IRON MAN versus WAR MACHINE
Friends... And Other Enemies (Marvel)
Where: Iron Man #310 When: November 1994
Why: Len Kaminski How: Tom Morgan

The Story So Far...
Suffering a life-threatening condition that rendered his nervous system on the brink of collapse; Tony Stark fakes his death in order to retreat from the world, and his many enemies, in an effort to isolate himself during the pursuit of a cure.

Eventually Stark reveals his ruse to the world, but not everyone is pleased to see the playboy billionaire industrialist back among the living. After decades of struggle and servitude, including lengthy bouts as a substitute Iron Man; James Rhodes takes exception to be excluded from Stark's inner-circle of aids. Despite the industrialist's best efforts to patch their relationship, including the indefinite pledge of the War Machine armor to his partner, they are unable to reconcile.

Simmering tensions continue between the pair, eventually reaching boiling point when Rhodes finds himself in need of aid from the inventor of his damaged suit. Embittered and unwilling to put aside their differences, Stark opts to decommission the War Machine, but Jim Rhodes has other ideas...

Tale of the Tape...
Strength: Draw 6 (Invincible)
Intelligence: Iron Man 5 (Professor)
Speed: Draw 3 (Athlete)
Stamina: Iron Man 6 (Generator)
Agility: Draw 2 (Average)
Fighting Ability: Draw 4 (Training)
Energy Power: Draw 5 (Lasers)


- While on a field tour to observe the effects of weaponry designed by his corporation for the United States military; billionaire industrialist, Tony Stark, soon finds himself face-to-face with the bold consequences of his actions.
Caught in a rebel booby trap, Stark suffers a near fatal wound that lodges a piece of shrapnel inches from his heart. The rebels take Stark hostage to demand he apply his genius to the design and construction of weapons built from their limited resources. In doing so, they provide Stark the means to construct a suit of armor that preserves his heart, and turns him into an invincible Iron Man!

Stark's mastery over technology allows him to bring his designs home, where the availability of rapidly upgrading technologies allow him to continue to refine the build to become increasingly mobile and efficient. Stark soon dons the Iron Man armor on a regular basis, not only as insurance against his life threatening injuries, but as an opportunity to atone for the wanton destruction delt by his weapons of death. Stark protects his secrets through the duality of a secret identity, projecting to the world the image of Iron Man as a hi-tech bodyguard.

Advancements in Stark's arsenal have advanced to a point where he has now undergone cybernetic synthesis on a genetic level. The armor now not only provides him with superhuman strength and an array of offensive weapons, but also gives Stark full wireless control over the armor and other peripheral devices, as well as access to information databases, including SHIELD resources under his control as Director of SHIELD. Iron Man remains a staple of the Avengers roster.

- When US helicopter pilot James Rhodes found himself shotdown behind enemy lines, he could never have imagined the way his life would be changed. Having just escaped the clutches of his kidnappers, an armored Tony Stark stumbled upon Rhodes in the jungle, and as Iron Man, helped aid their mutual rescue.

Promised employment as a pilot by Iron Man's "employer", Rhodes fullfilled his obligations with the US military, before taking up the offer. As an employee of Stark Industries; Rhodes developed a close relationship with Tony Stark persisting through the playboy's battle with alcoholism, and the reveal of his identity as the armored avenger, Iron Man. This relationship leads to Rhodes donning the Iron Man armor himself for extended periods, before eventually inheriting a specialist suit dubbed, the War Machine.

As War Machine; Rhodes possesses much the same abilities as Iron Man, including dramatically enhanced strength, endurance, onboard tactical systems, and advanced weaponry. Though subject to variation, the War Machine was originally idenitifed by it's increased durability and arsenal of weaponry.

The Math: Iron Man Ranking: Iron Man (#3)

What Went Down...
Having been confronted by his once best-friend [in War Machine #8], Iron Man uses a trigger word to deactivate the War Machine suit. To his surprise, the override proves ineffective, the result of one of Rhodes' few customizations in the light of a previous encounter with similar results.

War Machine springs from his back, launching into a devestating blow that topples the Iron Man with authority! Rhodes challenges Stark to take him down the old fashioned way, to which his rival seems happy to pledge the original flavoured armor. A blast of repulsor rays soon explains his indulgence.

