Invincible Iron Man (1998 series) #66

Comments: Mandarin apparently died in IRON MAN (1998) #9-10; his son Temugin took over in issues #53-55. There’s a parody of the famous “Point/Counterpoint” segments of the news program 60 MINUTES.

Review: Tony Stark is dying! Again! And this time Mike Grell manages to put a new spin on it by having him trapped in his armor with no obvious way to get in. Tony’s self-protection (psychological) has actually transferred into the tech world as his armor has a lock that needs to be opened to save his life. Well, Grell doesn’t drag it out but has Pepper show up with the proper password to open it up and his life is saved…eventually (gotta have some suspense). So as the world cracks up: North Korea? Clinton administration? Dirty dealings by Stark? The personal gets grim. Pepper and Rumiko hate each other, Pepper goes to church to pray for Happy (a rare moment of religiosity from a major character), Rumiko is mad at Tony, Pepper is now mad at Tony. Soap opera has long been a part of this title but Mike Grell keeps it hopping rather than rehashing old scores. Well, yes he is but these are scores that have never been settled. And then there’s another hit on Tony, by Mabel the comic nurse from the beginning of the issue turned killer. And there are hints of the Mandarin’s involvement.