Invincible Iron Man Omnibus

Reprints Iron Man #115-157
Written by David Michelinie, Bob Layton, Bill Mantlo, Jim Shooter, Roger Stern, Peter John Palmer and Alan Kupperberg.
Penciled by John Romita Jr., John Byrne, Carmine Infantino, Bob Layton. 
Inked by Bob Layton, Dan Green, Tom Palmer, 

Over 800 pages of Bronze Age Iron Man action!

Highlights include:

Tony Stark is ambushed by the Ani-Men before he has a chance to put on his Iron Man armor! He's even more shocked when he learns the brains behind the attack is his girlfriend Whitney Frost, AKA Madam Masque. She orders Stark to help restore the health of her dying father, Count Nefaria...or else!

Stark has to put on his armor in front of the Ani-Men!

Pressure mounts on Stark when he learns that SHIELD has been secretly buying up stock in his company, Stark International. This depresses Stark and he develops a drinking problem. At the same time, a crooked billionaire named Justin Hammer has a device that allows him to take control of Iron Man's armor. Hammer uses the this to make Iron Man kill a foreign diplomat.

Stark will have to stop Hammer and his army of super-villains if he wants to prove Iron Man's innocence.

  

But dealing with Hammer is only part of Stark's problem. He's hit rock bottom. His drinking gets completely out of control. His drunken, cruel behavior causes his longtime butler Edwin Jarvis to resign. But Stark's girlfriend Bethany "Beth" Cabe helps him kick booze. Beth's ex-husband had a drinking problem that cost him his life, she doesn't want to lose someone else to the bottle.

Tony Stark asks Beth to help him deal with his alcoholism.

The Hulk arrives in New York City. His alter ego, Bruce Banner seeks help from Stark, hoping he can cure Banner of the Hulk for good.

Hulk and a new friend play with Micronauts toys!

Unfortunately it doesn't work and Shellhead finds himself in a battle that nearly costs him his life. It's up to Scott Lang, better known as to the world as Ant-Man, to save Iron Man.

Iron Man's old foe Titanium Man attacks New York. He's fallen out of favor with his former bosses in the Soviet Union and believes trashing Iron Man will win back their good graces. Titanium Man and the Golden Avenger duel at the ice rink at Rockefeller Center.

Whiplash get's a power upgrade and takes the name Blacklash. He goes after Stark's chief of security.  In the process, Stark International is set on fire!


Stark learns that Doctor Doom is trying to acquire equipment from Stark International. Iron Man pays a visit to Doom in Latveria and a battle ensues. Iron Man and Doctor Doom wind up sent back in time to the kingdom of Camelot. They find themselves on opposite sides of a war between King Arthur and Morgan Le Fey.

Review:
It's difficult to review a book this long, but I'll do my best cover the high and low points. This review contains a few 30-year old spoilers.

Story:

Back in 2012, I reviewed a book called Iron Man: Demon In A Bottle. I wrote that "One problem with Iron Man is that I've always felt he's too damn powerful for most villains and that most of his top foes are just other guys in armor." That happens far too much in this book as well. In addition to that, we get quite a few gangs of generic gunmen and terrorists that Iron Man easily dispatches. 

Not only are many of the villains easy outs, they're not particularly compelling either. There are two stories that feature Dreadnoughts as the villain. Dreadnoughts are basically just generic killer robots and not very interesting.

An unmasked Stark faces off against Madame Masque and her Dreadnoughts.

There's also a moment that indicates (in my opinion) that Michelinie was tiring of a major plot thread. At the height of Stark's alcoholism, SHIELD secretly purchased stock in his company to gain a controlling interest. After Stark is rude to Jarvis, the butler sells his stock, allowing SHIELD to take over. This is a crushing blow to Stark.

But then he tells off Nick Fury and easily gains back control of Stark International in two pages! It sort of undermines major elements of the "Demon In A Bottle" storyline.  

We get not one, but two stories where Madame Masque is allowed to escape. She may be Stark's ex-girlfriend, but she's also a leader of the Maggia crime syndicate and a dangerous criminal. I'm thinking an Avenger would've at least tried to bring her to justice.

But there are some good, solid enjoyable stories here.