The Mandarin secretly observes the battle with glee, factoring his own machinations into the equaton, while the two armored heroes continue to mercilessly stretch the limits of their suits.
Stark continues his assault with little forethought for the intervention of more conventional enemies, unleashing the physical brutality of the suit's strength enhancements, as well as his patented repulsor ray blasts.

Iron Man presses his dominance, taking full advantage of maneuvrable superiority to attack the War Machine in flight with a dropping kick attack. The pair battle across the Stark Industries compound, taking the battle airborne when Iron Man launches himself with a missle-like tackle!

The pair spiral around each other, heading skyward as Iron Man continues to batter the War Machine like scrap metal. Having suffered a majority of the violence, Rhodes finally turns the tables on his counterpart, returning the battle to earth with a super-charged toss!

An Iron Man-shaped crater gets a little deeper as War Machine descends earthbound, colliding with the floored Iron Man with maximum impact!
Now suddenly on the ropes, Iron Man suffers a two-pronge attack of a devestating left hook that launches him into the air, and an emotional piledriver regarding Stark's perceived betrayal with his faked death.

With a hint of regret, Iron Man reminds that he's suffered considerably less damage throught the course of the fight. A repulsor blast topples the looming War Machine, but even as the pair anticipate their counter measures, a third party enters the fray to blast them both with a focused EMP!

Bethany Cabe, former girlfriend of Tony Stark and head of Stark Enterprises security, shows on the scene to put a stop to the lunkheaded feud between the armored heroes. Her strategy pacifies the situation, but goes pear shaped when the opportunity for verbal resolution is interrupted by the arrival of the Mandarin!

The Hammer...
When it comes to superheroes, you don't always get a clear cut resolution to a fight. In such circumstances it's up to the experienced discretion of the Infinite Wars judges to determine whether a fight be deemed a draw, or awarded on points. The latter is the case here, with Iron Man having held a dominant control throughout the fight, despite an aborted conclusion. No thanks to Bethany Cabe!

For those of you wondering what went down between IM, War Machine, and the Mandarin, you should scoot over to our review of Iron Man #312! Or, if you're too lazy to do that, rest assured that all any troubled relationship really needs is the healing intervention of an insane, mystic, technophobic, ecological terrorist!

This lagging entry into our month of Iron Man provides an interesting bridge between the developing interplay between Tony Stark and James Rhodes in the feature film; and the tumultous relationships experienced by Tony Stark in the pages of Marvel comics over the past few years.

PR and distracting mini-series have managed to gradually smooth over some of the malice felt toward the Iron Man character, post-Civil War.
Well documented was the divide in the Marvel Universe that, though not necessarily intended, painted a politically reactionary Stark as the antagonist to Captain America's ideaological rebel. Stark was arguably in the right, certainly from a real-world perspective, but never the less, you couldn't argue that the management of situations went considerably pear-shaped, even if only taking into account the fatalities of heroes like Black Goliath, and Cap himself.

Agree with the politics or not, we've discussed previously the notion that the volatile turn in Stark's relationship with his fellows (like Captain America), and the absorbed perspective from which he approached the situation, was not at all out of character. In the case of his rivalry with War Machine, I dare say it was Stark who had the emotional high ground, but I think this is just one of many back issues that lend weight to the theory that Iron Man has always been a self-absorbed user.

More pertinent to the point is the backstory between Rhodes and Stark, which includes Iron Man's character-defining battle with alcoholism, and his reliance upon, and abuse of his friendships. As by extension of his alcohol abuse, Stark has long had a penchant for pulling supporting characters into his problems with a self-important gravity.

Splinters in the Rhodes/Stark relationship go back quite a ways, dealing certainly with issues of inadequacy in the former. Division between the characters, however, never struck me as quite as real as after Stark faked his death.
Given that the industrialist was isolating himself to cure a life-threatning condition, it's difficult to fully relate to Rhodes' reaction, but when you consider the unnerving decades of dedication and servitude Rhodes had shouldered, the emotional response at least benefits from the weight of that history.

Like steps from a pamphlette, Stark attempts to smooth the situation over by buying off his friend, but it's not to be.

I do wonder how these relationships will evolve for the flim version of the characters. While the subject didn't seem to be particularly prominent, director Jon Favreau didn't particularly shy away from the prospect of a poignant onscreen battle with alcohol for Robert Downey Jr. One wonders if the inherent distance between the film versions might lend to a similar breakdown and physical confrontation. Fanboys certainly know to expect Terrence Howard in the armor sooner or later, with the film telegraphing such intentions with wanton regard for the fourth-wall.

