Review: Iron Man #63

Blame It on the Booze!

At least that’s the story behind Roy Thomas (Marvel) and Denny O’Neil (DC) coming up with the idea of having an unofficial crossover between the Avengers and Justice League of America. What originated at a party with liquid refreshments flowing like the Mississippi spilled over into both series in 1969. Although the JLA was more subtle about it, Roy Thomas dove in headfirst, creating the “Squadron Sinister” to challenge the Avengers.

Without going too deeply into the weeds of this wonderful story, Captain America, Thor, Iron Man and Goliath (Hawkeye sipping on Pym particles) squared off with individual battles against Nighthawk (Batman), Hyperion (Superman), Dr. Spectrum (Green Lantern) and the Whizzer (Flash).

Meet Green Lante... I mean Dr. Spectrum (Avengers #70 - Art from Sal Buscema and Sam Grainger)

Our hero defeated the good Doctor and his sentient prism on the steps of the Taj Mahal in Avengers #70 by utilizing his “ultra-violent” beam, clearing riffing on Green Lantern’s weakness to the color yellow.

If you haven’t read Avengers #69-71, I’d suggest doing so.

We now move to the summer of 1973 with Dr. Spectrum making his first reappearance. As a twelve-year old kid rapidly increasing his knowledge of the Marvel universe, I had no idea who this guy was, but I loved Gil Kane and Mike Esposito’s thrilling cover. Gone was the standard framing box, allowing this eye-catching evildoer to eat up a huge portion of the page as those rays of primary colors clearly did something dreadful to my hero.

Never knew Shellhead had an "ultra-violet" ray, but good thing he does! (Avengers #70)

Loved the story as well as a kid. Sure, the Annoying Hippy got too much screen time. But along with this nifty new villain, we had Eddie March return, the introduction of some verbose African guy and The Kiss! Even at that tender age, I knew that both Tony and Pepper had a serious jones for each other and it was about damn time they showed it! Way I saw it, Pepper was a much better fit for my hero than that pious Roxie Gilbert and since her husband has left her, well, why not?

The next four weeks seemed to crawl by before the next issue arrived on the racks at Sutherlin Drug…and left me duly disappointed.

But that’s for another post. Now let’s take our seats as the curtain unfolds for “Enter: Dr. Spectrum!”

Having lived in the Midwest for over 30 years, I can pretty much guarantee that people are not going to be outside when a twister is actually present.

Credits

Writer: Mike Friedrich

Pencils: George Tuska

Inks: Mike Esposito

Colorist: George Roussos

Letterer: Artie Simek

Editor: Roy Thomas

Cover Art: Gil Kane & Mike Esposito

Release Date: July 3, 1972

Synopsis

We hit the ground running with Iron Man arriving at downtown Detroit during a tornado and the aforementioned Roxanne Gilbert about to be smashed by debris from said twister.

Of course, the Annoying Hippy expresses her thanks for Iron Man's immediate rescue in the most off-putting manner humanely possible. Does this woman have any friends? But that doesn't deter our headstrong hero who promptly changes back into Tony Stark and ramps up his charm to DefCon Two in order to secure from her the time of day.

Around that same time, Pepper's husband, Happy has yet to respond to her calls after telling her two issues back that he was leaving her. After learning that his wife's spending another week in Motown, he decides to actually go to Detroit to talk with her in person. What a concept!

Tony Stark has the hots for this woman why?

Before Stark Industries can secure a restraining order to keep him away, we meet two individuals who will figure quite prominently in this story. One’s Dr. Obatu, an economic minister from an African nation and who wishes to meet with Tony Stark for reasons unknown. The other’s Eddie March, a retired boxer and one-time Iron Man who was last seen in issue #28. Before either can say much, four masked individuals in identical, teal-colored outfits appear out of nowhere to capture Dr. Obatu. However, with Eddie's help, the attackers are quickly dispatched. That's enough to impress the African official who invites Eddie to join him on his trip to Detroit to meet with Stark Industries’ CEO. And once they're gone, the masked attackers instantly vanish.

Realizing we’re over halfway through this comic and that he’s not exactly a household name, Dr. Spectrum decides it’s past time for him to make an appearance, attacking Tony Stark at his Detroit plant. Spectrum immediately shows off his abilities, tossing a bomb and robot in Stark’s direction. Getting past both threats by the skin of his well-polished teeth, Tony is allowed to find his bodyguard.

Although this should have had Spectrum in a hospital, it's still a great shot!

