Known as "Stark Wars" in the issues themselves, Armor Wars got its name because it was advertised in other Marvel books at the time with full-page ads stating "THE ARMOR WAR BEGINS IN IRON MAN #225". Also, I like to think the name stuck because it sounds cool.
This story came about because of a dinner at an Italian restaurant. No, really. David Michelinie was having a dinner at an Italian restaurant with Jim Shooter (then Editor-in-Chief at Marvel), Bob Mackie (who was the editor of the Iron Man book at the time), and Bob Layton. Layton was expressing a bit of frustration. You see, the creatives felt that they were putting some pretty good work on the genius billionaire play philanthropist's comic, but the book was not getting any actual attention on it. Jim Shooter said they needed a big story. Give him a big story, and he'll push it.
Shooter himself came up with the basic idea: What if the technology that Tony Stark used in his mighty suit of armor ended up in the hands of his enemies? How would Tony Stark feel about that. The idea was a hit, and everyone at that table started contributing ideas. It not only allowed a reduction of the armor-wearing characters in the Marvel Universe, but also explored the emotional conflicts of one of the original Avengers.
Armor Wars would go down as an important and beloved Iron Man storyline that still has effects on the Marvel Universe today. It would be adapted in the various Iron Man animated series, and elements of it would be used in Iron Man 2. It would also get a sequel, but that's for another time.So with that out of the way, let's take a look at Iron Man #225!
The cover is pretty neat. I have to say, I love that old Iron Man masthead logo. The big angular letters with the rivets on them, it just says Iron Man. You got Iron Man standing front-and-center, with the heads of various armor-wearing villains behind him. It gives the impression that the man in the suit is tormented, that these villains are haunting him. It's great!
"Stark Wars, Chapter I"
Writers: David Michelinie, Bob Layton
Penciler: Mark Bright
Inker: Bob Layton
Colorist: Bob Sharen
Letterer: Janice Chiang
Editor: Mark Gruenwald
Editor-in-Chief: Tom DeFalco
The story begins with what looks like Iron Man (clad in the Silver Centurion armor, one of my favorite Iron Man suits) dodging some missiles.
Iron Man lands near a general, who is very impressed. This whole thing was a practice run for an Open House charity event the Army is holding with Stark Enterprises. Tony heads back to a van he's using as a mobile HQ. James "Rhodey" Rhodes is inside, looking over a new warning system Stark developed. He believes the Pentagon will be very impressed with it. That's a good thing, as Stark Enterprises needs this contract. Defense contracts can be hard to come by when you decide to no longer produce munitions.
After Stark deals with the business with the general, he decides to make it up to Shannon Sinclair (a woman who watched over the practice with them) by offering to take her for a nice seafood lunch. He knows a place that makes great Alaskan king crab, best in the world! Shannon agrees to it, asking where that place is. Nome, Alaska. No kidding, Tony is going to fly Shannon all the way to Alaska for seafood lunch.
Two days later, Stark is back in his company's headquarters in Los Angeles. He's examining the armor of a villain once known as Force. Force was an armored mercenary named Clayton "Clay" Wilson. He used an advanced suit of Iron Man-esque suit of armor equipped with a powerful forcefield during his merc work. However, in Iron Man #223-224 (October-November 1987), Wilson gave up the mercenary work and reformed. Stark's only just now had the time to actually examine the suit. He's been rather curious as to how Force and other criminals got such impressive tech. He makes a shocking discovery. A discovery so shocking, it makes Stark angrily trash the lab.
Luckily, Jim Rhodes was able to calm the genius billionaire playboy philanthropist down. So, what got Stark freaked out? Well, it turns out that some of the tech in Force's old armor...was Stark's own. Somehow, someone managed to steal Stark's tech and use it to create Force's armor. Sounds like something the Spymaster could pull off. You see, Stark never bothered to patent the Iron Man suit's tech, as he feared it could be used to expose his secret identity as the Golden Avenger.
Tony feels that because of this, all the harm Force caused was his fault. And Force may not have been the only villain that benefitted from the stolen tech. Rhodes tries to mollify Tony. After all, they chose to use the stolen tech. But it does little to help. Stark ran a query in the West Coast Avengers database for criminals who could have benefitted from the use of the stolen Stark armor tech. And it's quite a list.
That's quite a list of villains. Although I can't imagine Doctor Doom being that receptive to using tech from someone else's armor. Considering how big his ego is, I can imagine him laughing off Stark as an inferior armor-maker. Yeah, they brawled during that whole Doomquest thing, but I can't see Doom having a lot of respect for Stark as an armor-maker.
