SUFFERING FOR A CAUSE: Tony Has A Sad (IRON MAN #319)

This is part of a stunt to make me read through notorious Marvel crossover to raise money for the Maui Food Bank.  For every $80 I raise, I will discuss an issue, and especially generous donations will trigger bonus content.  To make your donation, go here .  Any amount will help!  And now onto the festival of fun--or tragedy....

We're still in 1995.  You know what will build up our Wicked Extreme Event?  More foreshadowing!

"Shadows Call"
Written by Terry Kavanaugh
Art by Tom Morgan

Tony is sad.  He thinks about his origin, flirts with falling off the wagon again, pulls off one of Vindicator's big tricks, shows up to christen the new Starcore command center, accepts Bethany Cabe's advances while pining for Pepper Potts, gets all passive aggressive with the Scarlet Witch at the Force Works HQ...and then asks Jarvis to set up a meeting.

This is Terry Kavanagh's first issue as Iron Man scripter, and Tom Morgan's last issue as artist.

And boy, does it make Avengers #390 seem eventful.  

This is definitely an issue of 'spinning the wheels' waiting for the main storyline to begin.  With one or two exceptions, it's just Tony going through some Portentous Angst.  Large portions of it involve Tony watching holograms--both at his undersea base and in Force Works HQ--and yelling at us that There's Something Not Right with him.  The characters around him seem to act...well, out of character (Bethany Cade, a complex and capable character under David Michiliene and Bob Layton, seems motivated in this issue by Thirst.  So, so much thirst).  Of course, some characters, like Happy Hogan, Pepper Potts and the members of Force Works that aren't Wanda Maximoff or USAgent, literally just have a panel so Tony can acknowledge them and angst over his relationship with them.  Of those with a panel, only Mrs. Arborgast is allowed even a thought balloon.  It's just weird seeing all these characters having nothing to do or, in the case of Bethany, be wildly out of character.

Look, I get that what Kavanagh is trying to do is set up Tony's emotional and intellectual place before he shakes everything up.  But there's no context to all this ennui.  There needs to be a little more place setting in this story to drive home where Tony's position is so we can better understand the impact of what we're going to discover in the event proper.

I mentioned this was Tom Morgan's last issue, and it looks like he's already checked out.  He's inking himself, and the linework looks really rough that at best of times seems like he's aping John Byrne but at worse like he's not bothering with panel to panel continuity.  Not that I'm super-focused on Bethany Cabe, but her facial features don't match from her one panel intro to her longer scene that starts after a page of Tony brooding on his balcony.  Of course, it doesn't help that the colorist, credited simply as 'Ariane,' miscolors her hair as orange for two pages, or that Morgan seems incapable of making Pepper Potts (who has, in the past, been portrayed with a smattering of freckles) look distinct from her.  It looks like it was rushed, and doesn't sell the importance of What Is About To Happen.

Other than conveying that Tony is Depressed, this issue doesn't make me excited for what the next issue blurb promises is 'The greatest event in the history of Iron Man and The Avengers.'  But maybe I'm wrong; maybe the blurb is being truthful when it promises 'it will rock the universe.'

...and you know what that means, folks.  After I hit the next milestone, it'll be time for the 48 page Chromium Extravaganza that is...The Crossing!

If you would like to support my endeavors to keep pop culture honest, consider joining my Patreon  or buying me a Ko-Fi.  Please follow me on Bluesky Social @tdeja.bsky.social