Invincible Iron Man #123: Review

Jun 1979

David Michelinie, John Romita Jr.

Story Name:

Casino Fatale!

Review & Comments

Rating:

Invincible Iron Man #123 Review by T Vernon (February 23, 2015)

Comments: Part four of the “Demon in a Bottle” story arc; part one of a shorter two-part tale. The title is a play on CASINO ROYALE, the first James Bond novel, as a Bond vibe enters the story. For some strange reason, the Red Skull’s face is on the roulette ball on the cover. The old lady Tony knocks down in the casino is the same lady he bumped into on the crashing plane in ish #120. There is a comical cameo by “Dickie and Roger” (a Englishman and a Southerner with stereotyped accents), and they make a reference to Ghost Rider but I have no idea who they are supposed to be.

Review: This installment of the classic story arc boasts several fine sequences: the malfunction of his boot jet, the double-page spread of Shellhead’s workout, and the nicely choreographed three-against-one battle at the climax. Each one could have been the highlight of a single issue but here we get all three. The team of Michelinie and Layton (or as Rob calls them, MicheLayton, like they are a celebrity couple) are rightly known for their terrific run on this title.

Invincible Iron Man #123 Review by Rob Johnson (February 2, 2015)

I can shine a light on Roger and Dickie. The Iron Man Official Index says they are Roger and Roberta McKenzie. Roger had recently finished a run as write of Ghost Rider. Roberta was an editorial assistant who wrote a couple of stories as Dickie McKenzie. This appearance makes them seem like a married couple. But I can't find any evidence that this was true.

From Our Blog:

Gwen Stacy, beauty queen of Standard High School, was Peter Parker's (alias Spider-Man) first great love.

Gwen Stacy: Classic Beauty

Synopsis / Summary / Plot

Invincible Iron Man #123 Synopsis by T Vernon

Iron Man is flying high over Manhattan when his right boot jet goes out of control spinning him crazily about in the sky. He crashes down in a backyard and finds nothing wrong with his jet. He heads back to his corporate headquarters where he changes into Tony Stark and checks out his armor in detail, putting it through various tests. He finds nothing is wrong….
Upstairs in Tony’s office, Bethany Cabe is upset that Mrs. Arbogast does not seem to be concerned for her boss’ safety after the ship sinking (issue #120). Tony then walks in and Bethany berates him for his lack of concern for Rhodey and his staff. Irritated, Tony drags Bethany into his office where he takes a few drinks to settle down; Bethany reveals that she heads a security firm and she doesn’t think Iron Man is doing a very good job as bodyguard. Tony asks her out to dinner….
They relax at an Atlantic City hotel where she notices that Tony is drinking a bit too much. They head to the casino for some recreation. Unfortunately, a trio of villains shows up with robbery in mind. Blizzard puts the guards on ice while Melter blasts the safe, making it easy for Whiplash to crack it open. Seeing this Tony slips off to don his armor and take action against the bad guys. After a wild melee, Melter and Blizzard hit Iron Man with their ray weapons as Whiplash prepares to crack him open just as he did the safe….