I think one of the most intriguing struggles for these films will be the balance between suspension of disbelief, and the continued consistency of the Iron Man franchise. While there are plenty of IM villains to go around, most tend to revolve either around the juxtaposition of the fantastic to IM's technology, or flatout knock-offs that pit tech V tech -- something already achieved with Iron Monger.
If indeed another armor war is to feature, you'd have to think it should carry some sort of additional weight, like an internal rivalry between Stark and Rhodes.

I'm a big War Machine fan, and it's nice to come back to the character!
I haven't been reading Avengers: Initiative, but I'm sure for those of you looking to get more of the character, it's nice to know it's out there. I certainly hope the character can be reintegrated into a more prominent role in the Marvel Universe, akin to the titular role he held during this period of comics.

I wouldn't argue against War Machine's role as an Initiative trainer, but I do have a special affection for the superhero side of these characters. What can you do?

The Fight: 5 The Issue: 5

Find yourself wanting more Iron Man? Be sure to track back through the Secret Archives and absorb all facets of the character, be they the superhero, the Avenger, the industrialist, or the arsehole! If you'd like to get some of that action for yourself, be sure to check out the Infinite Wars Amazonian Gift Shoppe! Amazon offers a great range of titles and prices, and with every purchase you make via the links, you help sponsor the Infinite Wars! Yay!

THE MANDARIN versus IRON MAN
Hands of the Mandarin Part 6 of 6 (Marvel comics)
Where: Iron Man #312 When: January 1995
Why: Len Kaminski How: Tom Morgan

The story so far...
Iron Man and War Machine are forced to put their growing differences aside, and team together with the other members of Force Works to face The Mandarin at the very height of powers.

In possession of the mystic Heart of Darkness, The Mandarin has summoned elemental avatars to aid him in his war on technology. More powerful than ever, the Heart of Darkness allows him to create an anti-technology field of energy that is expanding ever more outward from his base in Hong Kong.

Also in possession of Century's mysterious Parallax weapon, the Mandarin sits poised to rule the globe in a time of fear and confusion. Only Iron Man and Force Works can put a stop to his terror, but can the tech hero withstand Mandarin's might? Or is this the end of the era of the invincible Iron Man?

Previous Form:
Iron Man (#4): Victories against Diablo, Hulk, Captain America, She-Hulk & Titanium Man.
The Mandarin: Has not yet been featured on the site.

Tale of the tape...
Strength: Iron Man 6 (Invincible)
Intelligence: Iron Man 5 (Professor)
Speed: Iron Man 3 (Athlete)
Stamina: Iron Man 6 (Generator)
Agility: Iron Man 2 (Average)
Fighting Ability: Iron Man 4 (Trained Fighter)
Energy Powers: Mandarin 6 (Mass Destruction)


In all the entries we've had over the year and a half of Infinite Wars, I think this might be the most one sided tape we've ever broken down. It's actually really quite surprising how statistically removed the two characters are, given than Mandarin fairly comfortably holds the title of arch-nemesis to Iron Man.

Unlike a lot of more classically archetypal arch-villains; Mandarin represents much less of a reflection to Iron Man, resonating more as the opposite end of the scale. Their dramatic tensions, which manifest themselves quite literally in some stories (such as this one), are the theories of the [super]-natural versus the technological.

The Mandarins power rings are alien in origin, but represent the more metaphysical and super natural version of any kind of alien technology. This is in stark [hah!] contrast to Iron Man's powers, which are entirely self-sufficient, terran in origin, and produced by the will of human engineering.

This dichotomy means the two are considerably more versatile in their fields than their other. Iron Man represents the superior physical adversary, while the Mandarin controls X-factors like the various energy constructs and phenomena produced by his rings, as well as the summoning of beasts and minions such as Fin Fang Foom [as seen in Iron Man #271].

The tape would have you believe this is all Iron Man, but the strength of Mandarin's entry on that final stat -- energy powers -- makes him more than a worthy adversary!

The Math: Iron Man (Super Class)
The Pick: Iron Man

What went down...
The Mandarin casts his horrible visage above the terrified citizens of Hong Kong, as Iron Man and the members of Force Works stand amidst the carnage and destruction of the city.

