Invincible Iron Man #111: Review

Jun 1978

Bill Mantlo, Fred Kida

Story Name:

The Man, the Metal, and the Mayhem!

Review & Comments

Rating:

Invincible Iron Man #111 Review by T Vernon (October 27, 2014)

Review: A mighty star-warrin’ epic continues as Iron Man and Jack of Hearts are captured by opposing sides. There’s a lot of exposition here but to take our minds off of it, there a giant praying mantis! I can picture Jack Kirby doing that but the mantis would probably talk and wield a tommy gun!

Comments: Part three of four parts. Crimson Dynamo and Vanguard are seen only the background of a single panel. The destruction of Rigel was seen in THOR #218.

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Synopsis / Summary / Plot

Invincible Iron Man #111 Synopsis by T Vernon

The Rigellian conqueror command ship is under attack from the Knights of Wundagore who are protecting their homeworld. An explosion hurls Iron Man out into space where he comes under fire from both sides; critically injured he plunges from the sky to crash into a swamp on the planet’s surface….
Back aboard the ship, Jack of Hearts has his life saved by a Rigellian Observer who takes a bullet (actually a laser beam) for him. The injured man recounts the destruction of Rigel; the entire race became refugees. After accidentally launching the Growing Man to Earth (issue #108), a ship landed on Wundagore which was populated only by animals; the radiation from the Rigellian ship caused the native fauna to evolve into New Men and to fight for their world….
Back on Earth Madame Masque is playing nursemaid to the Tony Stark LMD as it oversees reconstruction at the plant. She gets a message from Darkstar on the moon and relays it to Jasper Sitwell—the “egg” on the moon is about to hatch….
Waking up in the swamp, Iron Man is attacked by a giant mutated praying mantis. Shellhead uses the last of his armor’s power to blind the beast and drive it away. He is then captured by the New Men who believe him to be a spy for Rigel. He surreptitiously recharges his batteries in their ship while they relate their history: they were sent to this world by the High Evolutionary but, during an adventure with the Hulk (TALES TO ASTONISH #94-96), their creator was mortally wounded and so turned them back into animals before evolving himself into a god. As Iron Man offers to aid the Wundagoreans, back on the ship the Rigellian commander Arcturus threatens to destroy Earth unless Jack of Hearts helps him conquer Wundagore II….