Iron Man 116

Iron Man #115-116
Issue(s): Iron Man #115, Iron Man #116
Cover Date: Nov 78
Title: ”Betrayal!” / ”Anguish, once removed!”
Credits: 
Bill Mantlo / Bob Layton & David Michelinie - Plot
David Michelinie - Script
John Romita Jr. - Penciler
Dan Green / Bob Layton - Inker
Jim Salicrup - Assistant Editor
Roger Stern - Editor
Review/plot:
The famed Micheleinie/Layton run on Iron Man starts with little fanfare with this mid-story battle against the Ani-Men.
John Romita Jr., also a key component of this important run starts in issue #115 with a plot by Bill Mantlo. Iron Man spends most of the issue scanning the memories of the Unicorn, who is delivered by the Avengers at the start of this issue.

He’s also doing some basic administration stuff, like checking on his LMD.

Later, Stark is attacked by the Ani-Men.



They turn out to be working for Count Nefaria and Madame Masque.



Count Nefaria, extremely aged and in a wheelchair, escaped from Avengers Mansion, during the fight with Arsenal.
Nefaria has won the loyalty of his daughter Whitney Frost/Madame Masque. As you can see from the above ending panel of issue #115 and the opening panel of #116, there’s seemingly a change in tone regarding the depiction of Whitney.
In issue #116 she says that she’s agreed to help her father in return for Tony not being hurt. Nefaria reneges on that promise.
Stark manages to get away and change into Iron Man.

The Spymaster also makes an assassination attempt on Tony this issue...

...but in all the confusion no one realizes that he is responsible for the explosion that ends the fight with the Ani-Men (killing them, we’ll learn) and further injures Nefaria.
But that doesn’t end things. Tony still has to fight his way past the LMD, which has gone crazy...

....and then when he makes it back to Whitney and tells her that Nefaria has to remain in Avengers custody...

...she sends the so-called Jupiter Landing Vehicle, previously seen in Captain Marvel #50, after him.

Nefaria is seemingly killed during Iron Man’s battle with the device. This ends the Stark/Frost relationship.

Romita’s art is good, but essentially in the house style at this point and not like his stylized later work.
Quality Rating: C+

Historical Significance Rating: 3 - beginning of the Michelinie/Layton/Romita Iron Man run. Death of the original Ani-Men.
Chronological Placement Considerations: Takes place soon after the end of #114; Iron Man says he hasn’t seen Madame Masque since ”yesterday”. It seems like Iron Man went back to Stark International ahead of the other Avengers, who arrive at the start of this issue with the Unicorn. When Iron Man tells them to go back and search for Arsenal, the Beast complains that he hasn’t had any sleep ”tonight” and ”we’ve already scanned the whole furshlugginer place twice”.
References:
• Iron Man captured the Unicorn in Iron Man #113, beginning a series of events that inadvertently freed Nefaria.
• Another prisoner/patient at Avengers Mansion, Jason Beere, aka the Eternity Man, has been held there since Avengers #169.
• A use of Stark’s Memory Extractor reveals scenes from the Unicorn’s past, including Tales of Suspense #56, Iron Man #4, and Iron Man #57.
• We then see some new information; it’s the Unicorn being rescued by a mysterious silhouette after Iron Man #69. The silhouette is drawn in such a way that readers might think it was Arsenal. More so than previous issues where it was pretty clearly the Titanium Man.
• There’s no footnote, but the Memory Extractor, previously called a Memory Inducer, was seen in Avengers #26, Avengers #99 and Thor #230.
• Nefaria was captured by the Avengers in Avengers #166.
• The Spymaster has been trailing Tony Stark since Iron Man #113.

Crossover: N/A
Continuity Insert? N
My Reprint: N/A
Inbound References (8): show
Characters Appearing: Ape Man, Beast, Bird Man, Captain America, Cat Man, Count Nefaria, Frog Man, Henry Pym, Iron Man, Jason Beere, Madame Masque, Scarlet Witch, Spymaster, Titanium Man, Tony Stark LMD Unit 6, Unicorn, Wasp, Wonder Man

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1978 / Box 13 / EiC: Archie Goodwin
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https://www.supermegamonkey.net/chronocomic/entries/iron_man_116.shtml

Nov 1978

Marvel Comics

759606056538

116

November

1978

United States

$0.35

Bronze Age

English

Magazine

2018-07-02 22:53:09

1968 1st series

World War Hulk: Gamma Corps

2018-07-02 22:53:09