On the Road…

After being saved from an assassin by Iron Man, Cornelius Van Lundt — aka Taurus — calls a video conference with the other members of the Zodiac crime cartel. He fears that the hero will interfere with their schemes and wants to eliminate him. Taurus wants to blow Iron Man up with a bundle of TNT. The others find this idea crude and ineffective. However, Van Lundt has been able to learn Iron Man’s true identity and plans on blowing him up as he and his friends as they travel to California.

Meanwhile, at Jim Rhode’s apartment, he and the Erwin siblings are packing for their trip across the country. Outside, Van Lundt has disguised himself as a mechanic so he can secretly plant his explosives in the moving truck’s engine.

This is just as Tony Stark comes by to visit Jim. He is relieved that the doorman lets him in, figuring things how people treat you with more respect when you’re clean and sober.[1] Jim, Morley, and Cly are all happy to see Tony and glad to hear he is doing better. Tony offers his assistance since he has nothing left holding him back.[2] Jim and the others welcome him aboard without question. When they go back outside to load up the last of their things they catch some kids stealing parts of the engine. When Jim goes to look at what’s been taken he stumbles upon the bomb planted by Van Lundt and disarms it.

Upon learning that Rhodes and his friends survived his attempt on their lives, he seeks out the help of his colleague Aries. Aries assures Van Lundt promises that he’ll finish the job before his failure tarnishes his reputation.

Meanwhile, our motley crew has already hit the road. Morley is driving the moving van while Cly drives in her car with Tony Stark. Fearing they might be attack again, Jim has changed into Iron Man and keeps watch overhead. Tony takes the long ride in order to get to know Clytemnestra, who quit her lucrative but unfulfilling job to get involved in this start-up.

Not far ahead, Aries has set up a phony detour and placed magnesium strips across the road in order to immolate his targets. Unfortunately, he is caught in the act by Iron Man, who tries to stop him.[3] In a panic, Aries activates the magnesium strips. However, Iron Man walks through the flames since his internal cooling systems can handle the heat. That’s when Aries makes the foolish decision to try and ram his foe and ends up knocking himself out. Aries is turned over to the police and soon Iron Man and his allies are back on their way.

Learning how Aries was arrested, Van Lundt then enlists the aid of Aquarius. Aquarius is confident he will succeed where Aries failed and tells his minions to get ready to mobilize.

Meanwhile, our road weary heroes continue their trek across America. Now Tony is riding with Morley and learns how important this new venture is for him. That’s when one of Aquarius’ minions shoots out the tire of their moving truck. This only stops them long enough to put on a temporary spare until they can get to a garage to make repairs. Little do they know that the mechanics are actually more minions of Aquarius and that they have rigged all of their tires with an explosive gas. This time, Tony is driving the truck alone while the Morley twins ride in the car. The tires generate enough friction to cause the tires to explode as they are crossing a bridge that has been compromised.

As the two vehicles begin falling into the river below, Iron Man saves the Morley’s first. He then dives into the water to save Tony from their moving truck but the cab is empty. Fearing the worst, Jim returns to the Erwin siblings to tell them the bad news. That’s when Tony appears alive and well, having got free on his own and swam to shore. Jim chastises himself for being sloppy but the his headaches have been making it harder to operate.[4] Now that everyone is safe, Iron Man goes back down into the river so he can recover their things.

Recurring Characters

Iron Man, Zodiac (Taurus, Aries, Aquarius, Cancer, Capricorn, Gemini, Leo, Libra, Pisces, Sagittarius, Scorpio, Virgo), Tony Stark, Morley Erwin, Cly Erwin

Continuity Notes

1. Tony fell off the wagon in Iron Man #167 and was on a bender until he decided to get sober in issue #182.

2. Tony mentions here that he lost his company to Obadiah Stane and that his assets are frozen. Stane succeeded in a hostile take over of Stark International from Iron Man #162 through 173, thanks in part to Tony’s problem drinking. He discovered that his assets had been frozen back in Iron Man #179.

3. Here, Jim recounts how he lost his repulser rays while off on Battleworld fighting in the Beyonder’s Secret Wars. This was in Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars #1-12. In issue #8 of that series, Jim used Battleworld technology to upgrade his armor. He had to abandon this new gear in Iron Man #183 when he discovered it would not work properly on Earth. This left him without Iron Man’s trademark weapon.

4. Jim has been plagued with headaches due to the fact that the cybernetic relays in his armor are calibrated for Tony Stark’s mind and not his, as explained in Iron Man #187. He will be cured of these headaches in issue #195.

Topical References

• One of the items that Jim packs up is his VCR. He tells Morley to be careful with it because it cost him $11,000. Believe it or not, a high end VCR were quite expensive back then. This should be considered a topical reference as VCRs are obsolete and electronics aren’t that expensive.

• Jim is also depicted as having a movie collection on video tape. This should be considered topical for the same reason as a VCR.