Invincible Iron Man #36: Review

Apr 1971

Gerry Conway, Don Heck

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Story Name:

Among Men Stalks the Ramrod

Review & Comments

Rating:

Invincible Iron Man #36 Review by T Vernon (April 30, 2013)

Review: Here we have another broken-backed issue, with the end of one story being followed by the start of another. While these are not uncommon in Marvel (the classic FANTASTIC FOUR #48, which introduced the Silver Surfer and Galactus in the second half, was one of these—the first half wrapped up a tale featuring the Inhumans), they are especially common when Gene Colan is involved, as witness from his TALES OF SUSPENSE run—and what do you know? Colan was there for this tale’s predecessor, DAREDEVIL #73! Small world! Anyway, the first half wraps up the silly Zodiac story: as the heroes and villains are returned to Earth from the other world because Daredevil refused to fight, they have a fight because DD is cool with it now. And Madame Masque takes on the male chauvinist Aquarius who doesn’t think a woman can beat him—and he’s right! He clobbers Masque and the guys have to come to her rescue! My, that was embarrassing. Anyway, the book begins with a lame and pointless fight scene; the best part: Capricorn’s move to blind Daredevil with a karate blow. And he will never know why it didn’t work—unless he reads any of the 3000 DD issues where his secret identity is exposed. Then in the second half, because Tony hasn’t indulged in a good brood in a while, he begins to mope over how being a superhero is too much pressure and decides, once again, to give it up and become a playboy. But then, realizing that being Iron Man is the only worthwhile thing he’s ever done (apparently running a tech firm that is on the cutting edge of innovation and employs thousands of people doesn’t count), he changes his mind to fight the next bad guy to come down the pike. And what a bad guy: a big bulky robot who is as given to pompous boasting as any human! Try reading Ramrod’s dialogue out loud for some classic comedy! On the plus side, the story introduces us to Marianne Rodgers, who will becomes one of the more interesting series characters of this era—despite showing little promise he

Comments: Story continued from DAREDEVIL #73. First appearance of Marianne Rodgers, though Marvel Index suggests she appeared in TALES OF SUSPENSE #40 as Marion, who gave Tony the idea for painting the Iron Man armor yellow. Kevin O’Brien’s name is misspelled “O’Brian” throughout the issue. Zodiac consists of Capricorn, Sagittarius (misspelled Saggitarius), and Aquarius in this story. And for you youngsters: Dear Abby was a popular advice columnist.

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Synopsis / Summary / Plot

Invincible Iron Man #36 Synopsis by T Vernon

Story continued from DAREDEVIL #73.
The Brothers of Ankh return the abducted heroes and villains to their own world. Nick Fury, still wanting to bring Zodiac to justice for the near-fatal wounding of Jasper Sitwell (issue #34), challenges them to battle. Daredevil and Madame Masque join in and make short work of the villains, as Iron Man pursues the fleeing Spymaster by jet boot. A stray blast from the villain’s weapon disables a car below and the hero is forced to allow Spymaster to escape in order to rescue the endangered driver. Back at the Zodiac lair, Fury offers DD a lift back to Manhattan and Madame Masque, unaware of who she’s really talking to, asks Iron Man for advice on how to tell Tony Stark she really loves Jasper Sitwell. The Armored Avenger declines to play Dear Abby (misspelled Abbie) and stalks off. Back at the plant, Tony throws a fit over his identity and relationship problems and decides to just be Tony Stark once more. He puts a surprised Kevin O’Brien in charge of the plant and phones an old flame, Marianne Rodgers, to invite her out on the town….
That night, while Tony and Marianne are at a fashionable nightclub, a stocky blue-and-yellow robot descends from the skies and announces itself Ramrod and it walks for the Changers. To prepare for their coming, it begins leveling all the buildings in the neighborhood, firing energy blasts at the police who interfere with his task. The commotion can be seen blocks away at the nightclub, where Tony unsuccessfully tries to convince himself this isn’t his business anymore. As things seem dark at Ramrod’s landing site, Iron Man suddenly appears and engages the invader in combat but his weapons do nothing to halt the boastful robot. While he reminds himself that being Iron Man is the only worthwhile thing in his life, Tony attaches magnetic bombs to Ramrod’s back and they explode, driving both hero and villain into a massive crevasse in the street. Long minutes pass for the concerned onlookers, when suddenly Ramrod rises from the gap and announces that Iron Man is dead. Moments later, though, the Golden Avenger also emerges, ready for battle. As he takes to the skies however, Iron Man has a heart attack and he falls to the Earth with a crash….

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