Review: Iron Man #51
- Rick Moore
- 1 hour ago
- 7 min read
The Best Iron Man Villain...We Never Saw Again!
With a laughable Rogues Gallery, it only makes sense that when Iron Man faces a villain with potential, we never see them again. Such as the sorry story of Cyborg Sinister. Okay, so the name’s kinda dorky, but hey, one of Marvel’s top two villains is called Dr. Doom.
Our hero’s had multiple bouts with losers like The Melter and The Unicorn (try saying that name twice without snickering!). But a villain with a truly eerie visual appearance and who has been built up over the past several issues - and who caused Tony Stark to dump his hot blonde fiancé - is only given an axe for a weapon. Being relatively easy pickings for Shellhead, Cyborg Sinister is gone after one issue.
Sure, his origin was wonky. Having him created from the genes of the less than inspiring Adaptoid and tied to some weird sub-atomic world with bickering, angry micro-elves didn’t help. But surely even a minor spark of creativity could have found loopholes around this.
What happened? Did the agents for The Crusher and Mr. Doll make too much noise?
All that aside, this seems to be the issue where new writer Mike Friedrich is finally able to clear the deck so that he can fully incorporate his vision for the book. Tuska and Coletta maintain a consistency in the art that either works for readers or doesn’t. With that, I invite everyone to join me in finding a secure location because “Now Stalks the Cyborg Sinister!"
Credits
Writer: Mike Friedrich
Pencils: George Tuska
Inks: Vince Coletta
Letterer: John Costanza
Editor: Roy Thomas
Cover Art: George Tuska & Vince Coletta
Rrelease Date: July 4, 1972
Synopsis
Did we miss an issue?
I ask that because when we left our hero in the previous issue, defective boot jets had nearly caused him to join the python he’d been battling into a vat of acid. (And let this forever be the last time we remind anyone that Iron spent his 50th issue fighting a damned snake!). Anyway, he’d commented that he’d have plenty of time fixing those troublesome boot jets. As he said this, that scary Cyborg Sinister is breaking through the chain-link fencing into Stark Industries.
Now we have a rather dazzling splash page with Iron Man way, way up in the sky, watching a rocket launch - from somewhere on Long Island of all places! It becomes crystal clear by the second page when the rocket explodes that Tony Stark can add procrastination to his list of talents because those boot jets go on the fritz again.
Fortunately, they kick in time for him to use his repulsors to turn a huge chunk of debris into dust as well as take the wind out of the sails of three bad citizens who use the near panic to rob a hardware store.
Once Iron Man has satisfied his inner “Charles Bronson” by backhanding said looters, he returns to the launching site where we learn that said rocket is part of Stark Industries’ move from manufacturing munitions and the company’s future hinge on its success.
As he’s telling the rocketeers to get back to it, we see our BAME’s (Bickering Angry Micro-Elves) monitoring the Cyborg Sinister as he breaks into Stark Industries’ Long Island plant - which he was doing at the end of the previous issue. No idea what he’s been up to since the previous issue, but naptime’s definitely over as he tears up a lab on his way to siphon energy that will somehow be transferred to the war-ravaged sub-atomic world of our arguing BAME’s.
We go from there to a sharp-looking panel where poor Marianne Rodgers continues to relive her nightmare vision of Iron Man falling into a vat of acid. She pulls herself out of it just in time for a notably not-happy Tony Stark to confront her about the rather significant fact that she ditched him two issues back when his chest plate ran out of power. Since nearly dying didn’t set well with the guy, he’s really not buying anything she has to say. In less than seven panels, Tony puts the kibosh on their engagement.
However, before Tony Stark can give much thought to what he’s just done to his social life, he receives a frantic call for Iron Man. Suiting up, he finds staff running away from the R & D building - and Marianne running towards it!
Probably not the best way to patch things up with your now ex-fiancé.
But that blame works both ways as Iron Man places her on the catwalk adjacent to that same seething pit of acid that’s been haunting her these past several issues. Clearly, some intense counseling would be beneficial for both.
Unfortunately, that’s not an option at that moment as the Golden Avenger finally confronts the Cyborg Sinister. Iron Man gets in a couple good punches while dodging the cyborg’s cleaver before his boot jets go out yet again. However, he instead activates his roller skate wheels. Definitely a rather silly option, but hey, they buy him enough time for the genius inventor to…”whack” his boot jets. Because it is a comic book, that works with Iron Man taking to the air - lining up perfectly for Marianne’s vision to unfold with him over that infamous vat and her on the catwalk!
