 and the Marvel Legacy title had his return stretched over eight issues in 2018—with Wolverine's comeback the same year taking even longer with an insane number of tie-in issues. The odd bit about this death, aside from the revelation that Tony was in cryogenic suspension so we knew he would come back and pretty soon, was the timing. Only a couple of months after this, Superman died. And the Distinguished Competition really dragged that out, promoting it as a milestone (once it was spoiled) and beginning the habit of making deaths of heroes a major event (open your wallets, kids) and then a year or two later hyping the hero's return with another big event (we hear you still have money in your wallets, kids). Here, Tony just went ahead and “died” and his return took place only six issues later (#290) heralded on the cover but not broadcast to the media. It was a better time when everything wasn't a superstar writer's major event.