Invincible Iron Man #308: Review

Sep 1994

Len Kaminski, Tom Morgan

Story Name:

Terminal Emulation

Review & Comments

Rating:

Invincible Iron Man #308 Review by T Vernon (January 22, 2019)

Comments: Part two of three parts.

Review: The story, while familiar is quite entertaining but the art tends to be uneven in this installment of the arc. The scenes of Iron Man trapped in cyberspace are stunning as are the scenes of the false Shellhead destroying the Microware HQ. It's the human bits that are hard to take: the pumped up Tony and Bethany are bad enough but with washed out flesh-tones, especially on Philip Grant, making him resemble a mushroom. Okay but it's the Mandarin who comes off best with this very '90s art style.

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Synopsis / Summary / Plot

Invincible Iron Man #308 Synopsis by T Vernon

Iron Man (Tony Stark) is trapped in cyberspace after the AI evil program VOR/TEX has uploaded itself into Tony's body and he is unable to find a way out....

Meanwhile, an angry VOR/Tony is snarling at the concern for “his” well-being shown by Bethany Cabe and Abe Zimmer and stalks off as it has “work to do.” And Philip Grant is wondering why Stark called Beth “Cabe comma Bethany.” The villain storms past a confused Mrs. Arbogast and reaches Tony's office, eager to start indulging its newly-acquired fleshly appetites. It locates a bottle of bourbon and drinks it down, a wicked grin on “Tony's” face....

Tony, still trapped, has an idea of how he can send a message out....

The Mandarin, restored after months of convalescence in a small village, treks out to the site of his earlier defeat. There he locates and puts on the ten rings of power scattered across the small battlefield and goes to seek his destiny....

Next, VOR/TEX in Tony's body locates Veronica Benning and attempts to rape her; she kicks “him” in the face which discourages it but also drives it into a murderous rage as she escapes. Elsewhere, Philip Grant finds a text message from Tony on his computer explaining the odd situation and his plan to remedy it....

VOR/Tony enters the armory, confusing the AI H.O.M.E.R., and dons one of the Iron Man armors stored there, heading out on a scheme of revenge. The creature goes to Microware, Inc. and moves through the building, unleashing the armor's weapons in an orgy of murder and destruction, finally facing its creator Dr Hoffsteader. VOR/TEX explains who “he” really is before snapping Hoffsteader's neck. Then the monster is challenged by a silver robot form, a new body Grant was able to download Tony's mind into....