The gleeming red and yellow knight of technology leaves his teammates behind to take to the skies, swearing to defend the modern era against Mandarin's desires for an age of darkness. The Mandarin is unimpressed, declaring himself cast by destiny to destroy all Iron Man represents and stands for.

Iron Man offers up a taste of technology's powers, firing all guns blazing at the ghostly representation of his arch-nemesis. Mandarin scowls at Iron Man's feeble attempts, channeling his own energies through his apparition to send the golden avenger plummeting Earth-bound into the wreckage of Hong Kong.

Failing beneath the massive energies he wields, Mandarin becomes dazed, not yet the master of his godhood. He uses the last of his immediate power to use Century's Parallax staff to teleport himself to the safety of his castle lair, before collapsing from exhaustion.

Tony Stark reconvenes with his teammates to strategize. He eventually seeks out the aid of Su Yin, a scientist who very nearly had a hand in his death thanks to the invention of a techno-organic virus. The virus now makes the basis of the artificial nervous system that sustains his mobility, but Stark puts the scientists available to work to develop it as a potential weapon against the Mandarin.

Force Works do battle with the elemental Avatars, before Iron Man arrives in the streets to do the unthinkable -- he surrenders!

Before the US Agent's objections can give away the gambit, Iron Man pleads for the Mandarin to free his people in exchange for his peaceful surrender. Delighted by the submission, he gladly has his Avatars snatch his foe, and teleports them back to his castle.

Inside the castle, Tony Stark finds himself the victim of the Mandarin's anti-technology field that renders his suit little more than a glorified tin costume.

The Mandarin illustrates some connection with his reality, exercising caution in accepting Iron Man's surrender. Iron Man plays the understanding foe, agreeing he too would procede with suspicion, knowing fullwell of his own deception.

Iron Man claims that when he was blasted from the sky by the Mandarin's god-like power, he reached an epiphany. He claims he was humbled, and faced the realization that he had dedicated his life to technology under the illusion of being it's master, all the while truly being little more than a slave.

Despite the glimmer of truth in his words, Anthony Stark is unable to convince the Mandarin with mere words. Iron Man compells him to lift the unlocked visor on his helmet, and allow him to see the truth that lies within his eyes.
"Yes. I shall. As I said before, I would see your face -- when you DIE!"

With Tony Stark's face revealed to him, the Mandarin slaps it with the backhand of his green fist. Convinced of a great ruse, the Mandarin prepares to do away with his enemy once and for all, but without warning, he chokes on his words.

As Mandarin begins to feel the effects of the ruse, Iron Man reveals the techno-organic virus infecting and aging him laced the faceplate he so eagerly opened.

Desperate, the Mandarin reaches out to his Avatar, Deluge, but the agent of the Heart of Darkness burns at his tainted touch, crumbling to ash and a smouldering mask. Withering and aging, the evil sorceror crawls toward the Heart of Darkness, making one last plea for salvation for his servitude.

The Mandarin's techno-infected hand meets with the mystic object, resulting in a reaction of epic proportions. Science and sorcery collide, hurling the great energies of the Heart of Darkness out of the castle, and into the night sky. It leaves Iron Man, alone with the Parallax staff, and a world of technology.

The hammer...
Originally I expected to skip over much of the middle bits, but since it all fell into place, I'm going to give this one to Iron Man and the assist to Force Works. Victorious over Mandarin and his Avatar henchman.

You'll notice, if you've been following Marvel Ultimate Alliance Mondays, that there's a substantial number of villains I've skipped over, by now. For the most part that's because I either don't have any of their battles in my feeble collection, or at the very least, nothing of significance. Which strikes me as somehow odd as I reflect on my lifelong investment in the medium, and more importantly, the characters.

The same could be said of The Mandarin, who, despite being among the most enduring villains in the Marvel universe, makes maybe three appearances in the entirety of my collection. Which just seems pathetic! Still, I suppose it's avoided serious storage issues through my youth...

Big things lie on the horizon for The Mandarin!
Aside from appearing in Ultimate Alliance, the character has just featured in the DTV animated Iron Man movie, and is also fixing to fullfil the same role in the live-action vehicle of the same name! If casting is anyone other than Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, that will be an impressive feat for a character that seems so unlikely to make it to the screen in the tech-heavy world of the Iron Man universe. Granted, filmmaker Jon Favreau has been quite forthcoming about the corporate take on the character, familiar to readers from the early nineties.

