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IRON MAN vol. 3 #80 (425) |
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(June 2004) "Magic Bullets"
-- The Deep End, part 2. Cover
art: Adi Granov. Script:
John Jackson Miller. Art: Philip Tan. Stark
arrives in Baghdad via his "S.A.T.V."
-- Stark's All-Terrain Vehicle --
to get the lowdown on the mystery of last issue. After maneuvering through the
usual diplomatic hassles upon landing, Tony promptly heads off to the site of
the trouble. En route, Stark's entourage is ambushed by locals yelling "ISHTAR!!"
and firing a mysterious napalm-like substance at the S.A.T.V. The gel quickly
"dissolves" the side of the vehicle, and a hasty escape is mandated! But
good news: Stark has armored up!! Bad news: The mysterious substance
has begun melting the Iron
Man armor! After dispatching
of the attackers, IM
sends samples of the gel back to the states for analysis. It's discovered that
it is a "supercharged"
metal eating bacteria that
excretes acid, and was developed by one of Saddam's chemical weapons
researchers. But this researcher, dubbed "Vitriol,"
later turned on Saddam, but his/her whereabouts have been unknown. Back in Iraq,
Iron Man
and his army colleagues make it to Hatra, their destination. They discover a pool
of the mystery gel inside a temple ... and soon after, the woman Leyla who led
them to it dives in ... and then emerges from it, transformed!! But
into what?
This
is a standard continuation story that, well, is just that. Nothing really
exciting except the fact that Tan draws a pretty nice Iron Man (but his regular
people are still dread-awful ). Neat PC Touch dept.: Miller
includes a cool couple of panels where Stark berates a soldier for using the
term "Indian country," but quickly backtracks upon learning the
soldier's name is Walkingbear! Stark remarks, "My old corporate
sensitivity officer would be going for his digitalis right now!"
Hube's
Recommendation: 
1/2 repulsors!
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