Iron Man's arrival is nailing Spectrum from behind in one of my favorite George Tuska panels. Unfortunately, instead of being knocked unconscious as I would have thought would happen to normal person hit that hard, our primary-colored villain instead somehow knocks out our guy's precious "ultra-violet beam" before causing an explosion that he gullibly believes has killed Iron Man.

Either that or the masked bad guy had a dinner date who expected punctuality.

However, still among the living, our hero decides to check in on his secretary. As he attempts to console her, he finds out that anger isn’t the emotion simmering beneath those lovely blue eyes. She decides to demonstrate her appreciation for his support with a very passionate kiss that Tony responds to with equal fervor. And since we’re at the end of the comic book, it only makes sense for Happy Hogan to finally appear. Just in time to say the immortal words, “My best friend … is in love with my wife.”

When the eyes are closed, you know they're both into it!

Story

Would you believe that Mike Friedrich was the one who wrote that distinctly informal “Avengers” appearance in JLA #81? It was the closest the poor guy got to writing The Avengers.

As for this story, while I applaud returning Dr. Spectrum to active duty and without giving too much away, this issue and the upcoming ones suffer from what I call “Trying too Hard.” In other words, instead of a good tussle between the hero and multi-colored villain, Friedrich’s attempts to add too many layers to what’s essentially a knockoff villain.

Never once in my life has my mind ever used the word "tenderly" in connection with another person.

Main story aside, I definitely have my quibbles with other aspects as well. I question Tony’s romantic interest in Roxanne Gilbert. I suppose it’s both an attempt on the writer’s part to bring him closer to the mindset of the readers and perhaps she’s based on someone that Friedrich may have known. But her sanctimonious attitude strikes me as “guy repellent.”

Up next, we have Happy. Sigh. Why is this guy haunting Stark Industries when he could just return his wife’s call? And if he’s coming to see his wife, wouldn’t it have made sense to call her ahead of time?

And there’s the kiss. That’s the part of this issue that makes the most sense. Tony and Pepper have been hot for each other for years. What surprises me more than anything else is that this is the first time they actually lock lips. Unfortunately, the dialogue uttered by a stricken Happy is perhaps the most cliched we’ll see in years.

Nice action sequence from Tuska & Esposito!

Want to go higher, but with those stumbling blocks, I just can’t. 5/10

Art

How do I put this? George Tuska and Mike Esposito are…George Tuska and Mike Esposito. Meaning, you know pretty much what you’re going to get with each issue they draw.

Fortunately, this issue is one of their better ones. I liked the early pages with the photos as panels. Likewise, the fight with the teal-garbed mystery men worked for me. Less enticing was the skirmish between Dr. Spectrum and Iron Man. Other than our hero hitting the bad guy from behind, the action seemed rather lackluster. But both artists made up for that with the kiss between Pepper and Tony. I think the steam from that panel moved my twelve-year old self three months closer to puberty. 6/10

Wimp Factor

“If you checked, I’d be a dead man.” Y’know, Iron Man, I’m gonna call you out on that. Sure, the sentient power prism with its ability to conjure whatever the writer can think of and the artist can draw qualifies as a real threat. But the guy wearing those primary colors and sharing the link with the prism is a normal dude. There are any number of ways that Iron Man could easily deal with him and most certainly without that gimmicky “ultra-violet ray.” 7/10

Villain Rating

Dr. Spectrum returned to Iron Man with oodles of promise and any number of directions to pursue. Unfortunately, the bickering with the prism quickly dims much of that promise. Likewise, that initial fight isn’t all that impressive. Still, the two of them earn the benefit of doubt for this issue. 6/10

Also appreciate the "photo panels!"

Overall Rating

A few speed bumps for the start of what will be a four-issue story. 5/10

Additional Nuts & Bolts

• Eddie March first appeared in Iron Man #21 where he was meant to become his hero, Iron Man, thereby allowing Tony Stark to pursue a relationship with his lovely business rival, Janice Cord. Unfortunately, Eddie neglected to tell him that he’d had to quit boxing because of a blood clot and that any sort of fighting could lead to his death. That made for a dramatic story where Janice Cord perished and Eddie darn near joined her.

• The Squadron Sinister made a couple appearances after this issue in the Defenders. But far more prominent are the Squadron Supreme which consists of an entire superteam of JLA clones who hang out in a parallel universe. They first appeared in Avengers #85 and have been in a bazillion other comics since then.