Eventually, IM makes his way to the transport jet that is carrying the suits of IM armor (the target of the missiles -- remember?). Dilemma: He has to evacuate twenty-two people from the rapidly descending jet. Solution: Have them don the various suits of Iron Man armor sitting in the crates in the jet's cargo hold! Neat sequence where IM gives the evacuees tips on controlling their armors' descent. But the trouble ain't over yet -- IM has to slow the jet down as it falls. Once again, very cool use of panels here as IM settles under the craft's belly as it splashes into the Washington DC mall pool.

I have doubts as to why Shellhead's armor was essentially scrap-worthy after his and the jet's emergency landing. Are we witnessing another "devolution" of the armor to make it more "realistic?" I hope not. I can see the armor being slightly damaged after the crash landing, but virtually destroyed? Nah. How many instances has Stark's armor faced much worse -- and the armor looked better than this issue's result afterwards? Answer: Many times. At any rate, due to the emergency, the Senate evacuated before Stark was officially refused as Secretary of Defense! After witnessing his bravery in the incident, every senator who voted against Stark asked to reconsider! Cool ending splash page with GW Bush congratulating Stark as his new Defense Secretary. Also cool: The panel where the 22 transport jet evacuees stand and salute the very damaged Iron Man after he eased the huge Galaxy plane down. 

Hube's Recommendation:  1/2 repulsors!

Creator Reaction:  Hey there -- I was told of some questions you had in your reviews, and finally got a minute to respond to them.

First off, on #77 -- yeah, the full Senate can still vote on a nominee who's lost in committee. It happened, for example, to John Tower back in 1989 when he was up for Secretary of Defense -- he lost both in front of the Armed Forces Committee and then before the full Senate. No fun, that. Presidents will often withdraw a losing name before it even gets to a vote in either place, if things are looking bad. I figured they'd let Tony play all the way out.

On the armor after #78 -- yes, the armor was heavily damaged. I figure you have a jumbo jet land on you, you're going to need more than wax to buff out the dings. Its proper internal functioning will be a matter of major concern as we get into "The Deep End." Cosmetically it can be made to look whole again -- such is the nature of how it "assembles" itself -- but we may find that its operating margins are much closer to the edge.

(And that leads to another point, raised immediately in #79: When will a Secretary of Defense, of all people, find time to wear his armor -- much less fix it? That'll have ramifications -- in action -- in the second issue of the "Deep End" storyline. Who, if anyone, could possibly be the armorer's armorer? That'll be a significant question.)

Lastly, you inspired me to have another look back through the original Simon Gilbert stories -- I guess my reading of it gave him a chance of survival. Of course, fact is, Jorge drew him looking so little like the original character I guess it doesn't matter much! Reconstructive plastic surgery, maybe?

Thanks for your support for my run on the title.  -- John Jackson Miller

IRON MAN vol. 3 #79 (424):  (June 2004)  "Meeting Hell" -- The Deep End, part 1.  Cover art: Adi Granov. Script: John Jackson Miller. Art: Philip Tan.  Mystery introduction: Several U.S. troops in Iraq encounter a nerdy college student who thinks he's discovered the center of the "Assyrian cult of Ishtar." Suddenly, the soldiers are picked off one by one by an unseen force -- and we catch a glimpse of a female figure (albeit apparently glowing and heated) approaching the college kid and him screaming "NOOOOOOO!" Cut to Washington DC, where Tony Stark is being sworn in as Secretary of Defense! In attendance are the Avengers, but that scarcely matters as Stark promptly goes to work! He "lays down the law" at his first Pentagon meeting, much to the dismay of the assembled bureaucracy! Later, at the White House, the main man himself, President Bush, informs Tony that he'll be headed to Iraq to determine what's been causing unusual damage to U.S. equipment (and troops). Mystery epilogue: A figure who's clearly hostile to the notion of "Secretary Stark" appears to be in armor -- and is mighty angry!! Hoo-boy! My guess on the baddy's ID: Firebrand!

Jackson's script works very well once again, as he demonstrates his knowledge of bureaucratic jungle known as Washington. The pacing could have been better -- for instance, the introductions at the Pentagon meeting take four panels (a whole page). But that's probably being picky. Tan's art, on the other hand, is absolutely putrid! I've haven't seen so many lines on peoples' faces since the last time I saw a Charles Bronson movie! Tan has a distinct Rob Leifeld-ish influence, but he clearly overdoes it with needless additional inking. Ugh. Thus, unfortunately, this ish gets a sub-par

Hube's Recommendation:  1/2 repulsors!

Fan Reaction:  I really like the story telling of John J. Miller he is doing a fantastic job of keeping continuity up from previous issues (not to mention from the Crimson Dynamo series) plus keeping stories inline with the whole Iron Man mythology. I also think that it pretty cool that he cares enough to check the site out and e-mail his own answers to questions that you and others have raised. However, issue 424 was not with out some faults. Don’t get me wrong, I really like the new storyline but, it hit a little to close to home. Perhaps, Marvel has truly reached its goal of realist comics. I read comics to escape as most people do and even though I find this new story intriguing I can turn on the news to see that soldiers have died in Iraq not read about it in a comic. Second, I am not a fan of the art on this issue. All the people look as if they have sand on their face or they are suffering from some type of chemical or biological weapons attack. Also, this new storyline seems to be shaping up like the last no real use of the armor until the last issue show down. Kind of reminds me of the old Spider-Man movies that would come on TV you would have to watch the whole thing to see Spider-Man at the end. Overall the stories are much better than they were. Finally, someone is writing this book that cares about the book. It’s too bad that Miller will be leaving after this storyline. -- This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it  

Fan Reaction 2:  I agree with you. Philip Tan's artwork is awful. -- This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it