Looking closer to the material in this particular issue, you can see highlighted a Tony Stark who has not only been fighting an on-going rivalry with his former friend, James Rhodes (aka War Machine), but is also abrasive and dismissive of his teammates during battle. Which is the kind of characterization that has garnered Civil War a great deal of criticism.

I suppose that remains one of the more interesting facets of the Iron Man character. Tony Stark, to varying degrees, has always represented something less than mainstream in the hero department. Stan Lee cites the character as an initial effort to make a character who was inherently unlikeable - likeable.
In that respect he and brother Larry succeeded undoubtedly, working with the unpopular topics of establishment supporting weapons manufacturers.

The superficial qualities of the weapons-making industrialist playboy have continued to be a conceit of the character, but it's fair to say lying under the radar has remained the edge of a character designed to rub people up the wrong way. Perhaps the great irony of it all is that in the case of Civil War, Tony Stark was arguably the man who was in the right!

With a movie on the horizon it will be very interesting to see if the character can redeem himself as he did during and after this particular issue, and patch the wounds caused by his betrayal. Unless of course, that original edge of antagonism is what will set Iron Man apart from the other heroes present in the box office...

The Fight: 3 The Issue: 4

IRON MAN, BLACK WIDOW & CRIMSON DYNAMO versus TITANIUM MAN
Triangle (Marvel comics)
Where: Iron Man #316 When: May 1995
Why: Len Kaminski How: Tom Morgan

The story so far...
With the Cold War well and truly behind America, Stark Industries finally succeeds in efforts to open an industrial park in Russia. Good news for Stark, but not so much for resurrected Soviet Super-Soldier, Boris Bullski aka the Titanium Man.

With the Black Widow by his side, Iron Man finds himself in a fight for his life, while Russian military scramble to recover and put an end to this political nightmare.

In their desperation, the Russians turn to a former villain and ally of the Titanium Man - General Valentin Shatalov - the sixth man to wear the armor of the Crimson Dynamo. Thus, with hopes for a future Russia, they send their soldier into battle -- but whose side will he be on?

Previous Form:
Iron Man (#4): Iron Man has a string of victories against; Diablo, Hulk, Captain America, & She-Hulk.
Black Widow (#117): The Widow was among the pro-registration heroes during Civil War.
Crimson Dynamo/Titanium Man: Neither of the armored Russians have previously been featured on the site.

Tale of the tape...
Strength: Titanium Man 6 (Invincible)
Intelligence: Iron Man 5 (Professor)
Speed: Black Widow 3 (Trained Athlete)
Stamina: Titanium Man 6 (Generator)
Agility: Black Widow 4 (Gymnast)
Fighting Ability: Black Widow 5 (Martial Artist)
Energy Powers: Iron Man 5 (Lasers)


Alright, I'm running behind schedule once again, and there's a lot to get through, so I suppose here is as good a place as any (as opposed to all those other places we usually begin...).

For anyone wondering, we're dealing with mostly originals here.
This is the resurrected Boris Bullski-Titanium Man at this point, and the Black Widow featured is the always lovely, always deadly, always Russian about the place -- Natasha Romanova.

As the tape shows, despite being equally rated with his armored counterparts, Titanium Man excells in the field of strength and durability. At the heart of his bulk is a lack of technology, which required much larger mechanics along the lines of the earliest 'refridgerator' suits of the Iron Man armor.
That said, this appears to have come with great capacity for physical strength, and that's definitely got to be recognised.

In the numbers game, the advantage goes to the good guys, who number not only Black Widow, super-spy extraordinaire -- but also the pairing of two suits of armor in Iron Man and this sixth incarnation of the Crimson Dynamo.
While it may not be reflected in the armor's capabilities, I probably rate this as the slickest and most attractive suit of crimson armor. While that will win it points with the fashion judges, it gets no points for originality. Tres derivate~!

But more to the point, the combined abilities of the two suits of armor should spell defeat for the Titanium one. The nature of the beast (and materials used to make his suit) make it possible for Titanium Man to turn the tables, but statistically it just shouldn't happen.