Rhodes tries to convince Tony to be sure all these villains are actually using Stark Tech in their suits before he does anything. As they leave, Marcy Pearson (Stark's Public Relations Chief) reminds them of the Army Open House demonstration. Stark tells her he'll have to cancel, as something came up. Rhodes tells her he'll try to convince him to do it, and gives her a kiss on the cheek. The two had a bit of a thing at the time.
The scene shifts to a company called Barstow Electronics, which is a division of Stark Enterprises. Working there is one Carl Walker...aka Clay Wilson, the former Force. Stark gave him a new job and identity there after he reformed (Also, Justin Hammer still has a contract out on Wilson). He's summoned to Stark's office, as he wants to know where Clay got the armor. He explains that he developed the prototypes of the armor, but Stark deduces Justin Hammer was the one who provided the stolen Stark tech.
Tony realizes that since the Force armor wasn't as powerful as his then state-of-the-art Silver Centurion armor, Hammer must have obtained the tech back when Tony had his company back in Long Island, New York. But it still leaves one question: How did Hammer get the tech in the first place? Rhodes suggests he do something to take his mind off it, like a certain charity Open House demonstration that Iron Man was supposed to be at? Tony is reluctant, but realizes Rhodey is right.
At the demonstration, the Army shows off their new tank: The SP-4 Turbo-Tank, aka...
I love this tank. It looks...rather Cybertronian in a way. Maybe Cybertronian tech was used to build it. It's not completely implausible. Spider-Man met the Robots in Disguise in The Transformers #3 (January 1985), and the New Avengers would also meet them in 2007. The tank shows off its strength by towing a cart carrying a massive pile of scrap metal. The speaker explains that the tank is one of the safest on Earth for its driver...because it has no driver. It's remotely controlled. So, it's a drone.
Iron Man arrives as part of the demonstration. His wrists are chained to a pair of the tanks, and they drive off, attempting to pull him apart.
However, Tony's mind is not on the demonstration. He thinks back on his origins, joining the Avengers, his solo adventures...and he feels like it was all for nothing. His technology, which he created to help others, was stolen and twisted to harm people. It makes Stark feel helpless...and angry. He yanks on the chains harder than he intended.
The crowd loves the show, but the general is not too happy. The next day, Marcy Pearson is briefing Tony about it. Tony's stunt has become a bit of a PR nightmare, as they're trying to absolve Stark Enterprises without implicating the military. Tony decides that he needs a break. Hey, maybe he should go see a movie. And that he does.
He finds a date to a new movie called "Dark Angel". Evidently it is a bit of a controversial film because of its realistic portrayal of terrorism. Huh. I had no idea that a film about an alien drug dealer was considered a "realistic portrayal of terrorism". Well, considering that it's the Marvel Universe... Anyway, Tony grows increasingly uncomfortable over the course of the film. He leaves the movie to take the long walk home.
Tony Stark is not the only one having troubles. So is Jim Rhodes. Iron Man's troubles tend to end up his, as well. And he has a jerk neighbor who messes around with his Pontiac Firebird all the time.
Tony Stark has trouble sleeping, and he has to make a call. The receiver is Clay Wilson. Tony wants to know one thing: How many people did Clay kill as Force? Clay refuses to answer because that part of his life is over. Tony is clearly haunted by the stolen tech. The next day, he and Rhodes are going to do a little thievery. Rhodey thinks Tony is crazy, but as far as Tony is concerned, he has no other choice. If he goes to the cops, he might tip Hammer off that he's Iron Man, and Hammer would find a way to get rid of any evidence of his thieving of Stark's tech.
As such, Stark is forced to go a little bit...extra-legal in his maneuvering. He and Rhodey head to Accutech Research and Development, another company that's part of Stark Enterprises. There worked an employee named Abe Zimmer. The man's a big computer expert, and master hacker. Stark helped him out in Iron Man #219 (June 1987), and he's eager to return the favor. He is able to find a company called "Transcorp", which Hammer used as a front for his operations on the West Coast. Zimmer can hack into the company's mainframe, but he's going to need some additional help. Stark knows just the man for it.
Since his days working for Stark in Long Island, one Scott Lang has started his own company called "Electrolang". Tony tries to hire him, but Scott is reluctant. It's understandable. He's an ex-con. He can't afford to be involved in something that may end up breaking the law. Tony is able to convince him by assuring him every precaution will be taken, and he'll buy a store for Scott to use in his new business. As he leaves, Tony admits to Rhodey he feels rotten about this.
