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Invincible Iron Man #55

Feb 1973
Mike Friedrich, Jim Starlin

Invincible Iron Man #55 cover

Story Name:

Beware the Blood Brothers


Synopsis

Invincible Iron Man #55 synopsis by T Vernon
Rating: 4.5 stars

Iron Man is suddenly attacked by the alien brutes known as the Blood Brothers, captured, and flown to a secret underground base in the American Southwest. This is the headquarters of invader Thanos where he is holding prisoner Drax the Destroyer.

Panels sample #2

Here, Drax helpfully brings us up to date in an extended flashback: on Titan the moon of Saturn is a civilization supported by a computer called Isaac, and ruled over by Mentor and his two sons Eros and Thanos. Thanos went bad, was exiled, gathered an army and returned. Mentor appealed to the planet’s “god” Kronos who raised up Drax as a hero to fight Thanos. The battle ended with the victorious Thanos imprisoning Drax on his Earth base but the hero sent a telepathic message to Iron Man for help—and Thanos dispatched the Blood Brothers to deal with the new problem.

Panels sample #3

In the base, Shellhead overcomes the Brothers.

Panels sample #4

But he runs into Thanos who defeats him and tells of his plan to conquer Earth.

Panels sample #5

On Titan, Mentor sends an energy burst which empowers Iron Man’s armor to free Drax and the two heroes beat up the Blood Brothers.

Panels sample #6

Thanos escapes, leaving the place to self-destruct. The two heroes get away and shake hands, then part.


 

Review / Commentaries


Invincible Iron Man #55 Review by (September 11, 2013)
Review: A momentous issue! The introduction of Thanos and many of his supporting cast! Brian Cronin’s Comic Book Legends Revealed #265 gives the background for this momentous and overly complicated issue. Short version: Jim Starlin was asked to write a fill-in issue of Iron Man; thinking it might be his only opportunity to write a comic book, he adapted a science fiction epic he had written in college, and gave us the works. Therefore, Starlin—as writer and artist—crams a lot into this issue, and still has space for a full-page of Tony suiting up. It’s a bit too stuffed, and the heavy science fiction milieu doesn’t fit with the surrounding Iron Man run but it’s the place to start with one of Marvel’s enduring villains.

Comments: First appearance of Thanos, Drax, the Blood Brothers, Mentor, and Eros (Starfox), though the latter appears only in a flashback.


Invincible Iron Man #55 Review by (October 23, 2013)

The flashback shows Kronos creating Drax out of the ground. Captain Marvel #32 (1968) will reveal that Kronos imbued Drax with the soul of Arthur Douglas, who was killed in a car crash caused by Thanos' 1st scouting mission to Earth. Before that issue, Daredevil #105 will show Arthur's daughter Heather surviving the crash and being taken to Titan by Mentor and raised as Moondragon, who was Madame MacEvil last issue.

Captain Marvel #29 will link the inhabitants of Titan back to the Olympian gods. Mentor becomes A'Lars an invented brother of Zeus. Kronos becomes Chronos the Titan, father of Zeus. What If #24 - 25 will change the Olympians to the Eternals, who hadn't been invented by Jack Kirby yet. So Zeus becomes Zuras.

Thus does the Marvel Mythos grow and entangle.



> Invincible Iron Man comic book info and issue index

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This comic is in the following collection:
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Collecting IRON MAN (1968) #26-67 and DAREDEVIL (1964) #73.

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Jim Starlin
Mike Esposito
?
Jim Starlin (Cover Penciler)
Joe Sinnott (Cover Inker)
Additional Credits
Letterer: John Costanza.
Editor: Roy Thomas.

Characters

Listed in alphabetical order. All stories.

Drax
Drax

(Arthur Sampson Douglas)
Iron Man
Iron Man

(Anthony Stark)
Starfox
Starfox

(Eros)
Plus: Mentor of Titan, Blood Brothers.

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