The Math: Iron Man, Black Widow & Crimson Dynamo
The Pick: Iron Man, Black Widow & Crimson Dynamo

What went down...
We begin our story with our invincible hero in the menacing clutch of the Titanium Man, as the villain threatens to break him in two!
Fortunately for Mr. Stark, the Black Widow is on hand to swoop in to the rescue and do more than the translating she was paid for: like kick some tin can ass!

With Titanium Man on the back foot, the former Russian spy reintroduces her comrade to the pain of the Widow's bite, firing her blast directly into the base of the Titanium Man's helmet.

The attack serves only to further enrage the Titanium Man!
With Iron Man being whipped around like a ragdoll, Black Widow is left to play the agility game, leaping to avoid the attacks of her countryman while Iron Man rights himself for a second pass.

He thunders in, jetting head-first into his adversary like a human torpedo.
The attack still doesn't manage to fell the bulky Russian, leaving Iron Man to take energy blasts.

The nimble mechanics of the Iron Man armor allow him to slink between the beams with relative ease, despite taking a hit initially. Stark berates Widow for getting involved, despite being grateful for the save, and punctuates his ability to take Titanium Man down, plummeting atop the aforementioned feet-first with devestating results.

Iron Man comes around to finish the job, but Black Widow intervenes, insistent upon talking Bullski down, perhaps even relating to his dated ideals on some level.
At that moment, ruby blasts rain down from the sky, signalling the entrance of the man we're here to acknowledge:

The Dynamo informs Iron Man of his jurisdiction, and orders him to stand down to allow him right to deal with the Russian matter. Iron Man, not content with leaving the battle, reenforces his claim with the threat to Stark property.

Titanium Man begins a sermon of distain for the foreign interference, but to his surprise he is abruptly shushed by his countryman. Though the Crimson Dynamo voices similar distaste for the capitalist tendencies of their government, he declares his allegiance to the country as it is, and not as he or the Titanium Man would have it be.

Titanium Man is not so easily convinced.

TM runs through the Dynamo, and swats him out of the air with an unforgiving fist!
Like the attack he suffered moments ago, Titanium Man brings the entirety of his armor's weight down upon the comparably diminutive suit of the Crimson Dynamo, squashing him between he and the Earth.

The Dynamo continues to try to reach out with a calm voice of reason, lamenting that their efforts of the past [Ramont 4] were futile and foolish. However, this only strengthens the Titanium Man's resolve, and harshens the blows of his bulky gauntlets.

Iron Man makes the save, charging from behind with a stiff shoulder.
As Titanium Man turns to meet his attacker, the Black Widow strikes again with the blast of her sting, and yet again Titanium Man turns, this time struck by a blast from the Crimson Dynamo!

Betrayal comes from all sides as Titanium Man finds himself the victim of a combined triple threat of pooled attacks. Though they serve to rattle his cage, the Ruski super-soldier is still able to swat away the opposition, and with one final jet blast, make an escape.
"Though you are all against me, I shall never surrender!"

With the damage of the battle having taken it's toll, Iron Man is unable to follow the fleeing Titanium Man, turning instead to find the Black Widow nursing a floored Crimson Dynamo. Though badly hurt, he has served his country valiantly.
As a mark of respect, Tony Stark strips Shatalov of the Dynamo armor, and swares a resolution for the people of Russia.

The hammer...
Magneto was mad! Titanium too! And the Crimson Dynamo picked up the victory along with Iron Man and Black Widow.

We've been doing this for two months now, and honestly, I have to admit it's been probably that long since I played the Marvel: Ultimate Alliance video game, so the relevence of each of these character's appearances is starting to dissipate.
I went with a Crimson Dynamo appearance that I had handy, and was interested in. As I mentioned in the tape, this has got to be the best looking Dynamo design, even if it's similar to IM's.

Fortunately for us, the game features Shatalov in the armor, so I didn't have to cheat my way through this one. There have been something like seven or eight different men to wear the armor, so as you can imagine, it can make sending evil Christmas cards difficult come December in Latveria.

If the accompanying image shows nothing else, it's that Tony Stark is living the life of the ultimate action figure.

If you switched out the helmet, I guess this design harkens back to the Centurian armor worn in the eighties. Or maybe that's just a really lazy observation because of the red and silver colour palette.

Speaking of armor, the first official images have been leaked from the set of the 2008 Iron Man feature film. It appears to be a shadey image of the first model of Iron Man armor, bulkier and unrefined than he will ultimately appear in the majority of the film, or at least we've been led to believe.

