Tales of Suspense #92: Review

Aug 1967

Stan Lee, Gene Colan

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Story Name:

Within the Vastness of Vietnam!

Review & Comments

Rating:

Tales of Suspense #92 Review by Peter Silvestro (February 15, 2010)

First of a three-part story.

Tales of Suspense #92 Review by T Vernon (July 16, 2012)

Review (Iron Man): In a rare topical tale, Iron Man is in Vietnam where he was created but the realistic military matters quickly give way to another “Iron Man vs. mad scientist” plot, closely resembling the usual Mandarin capers. But this time the villain is the colorless Half-Face. With a name like that I was expecting something akin to Batman’s Two-Face but no, it’s a man with a metal chin (and some sort of ring around his forehead), who otherwise looks quite normal. “Iron Jaw” would have sounded too barbaric for a mad scientist and “The Man with the Metal Chin” would have just sounded silly so I guess “Half-Face” was best (even though less than a third of his face is covered). The most promising aspect is the Frankenstein lab sequences which promise something a bit different…but wait for next issue for the letdown.

Comments (Iron Man): First appearance of Half-Face.

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Synopsis / Summary / Plot

Tales of Suspense #92 Synopsis by T Vernon

In Vietnam, Iron Man is testing the new tracer shells Tony Stark has developed for the military by offering himself as a target. The bullets zero in on the hero as he dodges through the air, protected by his super-strong armor. When the test is deemed successful, Iron Man meets with a colonel to address the real reason her is there: the Red scientist known only as Half-Face ("the Commies’ answer to Tony Stark") is working on a top secret weapon in his castle stronghold. Iron Man’s mission is to find out what it is and destroy it. He hitches a ride on a helicopter and is dropped off in the face of anti-aircraft fire. Shellhead walks through the jungle, taking the time to uproot trees containing enemy snipers. Meanwhile, Half-Face knows his foe is coming via his advanced perception scanners. He throws the switch which will power up his newest creation while delaying Iron Man with a few blasts from his Destructo-Ray mounted on the castle wall. Iron Man dodges the deadly blasts and crashes through the castle doors, easily dealing with the guards, then smashing robot guard dogs to pieces. In a long dark tunnel, the hero sees something huge coming toward him….

Story #2

Before My Eyes, Nick Fury Died!

Writer: Stan Lee. Penciler: Jack Kirby. Inker: Joe Sinnott. Colorist: ?.

Synopsis / Summary / Plot

By Peter Silvestro

Steve Rogers arrives back in New York after a SHIELD-related mission. He contacts the Avengers to tell them his plans, and they wonder if his good mood is hiding another depression. At the bottom of the sea, in an A.I.M. submarine, SHIELD Agent 13 is betraying Nick Fury to the enemy, giving his location for an assassination plot. Later, Steve is walking the streets, feeling like a misfit, pining for the mysterious SHIELD agent he is attracted to, when he spies A.I.M’s Mecho-Assassin outside the barbershop which is the secret entrance to SHIELD headquarters. Switching to his Captain America outfit, he tries to stop the robot killer but is too late: the creature has killed Fury, who was sitting in a barber chair. An enraged Cap battles and defeat the creature, which self-destructs. Cap then gets a shock: Nick Fury appears, alive and unharmed, to explain they were tipped off about the murder attempt and had rigged some Life Model Decoys to fool A.I.M. Cap’s appearance has ruined the scheme, and now Agent 13, who was pretending to be a traitor, is trapped inside A.I.M.’s base and Cap must go to her rescue.

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