A three-part guest appearance by the Hulk features a great battle between Iron Man and Ol' Greenskin.  Michelinie also makes good use of Ant-Man in that story. Scott Lang saves Iron Man by shrinking to ant-size and fixing Stark's armor. This is sort of a homage to an earlier story where the original Ant-Man (Henry Pym) crawled inside the Vision, but it's still a cool sequence. 

James "Rhodey" Rhodes made his first appearance in stories that are reprinted in this book. Rhodey became a major character in comics, first as Stark's right-hand man, later wearing the Iron Man armor himself, finally becoming War Machine.

Rhodey's first appearance.

And of course Rhodey has shown up in the Iron Man animated series and movies, so Michelinie deserves credit for creating a supporting character with staying power.

Speaking of new characters, Bethany Cabe makes a great love interest for Stark. She runs her own security company and is proficient in hand-to-hand combat, more than capable when attacked by bad guys. But the storyline involving her husband is soap opera level silly. I won't spoil it beyond that.

Beth helps Iron Man tackle Hammer's hired villains.

 

The fight against Blacklash is pretty good, as the former Whiplash's new powers make him much more dangerous.

I've been a fan of the Titanium Man story since it was brand new back in 1980.    

The alcoholism storyline and the Doctor Doom time-travel tale have been reprinted in smaller books, but they'also high points of Iron Man Omnibus.

Romita and Layton also make Justin Hammer look like actor Peter Cushing, which is a nice touch.

Art:
The art in this book is fantastic.

The vast majority of Invincible Iron Man Omnibus is penciled by John Romita Jr. and inked by Layton.  These stories are some of Romita's earliest work and look nothing like the art he later produced as a fan favorite. That's due to Layton's heavy inking. But they make a great art team. In later stories (such as the Doctor Doom two-parter), we see Romita asserting himself a little more.

Doom shoots rubble out of his fingertips!

A few other pencilers and inkers take over for an issue's worth of pages, but Layton inks almost everything here, so the "look" of the art consistent throughout. John Byrne guest-penciled one issue reprinted here, he and Layton are a good combination.

Stark is thrown from the Heli-Carrier and changes to Iron Man in mid-air! 
Nice art from Byrne & Layton.

Carmine Infantino pencils the re-telling of Iron Man's origin.

Tony Stark flashes back to his creation of the Iron Man armor.

How does it look?:
This scan was taken from Iron Man #129:

And here's how the same pages look in this book:

Looks good to me.

Extras:
This book contains a boatload of bonus features.

We get the detailed back-story of Jarvis' resignation letter, early drafts of several covers drawn by Layton, two diagrams of Iron Mans armor that were originally published in The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe and thirteen pages of original art.

In the book's final story, Iron Man battles a giant space spore!

Invincible Iron Man Omnibus contains some good stories, and a bunch of stories that weren't very interesting. Unless you're a diehard fan of Iron Man and/or the creative team, the price tag will scare away many readers. I would recommend that the "casual" fan of Iron Man would be better served by picking up the Demon In A Bottle and Doomquest reprint books instead of this omnibus. But the artwork adds a half-Sal to its grade.

J.A. Morris' rating:

  

.5



2 and a half Sals. 

Spider-Man vs. The Black Cat

Reprints Amazing Spider-Man #194-195, 204-205, 226-227
Written by Marv Wolfman, David Micheline and Roger Stern. 
Penciled by Keith Pollard and John Romita Jr.
Inked by Frank Giacoia, Pablo Marcos, Jim Mooney and M. Hands.

A new criminal has arrived in New York City—the Black Cat! She's a world class cat burglar and like her namesake, bad luck seems to befall everyone who crosses her path.

The readers get their first look at the Black Cat as she prepares to go on a crime spree.

Black Cat engages in a series of break-ins, stealing files from the NYPD and explosives from a military base.

Spider-Man spots the Black Cat swinging through the city and is finds himself attracted to her. But she triggers his Spider-Sense, prompting him to follow her. 

Spider-Man meets the Black Cat for the first time.

Black Cat is trying to buy an arsenal's worth of illegal guns when Spidey breaks up the sale. The Cat starts to flee, but then tells Spider-Man she's a big fan and has a scrapbook dedicated to him. She peels back his mask and gives him a kiss. Spidey is shocked by this, so shocked that Black Cat is able to escape.

The Cat meets with her minions and tells them they are breaking into a prison. Black Cat's objective is to free her father, famed cat burglar Walter Hardy. When Spider-Man tries to prevent this, he's caught in an explosion and ends up underneath a pile of rubble. This leaves him with only one good arm.