That night, the plan is executed. Iron Man is in the sky, ready to provide his distraction. And Scott Lang, the Ant-Man, is heading inside the building's electronic systems. He encounters some automatic pest control, but it's not an issue for him. And he finds his target.
At the right time, Iron Man slams into the building, making it shake. Scott then fiddles with the chip. Zimmer finally works his hacking magic. The guards inside notice the hacking attempt and shut the computers off. However, Abe was able to get most of the files, which he gives to Stark in the form of a disk. Stark opens the disk and discovers that it wasn't Hammer that stole his armor tech.
It was the Spymaster that did it. I knew it! Hammer just bought the tech from him. The files also reveal some other important information: The villains that Hammer gave the tech to, including the Beetle, the Crimson Dynamo, and even more obscure villains like the Raiders and Professor Power. His targets set, Stark is on the attack.
The next day, Stark tells his legal experts to find a way to get his tech back. While they do that, he's also going to take care of business as only a rich man with an armored combat suit can. That night, one Wilbur Day, aka Stilt-Man, is robbing an office building...wile seven stories in the air.
Look at him in his silvery suit. Iron Man punches one of his elongated legs, but it doesn't knock him over. Stilt-Man tries to stomp on the Armored Avenger, but Iron Man just knocks him over. Stilt-Man tries to flee, but Iron man just knocks him down with his own extended leg, and then applies a little invention to the criminal's suit.
It's called a negator pack. It's a device that neutralizes the Starktech in Stilt-Man's suit, rendering it useless. The crusade is starting well, but it quickly hits a roadblock. Remember when Ant-Man and Abe Zimmer did their little hi-tech heist? Well, the judge said that the evidence they maintained was inadmissible in a court case because it was obtained illegally. Whoops. Stark tells his legal expert to keep on it, and so will he.
We next go to a soldier of fortune convention. Basically Merc-Con. We focus on one Brendon Doyle, a Scottish merc who just won the Automatic Weapons Competition three years in a row. He heads to his room, where Iron Man is waiting for him. You see, Doyle tends to use a suit of armor in his work, where he's known as Mauler. Tony wants the suit. And hilariously, Doyle's like, "Okay, here you go."
It's great! He literally just hands Tony the Mauler suit. But again, he's not too worried. He couldn't fight Iron Man (nobody paid him to), and he can always steal another suit. A week later, Tony heads to a tanning salon. No, he's not going to get tanned, the Controller has been spotted in the area. Stark has a gadget that detects the rogue Starktech, and it's being used here. Stark bursts in, and finds a woman about to have one of the villain's control disks attached to her. A group of controlled tan-worshippers show up.
Tony gets his suit on and the egotistical villain commands his army of yuppies to attack the Golden Avenger. They swarm Stark, who tries to get his way out without hurting the people. They are just innocent victims of the Controller after all. The Controller leaps at Stark, but ends up crushing one of his victims in the process.
The young man's death enrages Stark. He tackles the Controller and sends him flying into a beach. Tony then proceeds to Mighty Punch him repeatedly. In his rage, he doesn't notice that the beachgoers are also under the Controller's power, and they swarm him. Tony acts fast, and slaps a negator pack on the Controller's suit. It fires the Starktech in the suit, and presumably somehow frees the people under his control.
Three days later, Stark's lawyer has good news! He and his team made a case for the theft of his tech being a civil rights violation. And also, they may be able to secure the rights to future use of his armor's tech. They were also able to get a date for the hearing: August 12, 1989. Remember, this comic is from 1987. Yeah. Two years. Stark is understandably furious. In those two years, how much carnage could be caused because of the rogue Starktech? The lawyer says that considering the backlog of court cases, they were pretty lucky to get this date. But he's told to get out of the office.
Tony's out of patience. The law takes time, and time is something he does not have. There are still villains out there using the rogue Starktech. He's got to take matters into his own hands. Let the Armor Wars begin.
This comic was really good. When it comes to Tony Stark, this comic does highlight another major part of his character. People know about the snarkiness and the arrogance (not to mention the alcoholism), but there's another big part of his character: His guilt complex. It's not hard to see where that comes from. Tony Stark is someone who sees himself as a good noble man, and seeing his inventions being corrupted and used for evil, well...he's naturally going to blame himself.
Mark D. Bright turns in some fine art. Characters are expressive, and I love the way he draws technology. It's great stuff.
If you want to read this for yourself, I recommend checking out the 2007 trade paperback The Invincible Iron Man: Armor Wars. Thanks for reading this blog entry! If you liked it, spread it around! Join me next time, when the Secret Wars rage on...
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