Terror in Tulaluma!

Tony Stark, Morley Erwin and his sister Clytemnestra are continuing their trek across America. They have just entered the town of Tulaluma, California. There they come upon a mob of angry people chasing a woman on the street. They save the woman, who tells them that she has been falsely accused of killing the local sheriff and they agree to help her get to safety.

Not far away, Iron Man has just finished pulling their moving truck out of a river. The engine is completely shot. Since the tires were blown out after going to a mechanic, Iron Man backtracks to confront them. Sure enough, he confirms that the “mechanics” who fixed their truck are in league with the Zodiac cartel who has been trying to kill Jim and his friends ever since they started traveling across America. Iron Man trounces their would be assassin and drags them off to the local police.

Meanwhile, Tony and the others have brought their new friend have realized they won’t be able to outrun the mob. With the rain coming down, they decide to hole up in a nearby barn. However, there are two men with shotguns waiting for them inside.

At that same moment, Iron Man has dropped the two crooks to the police. After having a cup of coffee with the officers he heads off to catch up with his friends.[1] He arrives at the barn just as the locals are forcing Tony, the Erwin’s and their new friend into a pick-up truck. Iron Man swoops in and carries his friends away to a deserted house. Inside, they all fall through a trap door and Iron Man is incapacitated by a “Zodiac Field” device. Aquarius and his men then shackle Tony and the others to a wall. Aquarius then begins flooding the room with water so they all drown. After Aquarius and his goons leave, Tony tells Jim to use his repulsor rays to deactivate the Zodiac Field. Unfortunately, Jim can’t do that because he no longer has the weapons.[2]

That’s when Clytemnestra recalls an off hand comment made by Aquarius about the Zodiac Field’s inventor, Werner Von Kemp. They deduce that Iron Man can short out the field by oscillating the light on his uni-beam. Struck by another one of his crippling headaches, Jim struggles to pull this off but ultimately succeeds.[3] He then frees the others before the room can fully fill with water. Annoyed that Tony and the others were able to think of a way out of the trap, Iron Man takes off to catch Aquarius and his goons so he can prove he’s not totally useless. He quickly catches up with the Aquarius and drags him off to the police.

When Jim catches up with his friends at a local motel, he tells them that the woman they tried to rescue was actually guilty of her crimes. When Morley worries about the Zodiac continuing to come after them, Tony Stark has a solution. Putting on Iron Man’s helmet he uses it to connect with Nick Fury, the Director of SHIELD. He tips Nick off about the Zodiac and he promises to deal with the criminals. Although this made their lives much easier, Jim can’t help but feel jealous seeing Tony wearing his helmet.

Recurring Characters

Iron Man, Aquarius, Tony Stark, Morley Erwin, Cly Erwin, Nick Fury

Continuity Notes

1. Here, Iron Man states that the Zodiac cartel has been after him and his friends for a while. This has been ever since Iron Man saved the life of Cornelius Van Lundt in Iron Man #183 because this story arc makes no fucking sense.

2. While off on the Beyonder’s Battleworld, Jim used alien technology to upgrade his armor in Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars #8. However, this technology didn’t work on Earth, forcing Jim to ditch it and leaving him without repulsors. This also happened in Iron Man #183.

3. Jim has been suffering from headaches because due to the fact that the cybernetic relays in the Iron Man armor were calibrated for Tony Stark’s brain and not his. This will be explained in Iron Man #187. He will be cured of this affliction in issue #195.

Topical References

• Jim complains that his video tape collection was ruined when their moving truck crashed in the water. This should be considered a topical reference as video tapes are obsolete.

• The gas station/mechanic shop advertises both leaded and unleaded gasoline at $1.10 and $1.17 a gallon. Not only should the prices be considered topical but also the option of having leaded and unleaded gasoline. Back in the day, they put lead in gasoline because it improved engine performance. However, it had negative environmental and health consequences. Although a law was passed to remove lead from gasoline in 1970 the ban didn’t come into full effect until 1996.

• When one of the cops calls his wife to tell her that Iron Man showed up at the station, he tells her to guess who it is. She guesses the celebrity visitor is pop musician Michael Jackson. This should be considered topical, particularly since Jackson died in 2009.

• The motel Jim and the others stay at advertises a room with a single bed for $38.00 a night. Adjusting for inflation the same room would cost $96.30 in 2022 money.