Kraken Kills!

Iron Man is testing his new Para-Gravity Deflector which will allow him to re-enter Earth’s atmosphere in only his armor. As he makes his descent to Earth, his progress is being monitored on the ground by lead scientist Abe Klein and Tony Stark’s new secretary Krissy Longfellow.[1] The device works at first but Tony is concerned about a competator’s claims that he stole this design.[2] Suddenly, the deflector explodes causing Iron Man to plummet into the ocean.

As the military scrambles a recovery team, Iron Man’s body is found by a British merchant ship. Word soon reaches Abe Klein, telling him that Iron Man is alive and is being transported to England. Unable to find Tony, Abe and Krissy arrange a flight to the United Kingdom to rendezvous with Iron Man. The news spreads quickly, and one man reads about it in a London newspaper and decides it is time to strike.

Meanwhile, Tony Stark is affecting repairs to his armor as the ship heads to port. He is caught with his mask off by the ship’s captain, who has come to see how his passenger is doing. Surprisingly, the captain doesn’t seem to recognize him or care about Iron Man’s true identity. While on the mainland, Abe and Krissy have checked into a hotel room. Moments later, there is a knock at the door and when answered, the two Stark employees are knocked out with are taken hostage at gunpoint.

At that same moment, the ship carrying Iron Man is attacked by what appears to be a brigantine pirate ship. Despite its appearances, the pirate ship is armed with high-tech weapons and begins opening fire on the cargo ship. Iron Man tries, but fails to stop the pirates from incapacitating his vessel and begin boarding. He soon discovers that these pirates are lead by the criminal known as Commander Kraken.[3] Iron Man tries battling his foe, but discovers that Kraken is armed with a sword that can fire blasts of energy, and a rocket-powered peg leg (seriously?) that makes him more than a match in the air.[4] With his power reserves running low, Iron Man decides to duck underwater and lay low and see what Kraken does next.

With the Royal Air Force jet approaching, Kraken orders his men to take the crew of the merchant ship hostage. They then retreat back to their own ship which suddenly converts into a high-tech submarine. Before retreating to the inky depths of the ocean, Kraken’s vessel sinks the other boat. When the Air Force pilot passes over the area, he finds no trace of the ship he has come to escort.

Meanwhile, Iron Man follows Kraken’s sub back to the undersea cave that serves as the pirate’s base of operations. When the Avenger makes his presence known, Commander Kraken welcomes Iron Man with open arms. This is because he has Abe Klein and Krissy Longfellow as his prisoners and threatens to kill them if Iron Man doesn’t do what is asked of him.

Recurring Characters

Iron Man, Commander Kraken, Abe Klein, Krissy Longfellow

Continuity Notes

1. What Tony doesn’t know is that “Kriss” is actually Madame Masque in disguise, as revealed in Iron Man #103.

2. The competition has been accusing Tony of stealing designs since last issue. What he doesn’t know is that his designs are being stolen and handed to the competition in secret, all part of a plan by Mordecai Midas to steal Stark International out from under Tony. See Iron Man #103-107.

3. Iron Man comments how Kraken has changed his appearance. A footnote here suggests readers look at Sub-Mariner #27 and The Cat #3 for comparison. In that story, Kraken had long black hair, a moustache, and a hook for left hand and both legs. Vastly different than the brown-haired man with a scar running down his face, both hands, and a rocket powered peg-leg. Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe: Deluxe Edition #16’s profile on Kraken states that he used Hydra technology to alter his appearance and prosthetics. A clear explanation why isn’t made. It’s certainly not for disguise since he announces who he is. This is probably an explanation for Herb Tremp’s shitty redesign of the character.

4. Iron Man mentions how he got shrapnel in his heart years earlier in Vietnam. This is a reference to Iron Man’s origins circa Tales of Suspense #39. Tony has long since gotten surgery to remove the shrapnel and repair the damage to his heart in Iron Man #19, however, he still continues to have intermittent heart problems at the time of this story.

Topical References

• Outdated technology that should be considered topical: The NASA space capsule on page one, the red rotary phone in Tony Stark’s office, Abe and Krissy flying to England in a McDonnell Douglas DC-10.