Convention of Fear!

Tony Stark has been called to the Stark Industries plant in San Diego to assist in getting the raw materials needed for a new rapid transit system. He doesn’t want to go to California because of unfinished business in Asia, particularly Roxanne Gilbert’s search for Marty March in Vietnam. When he arrives, Tony goes out as Iron Man he is almost blasted out of the sky by a weapon set up on a nearby rooftop. Although he destroys the weapon, the mysterious men who set up the weapon have fled and are plotting against him anew.

When Tony finally arrives at the planet, he discovers the supply issue has been resolved and he’s not suck in San Diego until the following morning when the next flight out to Asia is scheduled. When he meets with workers at the plant, some of them enter a hypnotic trance and try to attack him. Tony easily defends himself and wonders if this is tied to the earlier attack. As he leaves the plant for the day, Tony is unaware that he is being observed by the Black Lama. The Lama contemplates attacking Tony’s passing car but decides against it and teleports away.

Restless, Tony looks in the newspaper to find something to do to pass the time. An article about the local comic book convention catches his attention and he decides to go check it out in his Iron Man armor. There, Tony is believed to be a regular cosplayer wearing a really detailed costume. He walks around and watches enthusiastic fans buy comic books and meet with various creators, particularly a number of staff members from Marvel Comics. Heading into a screening room he finds a bunch of cosplayers in various costumes. He spots people dressed up like his foes the Melter, Whiplash and the Man-Bull, but dismisses them as attendees in costumes.[1] This all changes when the Melter reveals that he, Whiplash, and Man-Bull are the genuine article and that they intend to rob the convention.

That’s when the Black Lama appears and offers the gathered villains the opportunity to compete for the Golden Globe of Power by destroying Iron Man, whose presence is outed by the mysterious villain. Iron Man quickly knocks out Man-Bull and Whiplash and chases the Melter into the main convention area. The pair battle it out until a blast from the Melter’s gun lights a table of comic books on fire, forcing Iron Man to pull away a vendor who foolishly tries to save his burning inventory. That’s when the Black Lama tries attacking Iron Man directly, only to get blasted by the Melter, who doesn’t want to be robbed of the opportunity to kill his enemy. Injured from the blast, the Black Lama teleports away.

The Melter is taken down shortly thereafter, and Iron Man is hailed as a hero by the convention attendees. After spending more time at the convention, a security guard notices that Iron Man is not wearing an entry badge and escorts him off the property. Assuming it fell off in battle, Iron Man decides to leave without incident since it was already time to head back to his hotel room.

Recurring Characters

Iron Man, Black Lama, Whiplash, Melter, Man-Bull, Roy Thomas, Tom Orzechowski

Continuity Notes

1. Iron Man makes a number of remarks about the various villains:

   • He thinks the Melter is still in prison after the Avengers last defeated the Masters of Evil. That was in Avengers #54-55.

   • He also believes that Whiplash is in Cincinnati, per their last encounter in Iron Man #62.

   • He also heard that the Man-Bull was last seen in Chicago, per The Cat #4.

   • When he sees an attendee dressed up like Doctor Octopus Tony recalls hearing that the real Doc Ock was reportedly dead. Otto Octavius met his apparent demise when a nuclear reactor exploded in Amazing Spider-Man #131. However, he will turn up alive again in Amazing Spider-Man #152.

Topical References

• A number of the guests listed as attending the San Diego Comic-Con in this story should be considered topical references, such as Steve Canyon creator Milton Caniff and Peanuts creator Charles Shultz. Particularly since both men died in 1988 and 2000 respectively.

• Exempt from this topical reference rule are Marvel Comics creators Roy Thomas, Frank Brunner, Bob Foster, Don Glut, Mike Friedrich, Mike Royer, Jaan Brunner, and Tom Orzechowski. Marvel creators all exist in the Prime Marvel Universe in the relative prime of their life.

• Comic-Con is stated as happening at the El Cortez Hotel. This should be considered topical as it ceased being a hotel in 1978 and has long since been redeveloped into a condominiums. While Comic-Con was once hosted at the El Cortez, the last convention held there was in 1981. It has almost consistently been held at the San Diego Convention Center since 1979. Modern readers should probably consider its choice of location in this story to be topical.

• Jan Brunner states here that half of the money made from commissioned artwork at the convention goes to the Academy of Comic Book Arts Bill Everett Foundation. The organization was a comic book equivalent to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts. The Bill Everett Foundation provided money to comic book creators in financial need. The ACBA has since been replaced by the Hero Initiative as of 2005. It’s reference here should be considered topical as well.