Walter is very ill, so Black Cat takes him home so he can die in peace, with his family. She tells Walter that she is his daughter, Felicia, and that she became the Black Cat so she could follow in his footsteps.

The injured Spider-Man finds the house and duels the Cat once again. During their battle, they take a great fall towards a rocky point in the river. Spider-Man's arm is still injured, he can't hold on to her as she falls to her death. Spidey feels terrible about this.

But months later, Spider-Man learns that Black Cat survived that fall. She is back to her cat-burgling ways, stealing a series of priceless works of art from museums and auctions.

Spider-Man stops Black Cat from robbing the Guggenheim Museum.

Spider-Man is able to convince her to surrender. But he is shocked when he learns the reason behind the Cat's crimes. Spidey and the police believe Black Cat is mentally ill and she is committed to a facility that can help her.

Finally, Black Cat escapes from a Mitchell State Hospital. She had been faking insanity all along. But when she helps him recover stolen art, Spider-Man asks the NYPD to give the Cat anmesty for her past crimes.

Spidey's friend Captain Jean DeWolf agrees to this and fills out the proper paper work. He sees her as a potential new girlfriend as he and Felicia share a kiss. But will the Black Cat's kleptomania get in the way of starting a new life?

Plus, Peter Parker's personal life is as difficult as ever!

Review:
Spider-Man vs. The Black Cat is a good introduction to Felicia Hardy and her relationship with Spider-Man. I should mention that all but two of the issues reprinted here are available in other books I've reviewed. The first two issues (194-195) are reprinted in Spider-Man: Return Of The Burglar. ASM #226-227 can be found in Spider-Man: Nothing Can Stop The Juggernaut.  But the middle portion, from ASM #204-205 has never been reprinted in book form. Is it worth getting the book for just that reason? Read on.

Story:
I enjoy this book. The problem with Spider-Man vs. The Black Cat is that it drops you into the middle of a longer story.
Marv Wolfman wrote the the story that introduces Black Cat. It's a pretty good story. We get some good fight scenes and the Cat is established early on as an intelligent criminal who doesn't really want to hurt anyone. She's just hooked on the life of a cat burglar.

This portion of the book takes place in the middle of an arc that featured Mysterio and the Burglar (the otherwise unnamed gunman who killed Uncle Ben) plotting to kill Aunt May. When we see Peter get the telegram announcing her death, the next story reprinted has nothing to do with that plot.

Part 2 works a bit better. It's a nice follow-up to Black Cat's first story, and it works as a self-contained two-parter. It also marks the end of Marv Wolfman's two-year tenure on the book. David Michelinie finishes up the story.

In addition to the Black Cat storyline, we get to see Peter Parker attempt to date a woman named Dawn Starr who is a student in a class he's teaching. He's reluctant at first, but Dawn talks him into it.  He later catches Dawn trying to cheat. When he confronts her as Spider-Man, we get one of the oddest Spider-Man quotes of all time. See the image below for Spidey's comments about Iran.

Awkward at best.

The final chapter, written by Roger Stern is also very good. It can now be seen as as the beginning of Black Cat's transition from villain to crime-fighter. But the other problem with the stories reprinted here is that we get 2 "deaths" of the Black Cat. And both times it's death by drowning. Of course 30+ years later, we know Felicia is still alive, so I don't feel like I'm spoiling anything by mentioning her non-death in this book.

Left:Black Cat plans her next theft;Right:Peter Parker types a term paper (on a typewriter!)

Art:
Keith Pollard pencils the first two parts of this book, with John Romita, Jr. penciling part 3. They're assisted by a variety of inkers. The art here isn't flashy or spectacular, but it's good. I've always liked their art, and fans of these pencilers will especially enjoy the book.

Extras:
We get a Black Cat profile from a recent edition of The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe and several covers and pinups that feature Felicia.

Felicia Hardy has been an important figure in the Spidey-verse for more than 30 years. Spider-Man vs. The Black Cat shows how it all began. It's a slim volume that won't take up too much space on your shelf. If you don't have the other books that contain some of the early Cat stories, this book is strongly recommended. If you have them, it's still worth picking it up.

