Precious Legacy

At Tony Stark’s private lab, Tony and Jim Rhodes are putting the final touches on a plague commemorating their friend, Morely Erwin. This is just as his sister, Clytemnestra is having an emotional outburst over his lost. She is still coming to terms with his passing and now blames science — the Erwin devotion — on his death.[1] Tony tries to remind Cly that Obadiah Stane was responsible for Morley’s death and while she understands this in her mind, her heart still can’t reconcile this loss.

Meanwhile, in North Bellmore, Long Island, David Fortunov is busy exercising much to the frustration of his son Jerry. Jerry is totally against his father continuing his decades long hunt for his long lost lover, Sabbath Raven. He has been trying for months to get his father to reconsider. However, after his recent experiences with Turner D. Century and Spider-Man, and learning that Sabbath might still be alive, David is determined to become Dominic Fortune again and find her.[2]

Jerry tries to get his father to remember his old life, where he settled down and raised a family and pushed his son to be a successful car salesman like he was. However, the elder Fortunov tells his son that it was all a lie. That’s when David gets a call from a private investigator he hired to find Sabbath for him. He tells David that he may have found Sabbath in Los Angeles but needs Fortunov to come and verify something for him. Unaware that this is a trap, Fortunov agrees to meet and heads out. As David heads off to the airport, Jerry’s wife is upset that Jerry didn’t sign off on having his father committed to a mental health facility. Jerry is still reluctant to do and tells his wife that he can convince his father to come home and stop his insane quest.

Meanwhile, at Steele Industries, owner Simon Steele — secretly a Nazi war criminal named Wolfgang Von Lundt — tests out the Iron Monger armor he purchased from Stane International.[3] He has bought the suit as insurance in his attempts to destroy Dominic Fortune in the event someone like Spider-Man interferes with his plans again. Showing the suits capabilities off to Sabbath Raven, they both agree that this plan is fool proof.[4]

Three days later, Jerry Fortunov has arrived in Los Angeles and been on a fruitless search for his father. Stopping for lunch he has a chance encounter with Clytemnestra Morley and the two begin talking about their current problems. The two form a quick bond in their mutual grief and Jerry decides to take a break from searching for his father to see the sights and invites Cly to join him, an invitation she happily accepts.

At that same moment, Dominic Fortune has fallen for Simon Steele’s trap and is running from his hired gun men. Retreating up to the rooftops the elderly adventurer manages to snag his grappling hook onto a passing helicopter and makes a daring escape. As the chopper passes over the Los Angeles Convention center, Dominic decides this is a good a spot as any to get off.

Inside, Tony Stark and Jim Rhodes are attending an electronics trade show where they are showing off designs for their new space station to prospective clients. While on the roof, Dominic Fortune is attacked by the Iron Monger, who tries to blast Fortune with his uni-beam. This causes the roof to cave in, dumping Dominic into the middle of the convention. This happens just as Clytemnestra is arriving with Jerry at the trade show. Jerry is horrified to see his father swinging from the showroom chandelier fighting a man in a suit of battle armor. This is also witnessed by Tony Stark who fears that Obadiah Stane might be back from the dead and rushes off to change into Iron Man.

Engaging the Iron Monger, Iron Man is surprised to discover that the armor has been upgraded since he last fought against it. He is also thrown off guard thinking this might be Obadiah Stane, but quickly realizes that this is impossible.[5] While the Iron Monger is distracted, Dominic Fortune takes some live wires and attaches them to the armor, shorting out many of its systems. Although Dominic is blasted by his foe for his efforts, it gives Iron Man time to recover and take the Iron Monger down. Seriously injured from the blast, Dominic Fortune believes that he is going to die and his final words are telling his son how foolish he was. However, Jerry has had a complete change of heart and as paramedics rush to his father’s aid, Jerry finds his old Dominic Fortune costume in his suitcase. After a brief examination one of the doctors pronounces David Fortunov as deceased and they carry his body out of the convention center.[6]

The following morning, Cly goes to Jerry’s hotel room to see how he is holding up. Inside she is surprised to discover Jerry wearing his father’s old costume. His father’s death has had a profound effect on Jerry who is now taking up the mantle of Dominic Fortune to avenge the death of his father.

