Wrong Guy in the Suit

 

cover art by Gil Kane

Iron Man #82 (January 1976) begins with Iron Man returning to his New York business complex after a superhero battle at another location. So the issue is a slow burn at first, as writer Len Wein and artist Herb Trimpe take some time to introduce some new characters and remind us that Tony runs a huge business.

Then its off to a charity gala, in which both Tony and Iron Man have been asked to appear. (Remember that this is a time when Tony still had a secret identity.) Tony has Happy Hogan wear the suit so both can be there. After all, its just for a few hours at a party. What can possibly go wrong?

Well, how about the Super Apes suddenly attack the party? 

The Apes grab Tony and start to make a getaway. Happy jumps in to help, of course. No one can question his loyalty to Stark or his courage.

What can be questioned is his experience wearing the suit. He does the best he can, but he hasn't had much practice and he's completely unfamilar with the powers of the Super Apes (respectively--super strength; magnetic rays and shape-changing). He's knocked out and possibly badly injured.

The Apes then finish their getaway, with Stark still a prisoner, in a really cool way. The shape-changing baboon turns into a glider and carries the others away.

When Tony regains consciousness, he finds himself in a secret lair, confronted by the Red Ghost--who, apparently, has become a "real" ghost, unable to turn solid.

It's a fun issue. There's not a lot of action in the first half, but it serves a storytelling purpose. Though this part might be a bit dull for someone if this were the first issue they picked up, it should maintain the interest of regular readers.

And when the action starts, it's all good stuff. Happy's inexperience in the suit is made clear and the Apes--normally Fantastic Four villains--make for effective guest star bad guys here. And the baboon-glider is indeed cool. 

Next week, we'll finish our look at Green Lantern's Sinestro/Weaponers story arc. We'll be back in two weeks to see how Tony handles being kidnapped.