Iron Man’s original run continues in Iron Man Omnibus Vol. 4 with plenty of Bronze Age action and villains.
Vol. 4 collects Iron Man #68-112 and Iron Man Annual #3-4 which includes the start of Bill Mantlo’s memorable run in Iron Man #92.
All stories are written by Mantlo, Mike Friedrich, Gerry Conway, Barry Alfonso, Tom Orzechowski, Len Wein, Roger Slifer, Steve Gerber, Archie Goodwin, Jim Shooter, and Roger Stern.
Art is provided by George Tuska, Herb Trimpe, Keith Pollard, Arvell Jones, Chic Stone, Sal Buscema, Jeff Aclin, Carmine Infantino, Mike Esposito, Vince Colletta, Jim Mooney, Dick Ayers, Marie Severin, Jack Abel, John Tartaglione, Bob Layton, Don Perlin, Don Newton, Pablo Marcos, Fred Kida, Bob Wiacek, and Alfredo Alcala.
The new Omnibus includes the complete “War of the Super-Villains” arc, which begins when Iron Man finds himself in the middle of the War of the Super-Villains, a multi-part epic that is a highwater mark in 1970s Iron Man storytelling.
The villainous competition gets under way in issue #74 when the mysterious Black Lama pits villain against villain, and the prize is…a golden globe (not a Golden Globe award, a device that gives your ultimate power, so a little bit more valuable than the ones given away by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association).
The fight card includes first round match-ups between “Yellow Peril’ villains the Mandarin and the Yellow Claw, before moving on to mad scientist madness when M.O.D.O.K. goes up against the Mad Thinker. Firebrand also enters the fray as the five villains and the Black Lama give each other, and Tony Stark, all they can handle.
When Mantlo takes over, the writer adds a new level of espionage and industrial and political intrigue to Tony Stark’s world, with a number of extended storylines spanning up to five issues each.
Other highlights in the Omnibus include: a three-part team up with Sunfire, Iron Man’s return to Vietnam to rescue a friend behind enemy lines, accusations of Stark Industries bribing U.S. senators, a journey into space to Wundagore II, a team-up with the Champions against M.O.D.O.K, the all-new Guardsman, and battles against Ultimo, the Blood Brothers, the Controller, the Molecule Man (with some swampy help from Man-Thing), the Freak, the Red Ghost (and his three apes), the Unicorn, Madame Masque, Midas, the Melter, the Blizzard, Jack of Hearts, the Growing Man, Commander Kraken, the Dreadknight, Frankenstein’s Monster, the Wraith, Arsenal, and the Soviet Super-Soldiers (Darkstar, Vanguard, and Crimson Dynamo).
The Iron Man Omnibus Vol. 4 consists of 968 pages for a suggested retail price of $125.00.
Check out the variant cover by Milgrom and the variant cover by Jack Kirby and Milgrom below.