J.A. Morris' rating:

3 Sals.

Iron Man: Doomquest

Reprints Iron Man #149-150, 249-250
Written by David Michelinie and Bob Layton.
Penciled by John Romita Jr. and Bob Layton.
Inked by Bob Layton.

The Armored Avenger and the Monarch of Latveria battle each other across time!

Variant cover.

Tony Stark (AKA the Invincible Iron Man) discovers that his company, Stark International, has been selling "specialized electronics components" to the nation of Latveria, even though Stark has forbidden any sales to Latveria because it's the native country of Doctor Doom. Though Doom has been recently overthrown, Stark fears that anything sent to Latveria could fall into Doom's hands. He fires the employee responsible for the sales and cancels the shipment.

Stark fires Zurrow for selling components to Latveria. 
Is it me or does Zurrow resemble Rodney Dangerfield?

But Doom doesn't take this lightly. He needs the components to boost the power of his time machine.  He's been traveling through time, meeting with various sorcerers. Doom wants to learn their spells so he can resurrect his mother, who was a sorcerer herself. His scientist, Dr. Gert Hauptmann, assists him with improving the time machine. Hauptmann hates Doom for killing his brother and secretly plots revenge. 

Doom travels back in time to learn sorcery from Cagliostro.

When Doom learns that the shipments were cancelled, he sends his agents to retrieve them. Iron Man fails to stop this and Doom's flunkies escape, taking the components back to Latveria.

Stark encounters Latverian soldiers at the airport.

Stark decides to handle this matter personally. He takes off for Latveria and comes face to face with Doom. The Latverian tells Stark that the components are his since he paid for them. Iron Man disagrees and the battle begins.

Doom's "molecule expander" allows him to shoot boulders out of his finger tips. Very cool!

Iron Man and Doom don't realize they've stepped onto a time machine. When Hauptmann turns on the machine, it sends them both back in time. For good measure, Hauptmann destroys the time machine, forever trapping Doom and Iron Man in the past.

Hauptmann sends Doom & Iron Man back in time.

Doom and Iron Man keep fighting, until they realize they've been sent back in time...to Camelot!  Within no time, they find themselves mixed up in a battle between King Arthur and his evil sister, Morgan le Fay.

Doctor Doom meets Morgan le Fay.

Will Iron Man and Doctor Doom survive the battle? If they do, how can they get back to the present day with no time machine?

Review:
I remember picking up this story at 7-11 back in the Summer of 1981. I was fascinated with King Arthur at the time and I've always been a sucker for time travel stories, so I was in Comic Book Heaven. I loved it then and it's still great, probably my favorite Iron Man story, and one of my favorite Doom stories as well.

Gorgeous & frightening depiction of time travel from Layton & Romita.

Story:
David Michelinie and Bob Layton are rightly considered the best Iron Man plotters of all time. They mix in just enough corporate politics with the superheroics.   

They also write Doom with the right mix of villainy, intelligence and nobility. I especially liked the thought balloons where Doom and Stark praise each others' technological genius—it showed a mutual respect between the two.

And sending them back in time was a nice touch—it forces them to conserve their powers, since they can't plug in and recharge in Camelot.

Doom & Iron Man slug it out.

We don't see much of Iron Man's supporting cast, but fans of the Iron Man movies will be glad to see a cameo from James "Rhodey" Rhodes.

Art:
It's great. John Romita Jr. and Layton compliment each other nicely here. In a previous review of an Iron Man tpb, I mentioned that in their early collaborations, Layton's work was more visible than Romita's. Here, we see Romita beginning to find his style and Layton embellishing rather than overpowering the pencils.

They also give us several two-page spreads that are very nice.  I don't have access to a scanner that can do them justice, but this will give you an idea:

How does it look?: 
Marvel did a great job here, it looks like it should, no weird coloring job. This page is a great example of how it looks:

Iron Man levitates King Arthur's throne with his "sorcery".

Extras:
This tpb contains a sequel to "Doomquest" (by Michelinie and Layton, without Romita) that was published 100 issues and 8 years later. I don't review the non-Bronze Age stuff, but I will say that I enjoyed it more than I expected, even if it's not as good as the earlier story.   
We also get an unused cover and a nice introductory essay from Michelinie.

Iron Man: Doomquest is an excellent story and a high point for Iron Man during the Bronze Age.  Strongly recommended.

J.A. Morris' rating:

 

4 Sals!