"G.A.R.D.'S GAUNTLET"
Plot/Writer: David Michelinie | Plot/Finished Art: Bob Layton
Guest Penciler: Luke McDonnell | Letters: Joe Rosen
Colors: Bob Sharen & Don Warfield | Editor: Jim Salicrup
Editor-in-Chief: Jim Shooter
Plot/Writer: David Michelinie | Plot/Finished Art: Bob Layton
Guest Penciler: Luke McDonnell | Letters: Joe Rosen
Colors: Bob Sharen & Don Warfield | Editor: Jim Salicrup
Editor-in-Chief: Jim Shooter
Returning to his temporary living quarters, Tony opens the newspaper to find that Bethany has been captured and branded a spy by the Soviet Union.
Continuity Notes: The Stark International complex is still undergoing repairs following Blacklash's rampage in issues 146 and 147. A footnote on the second page reminds readers of Iron Man's duel with Doctor Doom in the distant past as seen last issue. The following page presents a succinct recap of Tony's relationship with Bethany, as Tony reminisces about her yet again.
Mrs Arbogast and Tony discuss the fact that Cordco is being sold following Edwin Cord's arrest in issue #145. Tony plans to purchase the company.
My Thoughts: Ant-Man becoming tiny and crawling around inside things doesn't really do it for me. I wasn't terribly impressed when Hank Pym voyaged to the center of the Vision during the Kree-Skrull war, I didn't think much of it when Scott Lang traveled around inside Iron Man's armor several issues ago, and I'm not impressed with him wandering around inside Stark's computer here, either.
I like Lang well enough, due mainly to Michelinie's scripting -- so I root for the guy. I'm just terribly bored by his "adventures". Probably because they all involve him outwitting an inanimate object. It's like writers found one thing for Ant-Man to do, and kept rehashing that same scenario.
Overall, this is a "catch your breath" issue following the Dr. Doom story. Unfortunately, Michelinie and Layton don't have many sub-plots brewing at the moment, so there's not a lot of ground for the story to cover. Tony misses Bethany and needs some new clothes, and that's about it. And as noted, the Ant-Man story just isn't enough to carry the issue on its own.
I will say, however, that I continue to love the Michelinie/Layton depiction of Tony's "conspicuous consumption" lifestyle. I enjoy watching rich characters being flagrantly rich, so seeing Tony drive a different exotic sports car every time he goes out, and purchase an entire catalogue worth of suits, are fun little bits.
ReplyDeleteI love that Iron Man’s big action moment on the cover turns out to be him just breaking the doors in at the end of the story.
Scott’s locker access code is THX1138, which is one of the more believable in-world references we’ve had — and far less cringe-y than some of the nods we’ve seen from the creative team.
The flashback reverie this issue reminds me that I thought the perfect time for Bethany to reveal that she knew Tony was Iron Man was after the Hammer affair — or, it was the perfect time for him to realize that she knew because she’d tossed the briefcase with his armor into the ocean for him; her doing so makes no sense otherwise without dialogue to cover it (like she didn’t want bad guys to get ahold of his trade secrets or whatever the cover story for the contents is supposed to be).
Luke McDonnell’s very early work here isn’t as polished as it would be in his upcoming stint on the series — but he was only about 21 at this point. I don’t know whether he or Layton shoulders the most blame for the atrocious perspective on various items crowding Mrs. Arbogast’s temporary workspace.
Some of GARD’s defensive offense seems unnecessarily fatal.