Iron Man #167
The Empty Shell
After a series of attacks on his business by Obadiah Stane, Tony Stark has returned to his penthouse apartment and discovers that someone left a bottle of scotch in his room. Tony is furious that this was left out but contemplates taking a drink when he considers that his current problems: His business is hemorrhaging money, his current Iron Man armor being damaged beyond repair, and his friend Jim Rhodes is missing.[1] However, Tony resists the urge and tosses the bottle across the room before collapsing on his bed.
Elsewhere, Obadiah Stane continues plotting against Stark, who believes victory is at hand.
When Tony gets up he is moody and temperamental and snaps at his secretary — Bambi Arbogast — when she tells him that Vic Martinelli wants to see him. Tony goes down to the security office to meet with Vic who has more information on the cabal of businessmen working with Stane to take over Tony’s company. Vic informs him of a meeting in Switzerland and suggests that Tony goes and talk them out of their attempt to secretly consolidate in order to get around anti-trust laws. Seeing how ragged Tony is, Vic suggest he also get some help causing Tony to yell at him.
Tony decides to go to Switzerland after all and while waiting in his hotel room for the meeting to start he puts on his old suit of Iron Man armor as it makes him feel less vulnerable. Tony then decides to call Indria Moomji because he needs to hear his voice. She is happy to hear him and he tells her that he loves her before going out to blow off some steam as Iron Man. He is spotted by one of Obadiah Stane’s men who reports it back to his boss. Stane is prepared for Iron Man, having another group of his Chessmen ready to fight him. He sends his second Bishop and Knight, confident they will succeed where their predecessors failed.[2]
When Iron Man is ambushed by the new Bishop, he discovers that this one is much more skilled than the one he fought before. Things take a turn when the second Knight arrives and snaps the cable of a ski-hill gondola. This forces Iron Man to break off from the fight to save the lives on board.[3] In rescuing the passengers, Iron Man is left open to attack and is knocked over a cliff. When he hits the ground, he disappears in the deep snow.
Meanwhile, at the meeting of business men, Obadiah Stane has his colleagues wear the mind-controlling headphones, tricking them into think that these will provide translations to those who don’t speak English. He then amuses himself by ordering them all to act like animals. Noting that Tony Stark is late to the meeting, he wonders where he is, little knowing that Stark and Iron Man are the same person.
Back at the scene of the battle, Iron Man survived the fall and uses the snow to spring a sneak attack on the Bishop. Confronting the Knight directly, he uses his repulsors and jet boots to kick up a bunch of loose snow to blind his foe. He then incapacitates the Knight’s jet-powered steed and leaves the two Chessmen to figure out how to get back off the mountain.
Changing out of his armor, a disheveled Tony Stark finally arrives at the meeting. He gives an impassioned speech about how what they are planning to do is wrong as it undermines fair business and the security of their home countries. However, he quickly realizes that this has fallen on deaf ears when Stane has the others pretend to be animals again. Tony asks Obadiah why he doesn’t just kill him and get it over with. Stane smirks and explains that he doesn’t want Tony dead, but utterly ruined. Realizing that there is nothing he can do, Tony wanders around town trying to figure out his next move. Passing by a tavern, he briefly considers going inside and getting a drink and fights this urge. He convinces himself that talking in Indria again will set him right.
Meanwhile, in Scotland, Jim Rhodes is on the run from assassins hired by Obadiah Stane. He is trying to convince a taxi driver to give him a ride into town when they are both attacked. When the assassins wing the driver, Jim leaps into his car and drives away.
The next day, Tony Stark returns to his office and is told that Indries is waiting for him inside. He is happy to see her, however rather than the loving attentive person she has been in the past, she is cold and heartless now. She tells Tony that she could never love him because he is nothing more than a shallow playboy who is a shell of a real man. Hearing this absolutely devastates Tony who walks off without another word. Once he is gone, she picks up the phone to call Obadiah Stane to tell him that her mission is done.
Meanwhile, Tony goes to his room where he ponders Indria’s words about him being nothing more but an empty shell. Having reached the depths of despair, he finds the bottle of scotch he tossed away the day before and begins to drink.
Recurring Characters
Iron Man, Obadiah Stane, Chessmen (Bishop, Knight, Rook, Pawn), Jim Rhodes, Vic Martinelli, Bambi Arbogast, Indria Moomji
Continuity Notes
Lots going on here off the top. The facts:
Obadiah Stane has been attacking Tony’s business since Iron Man #162. He will succeed in taking over Stark International in Iron Man #173.
The bottle of booze was probably left by Indria Moomji, who Tony has been romancing since issue #163. In issue #173 She is revealed to be an operative of Stane who was hired to emotionally destroy Tony Stark and drive him back into drinking. She has been manipulating his feelings with pheromones in order to make him fall in love with her.
Tony developed a drinking problem from Iron Man #120 to 128. He has been sober ever since. He starts drinking again this issue and won’t sober up until after a brush with death in Iron Man #182.
Tony’s current armor was trashed when saving Jim from venomous spiders in Iron Man #165. Jim had been recovering from his injuries until he went missing last issue.
Obadiah Stane has operatives named after chess pieces, and two of every class. Iron Man previously beat the first Knight, Bishop and Rook in Iron Man #163-165. Their names and those of their successors are not reveled in this story. They are later identified as Fletcher Heggs, Alban Eamond, Barnabus Kinloch and Napier Sutton respectively. Their successors are Orrick Rallison (Bishop), Raleigh Halward (Knight), and Sebastian Towers (Rook). These names were all revealed in Iron Manual Mark 3 #1.
Iron Man recalls how he conducted a similar rescue back in New York not too long ago. This was the Roosevelt Tramway, as seen in Iron Man #159.
Topical References
The phone is Tony’s hotel room is depicted as having a rotary dial. This should be considered topical as this is an obsolete technology.
