Mission into Darkness

Iron Man is leaving Olympia, home of the Eternals, after rescuing them from their enemies the Deviants.[1] As he departs his suit of armor is struck by lightning. Although the Eternals are concerned for Jim Rhodes’ safety, he assures him he’s fine as the lightning recharged his depleted batteries.

Flying to a nearby small town, Iron Man calls his partner Erwin Morley to tell him what happened. Erwin is happy to hear that Jim is safe and tells him that Regis Fusskey has another job lined up for him in Hong Kong. When asked if there is any news about Tony, Erwin says he hasn’t heard from Stark directly, but he’s recently been sighted in the Bowery.[2]

At that moment, at a run down hotel, Tony Stark and his new friend Gretl Anders have shacked up for the night. Gretl just got her welfare payment and has bought enough booze for the both of them. As they drink, Anders tells Tony that she went to the clinic that day and they told her that she is pregnant. She finds it amusing and a reason for to celebrate with some drinks.

Later, Iron Man arrives in Hong Kong and heads to meet with the man who hired him through Fusskey incognito. However his hat and trenchcoat singles him out as a potential target for some muggers. However, they soon realize their mistake when they try stabbing Iron Man and run for their lives. Jim then meets with his client, a filmmaker named Winston Phlan. He explains how he managed to broker a deal with the Chinese government to make his next film in that country. However, when their equipment they shipped in was unusable because it was irradiated. Winston’s advisor, a fortune teller named Marko, also tells about how a cable on the shipping container snapped while it was being offloaded. Miraculously, one of the dock workers was able to catch the crate with his own strength. Iron Man agrees to watch over the shipment of more equipment to make sure it is delivered without issue.

That evening, the men who tried to mug Iron Man the night before are in the shipping yard trying to find something valuable to steel. They are ambushed by the dock worker who caught the crate. When Iron Man arrives he saves the thieves from a serious trashing. Jim realizes that he’s not dealing with an ordinary dock worker when the man begins to glow and is able to lift a forklift and throw it. Giving the man chase, Jim has to break off pursuit when he is suddenly struck by a powerful headache. Wondering what’s wrong, Jim realizes that he needs to to Tony Stark.[3]

Back in the United States, Tony has gone to the bank in the hopes of getting access to his personal fortune so he can pay for Gertl’s medical needs. However, the manager of the bank tells Tony that there were a number of financial irregularities and his assets have been frozen. After Tony leaves, the manager calls Obadiah Stane to tell him about Stark’s visit. Responsible for Tony’s finances being tied up, Stane is pleased to hear that Tony is still spiraling out of control.[4] Catching up with Gertl, Tony apologizes for not being able to get the money. Anders isn’t concerned, telling Tony that she still has enough money for them to get more booze and a room for a night.

Meanwhile, Iron Man calls Morley Erwin to see if he has any advice on his headache or on the mysterious dock worker. Morley isn’t certain about the headaches, but he suspects that the equipment was wrecked by radiation. This allows Morley to put two-and-two together and he suspects that the man he might be dealing with is the Avengers’ old foe the Radioactive Man. Overhearing the conversation is Morley’s sister Clytemnestra, who suspects that Jim is secretly afraid of having to give up being Iron Man, a role that he has grown to love since taking it over.[5]

Later that day, as the next shipment is arriving, the Radioactive Man checks in with his master. Fearing that Iron Man might have stumbled upon his plans, Radioactive Man’s master tells him to destroy Iron Man. As it turns out, the reason why Radioactive Man is posing as a dock worker is because his employer is smuggling in important equipment. When the shipment arrives, Radioactive Man attacks Iron Man and in the ensuing battle, the equipment he sought is destroyed. With his mission a failure, Radioactive Man retreats and reports his failure to his employer. Furious, his boss vows to get revenge against Iron Man and destroy him once and for all.[6]

Later, when Iron Man updates Winston Phlan, the filmmaker is so impressed and has Marko cut a cheque.

Back in New York, Tony Stark and Gertl Anders have gotten a room for the night. Remembering how Tony told her about all the beautiful women he had romanced in the past, she asks Tony to show her what that was like by loving her.

Recurring Characters

Iron Man, Radioactive Man, Morley Erwin, Cly Erwin, Obadiah Stane, Mandarin (unidentified), Eternals (Ikaris, Makkari, Sersi, Thena), Deviants, Gretl Anders

Continuity Notes

1. Iron Man saved the Eternals in Iron Man Annual #6.

2. It’s odd that Morley says he hadn’t heard from Tony directly since Stark called for Jim last issue. Perhaps Erwin didn’t want to pass along upsetting news over the phone.

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.

4. Obadiah Stane ruthlessly took over Stark International from Iron Man #162-173. Stane also wanted to utterly destroy Stark, orchestrating a plan to drive him into drinking again. Sober since Iron Man #128, Tony fell off the wagon in issue #167 after being destroyed emotionally by one of Stane’s operatives.

5. In case you’re wondering, Jim took over as Iron Man in issues #169-170, when Tony — in an alcoholic stupor — just gave up on being a hero.

6. Radioactive Man’s employer is revealed to be the Mandarin next issue.

Topical References

• When Iron Man calls Morley Erwin from a small village in Greece the connection is really bad and breaks up at points. This story was written in a time when virtually every call between Europe and the North America had to route through trans-atlantic cable which wasn’t that good back then. The type of technology used has improved and current trans-Atlantic lines use fiber optics. In addition, satellite communications have become common place. Unless you have a positively ancient land line the idea of getting a shitty reception like in this story should be considered topical.

• The narrative of this story states that Hong Kong is a British colony. This is no longer the case as rule over the country was handed off to China in 1997.

• In this story, Phlan uses actual film to make his movies, which was still quite common when this comic was published in 1984. This type of film was sensitive to light and radiation with unintended exposure making the film useless. However, with the advent of digital filming the need to shoot on film is no quite as common place. It being a plot point here could be considered topical and that that the radiation affected modern equipment in some other way. Or perhaps, Phlan is a pretentious filmmaker like Quentin Tarrantino and insists on shooting on film.