Review: Iron Man #32
- Rick Moore
- Nov 28
- 7 min read
Introduction
Space: the final frontier. These are the voyages of the star-shaped starship. Its one-issue mission: to find new financial partners; to negotiate stellar trade agreements; to secure as much money as possible, to boldly go where no profit margin has gone before!
My first inclination was to do a take off from David Bowie’s “Starman,” but since that song doesn’t come up for another year, you’re stuck with my mauling William Shatner’s opening to Star Trek.
Along with reaching for the stars, Allyn Brodsky's third morality play tosses in the themes of “crime does not pay,” missed opportunities and doomed love. There’s also time for Iron Man to make an appearance. For what it’s worth, while the plot may have holes you could fly the Mechanoid’s star-shaped spaceship through, Brodsky’s writing is a step up from the last two issues.
This issue also marks the brief return of an old friend to this title with George Tuska filling in for Don Heck on the pencils. A long-time veteran from the Golden Age who's drawn everyone from Captain Marvel to the Spirit, Tuska returned to Marvel in 1968 with pencils and inks on various titles before essentially finding a home on Iron Man. He started with issue #5, remaining until #24. Without spilling too many beans, he'd return before too long for a nearly seven-year tenure on the book. Given that duration, Tuska's Iron Man more or less became the de facto look of the character and it's supporting cast for the decade. Which is both good and bad. Not terribly flashy, Tuska's repertoire is limited, meaning every issue will showcase both his artistic strengths and weaknesses. But even on his worst day, George Tuska's art is a clear step or two above Don Heck.
With all that in mind, let's meet the Mechanoid so that we can beware of him!
Synopsis
As Tony Stark's zapping his armor with a weird green ray, we have three other dramas unfolding. A young African-American woman named Belinda takes off in her car after giving walking papers to some guy, while an alien with metallic gray skin and rivets guides his star-shaped space craft closer to our world and two convicts pull off a prison break. Will all these seemingly unrelated events coalesce? According to Marie Severin’s busy cover, they most certainly do.
That means that Tony must become Iron Man and soar high up into the night sky until he spies that literal star ship. Unfortunately, the metallic alien with nice blonde hair is one step ahead of Iron Man, imprisoning him in an energy field. As those prisoners elude the police and Belinda considers her current romantic status, this alien, calling himself MK-5, explains that he was sent by his Masters to our blue marble to see if we earthlings are suitable trading partners. Oh, and if he decides we’re not suitable, then Iron Man has to go back with him since he’s already seen too much. MK-5’s next course of action is to check things out up close and personal, heading down to a highway to “thumb a lift” (I don’t know how long our visitor’s been studying us, but he seems a quick learner.)
Of course, our hero’s not exactly a slacker either. It takes him about five panels to short out that energy field to pursue his would-be captor. However, that proves a bit more challenging as we learn that Mechanoid Scouts can change their appearance. Once MK-5 becomes a handsome African American man, he doesn't even have to wait a single panel before he's in Belinda’s car and calling himself "Mike.”
Not be forgotten, our two prison escapees total their vehicle while eluding the police. Looks like they now need transportation. Of course no woman in her right mind is going to pick up two more hitchhikers … Who am I kidding? Of course our dear Belinda stops to pick up two very rough looking white guys who demonstrate their appreciation by immediately taking she and Mike/MK-5 hostage. However, as all this is occurring, our interstellar visitor is experiencing strange currents within him, causing him to put a caring hand over Belinda’s.
Where’s a superhero when you need one?
Hey, didn’t I tell you that Tony Stark’s no dummy. Sure enough, he’s set his suit's sensors for mechanical noise in order to track MK-5. This leads to a clever set of panels where the bald heavy points out the rear window, boasting to his buddy that so long as he sticks with him, he’ll be as free as that bird in the sky. Only to have “Baldy” realize in the next panel that that “ain’t no bird.”
