Invincible Iron Man #280: Review

May 1992

Len Kaminski, Kev Hopgood

Story Name:

Technical Difficulties

Review & Comments

Rating:

Invincible Iron Man #280 Review by T Vernon (June 21, 2018)

Comments: The Stark first appeared in GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY (1990 series) #1. Sysop looks like it's short for systems operator, which was likely intended by the author.

Review: There's a Doctor Who cliché story where an advanced race descends into barbarism so that forgotten science becomes a religion and this is where the Doctor arrives and explains everything to them like they're stupid. Well, this Iron Man story, while not so condescending, is cut from the same cloth: a future society where Tony Stark is a god—but where Robert Downey Jr Tony would bask in the glory (while Cap and Thor give him dirty looks), comic book Tony can only bow under all the responsibility and make an effort to fix the society. He can't and he is using up what little time he has left but it all goes south on him and he has to be sent home against his will, in time to keel over from the exertion. Kinda cliché, kinda dull, and with an excess of brooding, this is not an auspicious debut for Len Kaminsky. Not to worry, his second tale is much better.

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Synopsis / Summary / Plot

Invincible Iron Man #280 Synopsis by T Vernon

Having returned from Operation Galactic Storm, Iron Man (Tony Stark) is in a gloomy mood, brooding over his deteriorating health and wishing he had died in space. James Rhodes tries to cheer him up, to be more optimistic but Tony has had it, punching a mirror out of frustration...

...and at this point he is pulled out of his time stream and looking around, he sees a crowd of purple skinned aliens saluting him. He passes out...and when he awakens he is told he is in the 28th century. The leader, Sysop, explains that they need his help to overcome an impending disaster—and they are The Stark, and Tony is their progenitor, their patron, their god.... Brief history: they were a primitive tribe until a Stark spacecraft crashed on their world and then in a single generation they built a high-tech civilization and a priesthood called the Programmers oversaw their development. But now war, crime, and ecological disaster threaten their world—and they are under attack by barbarians. And so Tony Stark is their only hope for salvation. Tony is shocked that they sincerely believe he can help them and excuses himself. He broods, fusses, yells but he still feels at least partly responsible for The Stark's disaster—so he begins designing all sort of improvements to clean up the environment and more. But the barbarians invade the sanctuary and Iron Man goes out to fight them—but Sysop stops him, telling Tony that he must be returned to his own time, lest his death here cause a chronic rift. With his dying act, Sysop sends Tony back...

...to milliseconds after his disappearance so that Rhodey doesn't even realize he had gone. Then Iron Man collapses to the floor....