Of course, it’s the acid or chemicals or both or whatever’s in there that the Cyborg Sinister seeks so that he can make the micro-world of Bast great again!
Marianne gives it her all to warn him that his boot jets will fail and sure enough, as that horrid vision unfolds into reality…they work just fine. Iron Man semi-politely tells her to go away as he proceeds to upend said vat all over his new sparring partner. Credit to the Cyborg not throwing in the towel just yet with him still wanting to fight.
As this goes on, the nastier BAME, Jarr, seeks to blow up the cyborg, taking Iron Man with him. Tyrr, the nicer BAME isn’t having any of that. Their resulting skirmish causes said device to blow up, leaving the nice BAME the victor.
Iron Man then demolishes the now-inert Cyborg Sinister, commenting that his victory may be an omen that better days are ahead. Which seems the case as a second launch of that rocket proves successful.
The issue’s final page awards us with an impressive shot of Iron Man leaving the launch site and a somber Marianne realizing she still loves Tony and wondering where she goes from there. We’ll find out next issue as we see our hero will face some guy named Raga - the Son of Fire!
Hey, at least it’s not another robot-android-cyborg!
Story
Gotta be honest. After a two issue build up, the Cyborg Sinister turned out to be a bit of a letdown. What seemed a compelling, eerie visual with a nasty cleaver fell apart in one issue. On a similar note, what was the point of Marianne’s vision if at least a portion of it did not unfold? If nothing else, it certainly seemed a bizarre way to end Tony Stark’s engagement to her. While I’m nitpicking, I also can’t say that I’m wild about Iron Man backhanding criminals. Getting hit by anything metal is likely to do more than leave a bruise. And hey, the timeline with the rocket and Cyborg Sinister are pretty hard to overlook.
But at the end of the day, writer Mike Friedrich says what we’ve wanted to hear for ages about failing equipment and that it all boils down to power. That’s reason enough for optimism in my book.
By the way, for those keeping score, Cyborg Sinister makes it four androids-cyborgs in seven issues and possibly six in nine issues (if David Bowie's little brother, Mikas, was actually not a real person back in #43).
Bottom line, this issue gets the job done. 6/10
Art
I consider this issue to be one of George Tuska and Vince Coletta’s finer efforts. We’re covering everything from rockets to robberies to creepy-looking cyborgs to nightmare visions to a couple breaking up. Each page and each panel convey exactly what’s needed to tell that story with the emotion required for each scene. Are they trademark Tuska expressions? Sure. But you’d see the same with Romita or either Buscema brother. I’ll add that there are several panels that stand out - such as the red-hued vision of that nightmare. Kudos as well to the full-page when Iron Man pours those chemicals over the Cyborg Sinister. Solid art as far as I’m concerned. 6/10
Wimp Factor
I think we can all agree that we should expect more from someone of Tony Stark’s intellectual talents than pounding on his failing boot jets. Likewise, I doubt there’s much disputing that those roller skates just look plain silly. But y’know, absent that, there’s not much to complain about in terms of how our hero handled himself. After that mother-effing snake in the last issue, we’ve cause to celebrate! 3/10
Villain Rating
If I’d been Cyborg Sinister’s agent, I would've had a few harsh words with Marvel about how my client was used. I mean, how about some super strength or some energy blast from that cleaver. Something that would have made him a more formidable opponent and even an addition to our hero’s less than intimidating Rogue’s Gallery. Definitely the waste of a great visual. Then again, I suppose that the Adaptoid was going to want his genes back sooner or later. 5/10
Overall Rating
It seemed to take Mike Friedrich several issues to get there, but it appears he’s finally been able to clear the deck to take this book where he wants it to go. That works for me as well. 6/10
Additional Nuts & Bolts
So ends our time with the BAME’s. Once Iron Man demolishes the Cyborg Sinister, Jarr, Tyrr and the denizens of Bast are relegated to comic book limbo. The Adaptoid returns a few years later in Captain Marvel #50, apparently reconstituting himself when freed from a storage vat housing the remains of said cyborg.
This issue is also the first with Roy Thomas ascending to the role of Editor-in-Chief. Although he only remained there a few years, Thomas continued to recruit talented writers and artists as well as develop launch titles as ranging from The Defenders to What If to The Invaders.
As you may surmise, Iron Man's adventures prior to Mike Friedrich's arrival received what could be most tactfully termed "mixed reviews." This issue's letters stemmed from issues #45-46. The one to our left stood out particularly to me