Have Armor Will Travel

In order to help Cly Erwin pressure test on of her new inventions, Iron Man — aka Jim Rhodes — has a bulldozer park on top of him. This is a success putting Cly and her brother Morley on the right track of starting up their own electronics company together.[1] Rather than a massive corporation like Stark International however, they intend on running a smaller operation focused on creating new innovations in electronics.

Iron Man flies back to the apartment to figure out how he is going to earn a living as well. He is considering selling his things when he suddenly comes up with an even better idea.

Meanwhile, in Manhattan, the police have picked up Tony Stark who was being drunk and disorderly on Park Avenue. Seeing how drunk he is, they take him to a detox clinic.

Meanwhile, Iron Man meets with Powerman and Iron Fist, the Heroes for Hire, to learn more about how they hire themselves out. Learning that Iron Man is looking to work as a bodyguard. Since they are busy with another case, the pair refer Iron Man to his first client, Regis Fuskey. Fuskey agrees to hire Iron Man on, but wants him to be inconspicuous and only change into his armor if there is a threat. Worried that he might be recognized out of his armor, Jim puts on a fake beard to disguise himself, but he feels stupid doing so. Elsewhere in the city, the super-villain called Flying Tiger is being hired to nab Fuskey and hand him over to an army located in South America. However, he is only to act once they are out of the United States so as not to infringe on the Kingpin’s turf.

Later, as Fusky’s chartered plane enters South America they are attacked by Flying Tiger. The villain easily knocks Jim aside. Nabbing Regis and the briefcase containing Jim’s Iron Man armor and escapes. Jim follows after them parachuting out of the plane using his military training hoping he will be able to find where Fusky was taken.[2]

At a nearby camp, Flying Tiger hands over Regis Fuskey to the men who hired him. Fusky is furious at this interference and demands to know why he has been kidnapped. Meanwhile, Jim arrives just as Flying Tiger goes off to try and impress one of the female soldiers with the briefcase he took off Jim Rhodes. Luckily, she is not impressed and tosses it into the jungle where Jim quickly recovers it. However, Flying Tiger goes after it and catches Jim just as he is changing into his armor. Before he can shoot Rhodes with a gun, there is an airstrike over the area. Flying Tiger is caught in the blast, allowing Rhodes to finish changing into Iron Man.

With the situation growing more dangerous, Iron Man rescues Fuskey from the militia that is holding him prisoner. As they flee, Fuskey explains that he was hired to come down to South America to learn if the local rebel forcers were receiving assistance from any outside nations. His kidnapping allowed him to learn that the rebels are being backed by General Nguyen Ngoc Coy of Vietnam was involved. Iron Man is shocked when he learns just how much Fuskey is earning on this mission. However, he puts aside monetary concerns when he spots Flying Tiger nearby. Putting Regis down, Jim removes his gauntlets so he can knock out the villain with his bare hands. On the flight back to civilization, Iron Man then uses the fact that he can strand Fuskey in the jungle to renegotiate how much he is getting paid. Regis is impressed with Iron Man’s moxy and agrees.

When Jim returns to the United States with his payment he goes to see the Erwin siblings so he can invest in their tech startup. As they celebrate, Jim is suddenly struck by a powerful headache. When Morley and Cly express concern, Jim assures them it was nothing and he’ll be fine in a few minutes.[3]

Meanwhile, Tony Stark has completed detoxification process. The doctor warns Tony that if he continues drinking he will cause permanent damage to his liver and other organs. Asking Tony if he can stop drinking, Stark says he isn’t sure. Regardless, he is quickly tossed out into the cold and uncaring world to sort out his problems on his own.

Recurring Characters

Iron Man, Flying Tiger, Morley Erwin, Cly Erwin, Tony Stark, General Coy, Powerman, Iron Fist

Continuity Notes

1. Here, everyone refers to Stark International in the past tense. That’s because the company was subject to a hostile take over from Iron Man #162-173. Tony Stark was driven into alcoholism and the company fell deeply into debt allowing Obadiah Stane to take over the company.

2. Jim makes reference to his military service. As seen in Iron Man #144, Jim served in the military before going to work for Tony Stark.

3. The cause of Jim’s headache is because the cybernetic connection to Iron Man’s armor was calibrated for Tony Stark’s mind, not Jim’s as explained in Iron Man #187. He will later be cured of his headaches in issue #195.

Topical References

• Among the things that Jim thinks about selling is his VCR. Which, believe it or not, back in 1983 a brand new VCR would cost you about $1000. This should be considered a topical reference not only because VCRs are obsolete but because electronics are not that expensive anymore.

• Here, Regis Fuskey states that he is being paid $500,000 to do his investigation in South America. Adjusting for inflation this would be about $1.3 million in 2022 money. Later, Iron Man convinces Fusky to increase his pay from $1000 to $20,000. These amount would be about $2800 and 56,000 in 2022 money respectively.