After the convicts attempt to shoot Iron Man from the sky, MK-5 informs them that it’s time for them to hit the bricks. Before anything else occurs, Iron Man stops the vehicle without injuring anyone. This leads to a standoff with the bad guys holding their gun on Belinda and the disguised alien visitor. Although Iron Man pauses, Mk-5 doesn’t, earning him several rounds of bullets into his chest. But to everyone’s surprise, that doesn’t stop him. Instead, he stops “Baldy.” However, the other escapee shoots him several more times before a punch from Iron Man ends his threat.
A tearful Belinda reaches out to “Mike” only to have him confess that he’s not human and that he’s reached an “ending.” Moving quickly away, Mechanoid Scout MK-5 explodes, leaving a heartbroken Belinda and consoling Iron Man. The issue ends with a blurb announcing the coming of the Spymaster and the Espionage Elite in the next issue.
Ratings
Story
With this issue, Allyn Brodsky appears more confident in his writing, peppering the captions with more colorful descriptions as well as that amusing sequence with Iron Man being mistaken for a bird. Unfortunately, as indicated previously, there are ginormous holes in “Beware the Mechanoid” that overwhelm what could have actually been a good story. Putting aside the pointless sequence with Iron Man being captured by MK-5, imagine what could have occurred had this story been allowed the room of a few issues for an actual relationship to develop. Or what actual good did these “Masters” have to offer? For that matter, what happened to the spaceship after MK-5 went “boom?” Along those lines, if two bullets didn’t seem to harm him, why did the second round cause him to explode? And I’m not even going into questions about what led him to experience those “strange currents” inside him? Or Belinda falling for him after what couldn’t have been more than an hour or so after ditching her previous boyfriend. Adding to all this, Belinda is a school teacher. One can only hope that all this drama is taking place over the weekend and not a school night. 4/10
Art
I know that George Tuska’s work is not the most highly regarded art among comic book fans. But this issue underscores the reason I have a bit of a soft spot for his pencils. Even a splash page that doesn’t make a whole lot of sense conveys a sense of power with that eerie ray and Stark twisting dials while watching attentively. Our hero movements and flight convey that sense of confidence and power that have been lacking with Heck’s art. Belinda’s vulnerability is on full display from her first close up, adding weight to a budding relationship that makes zero sense. I also liked the simple, but effective two panels where MK-5 becomes Mike.
Don’t get me wrong. Tuska’s faults unfortunately surface as well. Like Heck, he attended the same art school that taught them that bad people have bad teeth. More important, his limited number of poses and gestures all make an appearance in this issue. Which is fine in this issue. But which starts to wear thin with consistent issues where every Tuska comic looks like every other Tuska comic.
I would be remiss not to credit “Joe Gaudioso” for a sharp inking job. The quotations are in place because this name is actually a pseudonym for Mike Esposito - an inker who has worked with virtually every artist during the Bronze age. From what I understand, at the time of this issue, he was working for DC under his real name but took on other jobs for more money. However, to avoid incurring the wrath of his editors at DC, Esposito used aliases. 5/10
Wimp Factor
While I’m not sure how powerful that energy field was that captured and immobilized Iron Man, to his credit, it required some techno-garble before he broke through the side of that spaceship and after MK-5. From there, it was essentially a chase story with the Golden Avenger pretty much in control. 3/10
Villain Rating
For the third straight issue, there really isn’t a supervillain for Iron Man to cross swords with. The so-called Mechanoid proved more a lover than fighter. That left two goons with bad breath and a couple pistols. Not exactly the Mandarin or Titanium Man. (That’s Assuming MK-5 could keep him busy in a fight for at least one page and/or 5 panels.)
2/10
Overall Rating
Let’s see. Improved writing. More appealing art. But a messy story with disposable characters. Still, a step in the right direction. 4/10
Additional Nuts & Bolts:
Needless to say, we never hear a word again from the Mechanoid or his so-called Masters. Maybe that's for the best. Given everything going on at this current time with tariffs, having another world as a trading partner may not have been a good idea.
That's my take on Iron Man #32. Agree? Disagree? Let me know what you think in the comments below. You're also welcome to subscribe to my reviews at the bottom of the page at this link.
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