I've noticed a lot of people blindly speculating that it's War Machine, presumably because they're unfamiliar with the original bullet grey 'refridgerator' suit, or because they're blissfully unaware that the metals used probably don't come red and yellow.

Either way, amaze your friends with the knowledge that one of the earliest certainties revealed by director Jon Favreau was the fact that the movie will feature a fast track through the graduating design processes.
This fits neatly with the tweaked origin developed by Warren Ellis and Adi Granov during the Extremis storyline, that featured a scaled down version of the original armor.

If you're wondering where I'm going with all this, it's nowhere fast.
Once again we find ourselves a few updates behind, and I must apologise for that. There's been a massive influx of hits, and we've just hit 10k, so a big thanks to all the people all over the world visiting.

Some big things coming, but until then, I've gotta get some sleep! Cheers!

The Fight: 4 The Issue: 4.5

NEXT WEEK: Swing your arms from side-to-side. Come on, it's time to go do the MODOK!

VENOM versus IRON MAN
Oil and Gold (Marvel comics)
Where: Iron Man #302 When: March 1994
Why: Len Kaminski How: Kevin Hopgood

The story so far...
What happens when you take a billionaire industrialist, and add a deranged killing machine who considers himself a 'lethal protector'?

Recent corporate decisions have brought Tony Stark to the attentions of the alien symbiote wielding anti-hero called Venom, and he wants blood.

Believing Stark to be little more than a cancerous pollup, fleecing hard-working innocents of their hard-earned dollars; Venom makes the march to Stark Tower to get a piece of hard justice.

Previous Form:
Iron Man (#4): Iron Man has gained victories over the likes of the Hulk, Captain America and Diablo.
Venom (#59): Venom has not yet participated in a conclusive battle.
Spider-man: Wearing the black symbiote, Spider-man aided Jim Rhodes in defeating Backlash.

Tale of the tape...
Strength: Iron Man 6 (Invincible)
Intelligence: Iron Man 5 (Professor)
Speed: Venom 3 (Trained Athlete)
Stamina: Iron Man 6 (Generator)
Agility: Venom 4 (Gymnast)
Fighting Ability: Iron Man 4 (Trained Fighter)
Energy Powers: Iron Man 5 (Lasers)

First off, I just have to acknowledge how bizarre a combination this is.
Six degrees of Spider-man connect these guys quite directly, particularly in a world post-Civil War, but otherwise there's just no connection here. Which is probably what makes it so enjoyable.

Venom's statistics probably don't highlight how formidable a foe he is, even for Iron Man. While his strength and abilities are perhaps not as potent as the Iron Man armor, Venom still weighs in somewhere around the second or third tiers.

The irony of the stats is that Iron Man could very easily defeat Venom based on some of his simpler tools, even things as base as sonic radar.
That said, being so unfamiliar with Venom as a foe, it's entirely reasonable to expect Iron Man to overlook this kind of specific solution, and instead engage in more direct combat.

Under those circumstances, Iron Man should still come out the victor relatively comfortably. However, Venom's capacity to barrel his opponents over with sheer strength and aggressions should not be overlooked.
The right kind of front-on attack could easily see the armor peeled open like a very expensive sardine can, leaving Venom to feast on the gooey goodness contained within.

Overall: Iron Man 31 (+7)
The Pick: Iron Man

What went down...
Having burst into one of the many highrise properties owned by Stark Industries, Venom has few bones about leaping all over his intended prey, and popping his head like an overgrown zit.

Fortunately for us, this decapitation reveals a ruse the likes of which would make even Victor Von Doom proud... If he hadn't done it a hundred times before, infidel!
The robotic LMD [Life Model Decoy - Mick Fury] serves only to stir Venom's rage further, but he remains clear of mind enough to deduce that "corporate scum" would probably be in the penthouse, if not the office.

A couple of broken windows later, Venom is again upon our moustached hero -- this time for real!

This is the period when Stark was largely housebound, having one of his frailer moments. Which means Tony's a hoverchair bound sitting duck when Venom comes looking for a late lunch.

A bit of quick thinking sees Stark using his chair as a projectile, which nails Venom with such force, it sends him hurtling through the brickwork!