Recurring Characters

Iron Man, Dominic Fortune, Simon Steele, Sabbath Raven, Iron Monger, Jerry Fortunov, Cly Erwin,

Continuity Notes

1. Morley tragically died in an explosion caused by Tony’s enemy Obadiah Stane in Iron Man #198.

2. Dominic found a new zest for adventuring when he and Spider-Man clashed with Turner D. Century in Marvel Team-Up #120. Later, he and Spider-Man clashed with his old foe Simon Steele and learned that Sabbath Raven might still be alive in Web of Spider-Man #10. Dominic also mentions his early swashbuckling career where he worked with Sabbath Raven, for more on those adventures see Marvel Preview #2, Marvel Super Action #1, Hulk! #21-25, Marvel Premiere #56, Marvel Super-Heroes (vol. 2) #3, and Astonishing Tales: Dominic Fortune #1-5.

3. This suit of armor was based off the original Iron Man armor designs and created by Obadiah Stane in Iron Man #200. It went up for sale after Stane was defeated by Iron Man and committed suicide.

4. Although this young woman is presented as the real Sabbath Raven here, it is revealed next issue that she is actually Sabbath’s daughter.

5. Although unnamed here, the man in the Iron Monger suit is later identified as Yiorgos Krallis in the Iron Monger profile from All-New Iron Manual #1.

6. As we’ll discover next issue, Dominic’s death was faked so he could be taken to Simon Steele for his final revenge.

Topical References

• A number of aspects about Dominic Fortune’s family life are difficult to reconcile due to the Sliding Timescale. These issues are:

  • Primarily, references to World War II and Dominic’s early adventures as having happened 40 years prior to this story. This should be considered topical as the Sliding Timescale makes it so that the gulf of time between the end of World War II and the start of the Modern Age continues to increase with each passing year. As such, specific reference to this passage of time must be considered topical. If you like math and want to figure out how the time would measure by today’s standard, I present a formula for that here.

  • Fortune has a plaque hanging in his room commemorating his sales numbers when he worked for a Pontiac dealership in 1965. While this is not impossible, this story frames this achievement as happening during the lifetime of his son Jerry, who is depicted here as a man in his 30s. As the Modern Age is pushed forward in time Jerry being alive in the 1960s becomes increasingly impossible without some kind of life prolonging process. See below for more on this. That said, the reference to Pontiac should be considered topical because this is a real world business, particularly since this brand of automobile became defunct in 2010.

Reconciling the Dominic Fortune Paradox

Dominic Fortune’s life is firmly cemented in the 1930s and 1940s. Which makes it difficult to reconcile his life span while he is active in the Modern Age of the Marvel Universe due to the Sliding Timescale. As the Modern Age is pushed forward in time, it becomes increasingly difficult to explain how he can still be alive, let alone vital enough to engage in the events of this story. As of this writing (January, 2022) Marvel has yet to provide an explanation for Fortune’s longevity. A possible answer could be gleaned from the series Avengers: 1959, wherein Nick Fury forms a team of “Avengers” in the 50s, of which Fortune was a member. At the time, Nick Fury had access to the Infinity Formula, that slowed the aging process. Also on the team was Kraven the Hunter, another man who had access to a formula that slowed the aging process.

It is entirely possible that Dominic Fortune gained access to one of these formulas and used it until he retired from costumed adventuring. By this logic, one could assume that Fortune didn’t retire in a specific era but in the nebulous “Pre-Modern Age” the predates Fantastic Four #1, and it is during this period of time that he settled down and started his family.

The same issues come up with this issues villain, the Nazi war criminal Simon Steele, aka Wolfgang Von Lundt. Since many Nazis had access to technology that could slow, suspend, or stop the aging process one could assume that Steele had access to one of these processes as well.

Things get murkier when trying to reconcile the present day Sabbath Raven, aka Elena Von Lundt. The daughter of the original Sabbath Raven, she is depicted as being a woman in her 20s here. Although not seen here or next issue, the real Sabbath Raven is still alive and being held by Simon Steele, as we’ll learn in Web of Spider-Man #71-72. As such, it’s probably a similar process was used to keep Raven alive, and quite possibly her daughter as well.