IRON MAN #149 (1981)
Writers: David Michelinie & Bob Layton
Pencils: John Romita Jr.
cover by John Romita Jr. & Bob Layton
This is the beginning of a quite beloved two-part story where Doctor Doom faces Iron Man.
It’s going to have multiple sequels and it has an AWESOME cover!
We begin with a bunch of terrorists trying to steal from a Stark International cargo ship.
Which of course means Iron Man shows up to stop them.
After a few scenes about various Iron Man subplots, Tony Stark shows up for his meeting.
And he has a few words for the manager who approved a contract with Latveria.
Quite interesting to see that Latveria has been on Stark’s black list for years.
We then cut to “several centuries in the past”, where we learn that Doctor Doom has been learning magic from Cagliostro.
Who, in case you don’t know, was actually a real person and not just a Doctor Strange villain.
Even if he pays Cagliostro with priceless jewels, the 18th century magician is in awe of Doom’s time travel technology.
Considering that in his last appearance Doom was operating out of a castle in Bavaria, it’s interesting to see that he has ALREADY set his base in a Latverian castle.
Unfortunately for Doom, he won’t be able to make other trips to the past because Iron Man stopped the shipment of the components he needs.
I’m guessing he’s using Stark technology because he doesn’t have access to ALL of the facilities he used to have as leader of Latveria?
I would empathize with Hauptmann if:
A) he wasn’t the one who basically resurrected Doom in the first place
B) his brother wasn’t a Nazi
Iron Man knows Doom well enough to figure out that he WILL show up to get the components. Which… I mean, he DID pay for them, so that’s on you Tony.
Doom’s lackeys do indeed show up… with THIS THING:
It might look a bit goofy, but it’s sophisticated enough to give Iron Man a run for his money.
The lackeys even get away with it! Not a good day for Iron Man.
Since Iron Man didn’t have much luck keeping the components in the US, Tony Stark shows up in Latveria… with a diplomatic visa. I have no clue how the heck he managed THAT.
He’s kind of worried he ended up in a trap since the Latverian police shows up, but they actually want to encourage him to please have Iron Man keep Doom out the country.
(in this period his identity is still a secret)
Doom is hiding in plain sight… kinda: the castle LOOKS deserted, because there’s a secret entrance behind a hologram.
He still has to fight a few robots because, c’mon. It’s Doom’s castle.
And we finally get to the meeting between Doctor Doom and Iron Man… who he consistently calls “errand boy” (not just here but in the sequels as well!)
Their whole discussion makes me wonder… what IS Doom’s legal status right now?
Since he’s not sovereign of Latveria anymore he’s not covered by diplomatic immunity. So… is there a warrant for him for any crime? Or is he actually just a normal citizen with a clear record?
IS he a citizen of Latveria anymore? So many questions!
Doom is extremely annoyed at having to talk with someone below his status, so he resorts to attacking Iron Man. With one of my favorite inventions, the Molecular Expander ™.
Iron Man is on the defensive, but he does manage to land a surprise blow… for all the good it does.
It’s extremely rare for Doom to resort to his fists (unless it’s against the Thing), but Iron Man seems to have touched a nerve.
Appropriately, this is both a physical and a technological fight.
Which ends when someone activates the time machine!
That was thanks to Hauptmann, who then destroys the time machine to exile Doom and Iron Man into the past.
To be continued. In Camelot, no less!
Doom significance: 7/10
This is kind of significant since it introduces the idea that Doom has been exploiting his time machine to study magic. Which, while not used much in this period, will become a recurring thing for him. It also helps explain why he almost never used any magic in the 60s and 70s, and sporadically in the 80s, but has become an exponentially better magician over the years.
Silver Age-ness: 2/10
Doom visiting Cagliostro is at least a little bit Silver Age, but it’s pretty low even on the Marvel scale.
Does it stand the test of time? 10/10
There’s a reason if this is a classic. It does a very good job at establishing both Iron Man and Doctor Doom; the fight is also quite enjoyable, with Doom having the upper hand most of the time but constantly underestimating Iron Man.
It was a Doombot all along
While there’s nothing in this issue that points to any direction, the Doctor Doom from the second part is most definitely the real one.
Destroy the FF! & Take over the world
We’re never told what exactly Doom wants to accomplish with the time machine, so I’m going to assume he wants to learn even more magic. So no points for either category.
Crazy tech
That amazing jet-powered flying boat with arms, of course.