At a slow crawl, Stark makes his way to the express elevator -- commando style!
Still feeling the effects of his near-death experiences, Stark heads for the armory, but Venom is lurking not far behind.
Coming back in the way he went out, Venom is right at the elevator doors as they slam shut.

The symbiote powered anti-hero makes little work, tearing and mangling the doors, before descending down the shaft: "Going down: Men's shirts... House-wares... And dismembered corpses!"

Uh-oh Tone, I think he means you!
"There's a word for what you are now, Stark: Spam."
Yep, he definitely means you!

With the elevator holding up until they reach sub-level 3, Stark crawls his way through his identification systems, as Venom finally begins to rip his way through, moving at a stroll like any good horror villain. Another set of big metal doors coming between stalker and prey, just in the nick of time!

Clawing at the doors, Venom is hurled backward as they blow out!
There, standing amongst the smoke and rubble is the symbol of hope and capitalism - gleaming like an golden angel -- IRON MAN!

Venom recovers and fires webbing over the eyeslats of the armor, forcing Tony to go to ultrasound viewscans. Thus, Venom inadvertantly brings IM a moment of the upperhand!


Unfortunately for Iron Man, the low frequency device is not enough to directly assault Venom, sending him into a deranged frenzy.

With the webbing away from his eyes, Iron Man holsters the red muleta, as Venom pins him to the ground.
"You're crunchy on the outside -- chewy on the inside!," Venom taunts.

Apparently tired of his foul mouth, Iron Man snatches Venom's wagging, saliva laced tongue and channels an electrical charge through his gauntlet.

Whilst verbally defending himself, he throws a punch to back up his strong words, sending the symbiote clad maniac through various generic set pieces.

A barrage of repulsor rays keep Venom pinned down, while Stark attempts to turn the psychological fight around. He accues Venom of being the very evil he claims to police, via his own demented ideals.

"You want to confront evil, Venom -- Take a good long look in the mirror."

Though Venom doth protest, he does so too much.
The psychological blows prove to be the most effective, and the psycho agrees to give Stark length of rope long enough to hang himself.

With that, Venom retreats into the shadows, and Stark lets him go, too weak to have a hope of giving chase.

The hammer...
Well, given that Venom really left of his own accord after giving Iron Man a pretty tough time of it. I think the best I can do here is call it a draw.
On points I'd probably go Venom, but gosh darn it. Gotta give IM something for effort.

It's been about three or four weeks since I last updated, I think.
I had a big tidy recently, and when I dragged my crammed longboxes out again to see what I might find, this was the gem that popped up. Well, actually, this was the second gem, after Ironman #259 - the issue I was actually looking for.

I decided to scrap the original issue planned for this entry, just to get a post done on enthusiasm. Yes, that's right. I was enthusiastic about a comic from the mid-nineties that featured Venom in an obtuse guest appearance.

The crazy thing about what Len Kaminski does here is not the mere inclusion of the guest character. It's the fact that, beneath the fairly typical execution, lies a sound concept!

One of the things that has me most jazzed about Sam Raimi's inclusion of Venom in the upcoming Spider-man movie is the nature of the character. Though often portrayed more as a psychopathic anti-hero, Venom has the basic fundamentals of a really scary, horror style menace.
This applies even moreso where Spider-man is concerned, with one of Venom's most deadly qualities being the fact that he has Peter Parker's entire history on tap.

Couple that with supreme camouflage abilities, spidey-sense immunity, super strength, and all those other wacky powers -- and Venom becomes a pretty frightening prospect.

It's interesting then to see the character's distorted mobility used as the driving force for a chase comic, like this particular issue of Iron Man.
Like many comics featured on Secret Earths, it's not going to win any awards, but it's a fun a propsect.

Despite Venom's ultimate warning, I don't think the comics ever had him cross swords with Iron Man again. Which, in a way, is a bit of a shame.
Villain-of-the-week appearances like this really didn't help sustain the interest in the character, and highlight some of the missteps taken in the nineties as the character was finding his way in the Marvel world.

I guess an ironic conclusion to this entry is the current course being taken in Civil War. The contrast of Stark's character aside, Mac Gargan is among the villains being employed by Iron Man and the registration crew.
Mac Gargan, better known as Scorpion, has been in posession of the venom symbiote for the last year or two.

The Fight: 4 The Issue: 4.5

NEXT: Whatever tickles my fancy!