Wanderings of Iron Man at Couture's

(as seen in Advanced Iron #62)

MARVEL TEAM-UP #72

"Crack of the whip!" - August 1978

Writer: Bill Mantlo
Artist: Jim Mooney
Cover: John Byrne / Bob Layton

It is not absolutely necessary to have read MTU #48-51 to understand this one, but it does make it much more enjoyable if you know what's happened before.

When Spider-Man attempts to stop a robbery, he is shot with drugged bullets that seriously dull his senses. But Spidey nonetheless manages to throw the robbers' getaway truck on its side. He is then attacked by Whiplash who seriously wounds the groggy hero. Before blacking out, Spidey manages to throw a spider-tracer on the bad guy's back.

When Spidey wakes up, he's surrounded by doctors, police captain Jean De Wolff and Iron Man (who has been called on the scene because of his expertise in dealing with Whiplash). IM correctly deduces that Whiplash's presence points to the involvement of the Maggia! Just wait until you see who Whiplash's Maggia boss is… no, it's not Madame Masque!

Once more, a fun read, despite the basic simplicity of the story.

Whiplash was a fun villain, even though he was still a bit of a pushover back then. But as you well know, he later evolves into Blacklash and becomes much more of a serious threat to IM.

The art is better in this issue than in MTU #48-51, Mooney draws a much more visually pleasing IM armor. And definitely one of the coolest things about this comic has got to be the cover. John Byrne pencils, Bob Layton inks… two of my all-time favourite artists, together. What a dream duo! The result is great.

Iron Man says: "Whiplash! So that explains why you summoned me in on this case, Jean! If my old foe is back working as a paid assassin-then so is the organization he used to work for… the Maggia!"

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