The Red Ghost is a Jerk!

 

cover by:

Rich Buckler (according to the Grand Comics Database)

or

Ron Wilson (according to the Marvel Wiki)

In the last issue, Tony Stark was kidnapped by the Super Apes and brought to the Red Ghost, who is currently stuck in intangible ghost form. (Though he's still able to walk without drifting down through the floor. Sometimes Comic Book Science is inexplicable.)

Tony was kidnapped while Happy Hogan was wearing the suit. So in this issue (Iron Man #83--February 1976) we get some scenes with the injured Happy, establishing that he survived the encounter. Though he will collapse at the end of the issue, triggering the events of the following two issues.

But for us, we'll concentrate on Tony, the Red Ghost and the Apes. R.G. wants to be cured of his permanent ghostiness and demands Tony help him in exchange for Tony's life.

Tony in turn convinces R.G. that he needs a piece of equipment back at his labs to do the job. This is a double-edged ploy--he does indeed need the equipment there, but it also puts him in the same room with a spare Iron Man suit.

The most fun aspect of this issue is the various clever ways the Super Apes use their powers. We see that when they smuggle Tony into the Stark International labs. We see it later on during their inevitable fight with Iron Man. Writer Len Wein and artist Herb Trimpe consistently give us cool moments throughout the issue. 

Tony macgyvers what he needs to cure the Ghost and does so. Predictably, the Red Ghost proves to be a jerk of monumental proportions. He immediately orders the Super Apes to kill Tony.

Tony, though, had rigged up a smoke screen, which he now activates, giving him time to put on the spare Iron Man suit.

As I mentioned, the fight gives us the Apes using their powers cleverly. I especially enjoy the baboon's transformation into a flying buzzsaw. Tony responds with equally clever tactics. It's always fun to see the Super Apes and they're used particularly well here.

After the apes are defeated, the Red Ghost ignores Tony's warning not to turn intanglible. The cure was a one-way proposition and R.G. destroys himself when he tries to use his power again. (Of course, he isn't permanently dead. He'll be re-integrated in an FF issue a few years later.)

A fun issue, pitting Iron Man against a foe he doesn't normally battle in a well-choreographed fight.

Next week, we'll look at one of the comic book adventures of TV private eye Peter Gunn.