War of the Mind-Dragons!

On an alternate universe, Iron Man has agreed to help King Jerold end an insurrection in the Kingdom of Grand Rapids, not because he wants to get involved in the conflict but to bring the criminal Firebrand back to Earth.[1] This leads to a clash with the armies of Baron Rockler, who seeks to usurp King Jerold’s throne. As Iron Man clashes with Rockler’s forces, he fights off a growing insanity caused by his presence on this world, which is upsetting the cosmic balance.[2]

When his minions are defeated, Baron Rockler teleports away in an escape craft and returns to his castle. There he is tricked into drinking a poisoned beverage by his wife, the Baroness Rockler, who has her own desire to rule the region. This murder is witnessed by Firebrand who suggests an alliance with Rockler, hoping that he can use the resources of this world to conquer his own home reality. The pair make a truce, but are secretly plotting to eliminate the other once their usefulness runs out. They soon get to work with Lord Professor Teller to build a weapon to aid in their goals for conquest.

Meanwhile, Iron Man has returned to King Jerold and his daughter, Princess Susan. He sympathizes with their plight, but has no intention in fighting their battles in the long run. Suddenly, Iron Man goes mad and sees King Jerold as a demon and tries to strangle him to death until he gets ahold of himself. This incident prompts King Jerold to reveal that the madness that affected him on Earth is affecting both Iron Man and Firebrand here, but at a much accelerated rate. This new problem makes Iron Man’s need to find Firebrand and return home all the more pressing.

That’s when the castle is attacked by a giant robotic dragon piloted by Professor Teller and the Baroness with Firebrand adding his flame throwers to the weapon’s arsenal. Iron Man quickly incapacitates the monster by plugging its mouth. This causes a build up of heat from Firebrand’s flame throwers that causes it to explode. Iron Man and Firebrand then begin duking it out as the both enter a fit of insanity. Luckily, Iron Man is able to knock out Firebrand and stops himself before he can kill his foe.

With the danger now over, King Jerold uses the Golden Globe of Power to open a portal back to Earth. Sending Firebrand through first, the time dilation between worlds allows Firebrand to escape before Iron Man can return. Unable to find Firebrand, Iron Man heads for home satisfied that he can tell Roxanne Gilbert that his brother is no longer trapped in another universe. However, his encounter with King Jerold has revealed that his time on Earth was responsible for Marianne Rodger’s mental breakdown and wonders how he can reconcile his feelings with Roxanne when Marianne still needs help.[3]

Recurring Characters

Iron Man, Firebrand, Black Lama, Baron Rockler, Baroness Rockler, Princess Susan, Lord Professor Teller

Continuity Notes

1. Per Marvel Legacy: The 1970’s Handbook #1, this world has been designated as Reality-7511.

2. Iron Man mentions the Black Lama’s War of the Super-Villains, which was chronicled in Iron Man #68-77.

3. This woman is Marianne Rodgers who Tony started dating in Iron Man #36 through 46. He ended the relationship when her ESP powers made her highly irrational and she abandoned him when he needed help as Iron Man. Marianne later lost her mind in issue #52 and was institutionalized. The cause of her insanity was explained last issue. Although Marianne’s fate is a pressing issue here, her fate will not be revealed until Iron Man #103, when she is released from a mental health facility because she is apparently cured.

Topical References??

As I said in my summary of last issue, this is probably not a case where the characters on Earth-7511 — who are all analogues to real life politicians and the like — are topical references. Read about it there.