Invincible Iron Man #120: Review

Mar 1979

David Michelinie, John Romita Jr.

Story Name:

The Old Man and the Sea Prince!

Review & Comments

Rating:

Invincible Iron Man #120 Review by T Vernon (February 2, 2015)

Comments: Part one of the “Demon in a Bottle” story arc; part one of a shorter two-part story. First appearance of Justin Hammer; in-joke: the baddie is drawn to resemble British actor Peter Cushing, star of several horror movies for Hammer Films.

Review: The classic “Demon in a Bottle” begins—with the Sub-Mariner! The Subby story is just the usual two-part adventure; the real interest is in that late “interjection” where we meet the villainous Justin Hammer and learn what he is doing. Not to say that the main story isn’t good—it’s quite good as it turns out—but it isn’t yet another Shellhead versus Subby clash that makes this issue a classic.

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Synopsis / Summary / Plot

Invincible Iron Man #120 Synopsis by T Vernon

Tony Stark is flying home from France, drinking a bit more to ease the stress of his recent adventures. Suddenly a tank comes rushing through the air to collide with the airliner. Tony dashes into the restroom to change into Iron Man; he manages to bring the plane down to a relatively soft landing in the ocean. A US Special Forces fleet arrives quickly to aid in the rescue. At a nearby island, the commander Jonas Hale explains the situation to the Golden Avenger: they have been using the island as a radioactive waste dump. This time they were greeted by a squatter on the island, the aged Hiram Dobbs, who ordered them away. The navy men were subduing Dobbs when the Sub-Mariner suddenly appeared and drove them off (Namor threw the tank). Iron Man agrees to talk to Subby and jets off, leaving Captain Hale holding on to a sinister secret…. Shellhead arrives on the other side of the island but Namor attacks him, assuming he is the dupe of the military; the hero strikes back and another super-battle is on….
Back at Stark Airport, Jim Rhodes and Bethany Cabe are waiting for Tony’s flight to arrive when Mrs. Arbogast contacts them to report the plane crash. They take a jetcopter and hurry to the scene….
Back at the battle, Iron Man, his power almost depleted, blasts Subby away and tries to head off via the water. A sudden interjection: the sinister Justin Hammer, from his estate in the Mediterranean, has his henchman manipulate Iron Man’s armor remotely—and the seals in Shellhead’s helmet spring open, admitting water to his helmet and he sinks beneath the waves….