IRON MAN vol. 3 #66 (411)
(May 2003) "Manhunt" part two.
Cover art: Michael Ryan.
Script:Mike Grell, Robin Laws.
Art: Michael Ryan/Rich Perrotta.
Stark and Hap remain under attack by a pair of snipers -- Hap is already hit -- but then Tony himself takes a couple bullets, including one in the chest! As the snipers move in to finish the job, Tony manages to drag himself and Hap to some cover, and then activates his watch which summons the Iron Man armor to him! The snipers fire wildly, panicking about the threat of facing IM, but it proves futile! IM brings down a couple of fire-escapes on 'em, and then some mysterious dude taps an electronic doo-dad -- and the snipers are dead!! IM jets Hap (and himself) to the hospital and are promptly operated on. Cool Scene Dept.:Doctors marveling at Stark's "special" mechanical heart and how it saved Stark's life by sealing wounds and such. (The one doc exclaiming "That's no JARVIC!" is referring to the first-ever artificial heart.)
As the two friends are hospitalized, various interludes show a Chinese news conference blaming the US government -- and Stark -- for the attack on their embassy; a debate show discussing a possible conspiracy involving Stark; and most importantly, Temugin pops back up as the apparent mastermind of this whole shindig! Grell (and Laws) nicely weave current news into the yarn as Stark is questioned by officials about selling technology to North Korea, and Tony informs them that he did -- under request by the Clinton Administration! Lastly, we a nurse heading for a resting Stark's hospital room -- and she injects a dastardly drug into his IV! The last panel shows Stark convulsing under the gaze of the smiling nurse! HOOOO-boy!
The story continues to stay gripping with appealing breaks and interludes. The art continues to improve and even impress. But what happened to Sean Parsons? I hope the inker change isn't permanent as he and Ryan were really getting in the groove.
Hube's Recommendation: 3 repulsors!
Fan Reaction: HUBE! Wow- what a couple of issues, eh? Let's see how many different reader-complaints were covered in #66: 1 - no consequences for revealing identity - covered in 66 [one of my personal favorites, btw]; 2 - why doesn't someone just snipe TS, now that they know he's IM? - covered in 66; 3 - why is it so easy for people to take the armor off of tony? - covered in 66 - the only thing(s) missing is/are flagrant super-villians. So, color me amazed - despite the protests by the previous writer and current editor, it DOES matter if Tony's secret ID is secret or not (why? cause the readers demanded it!). Manhunt is clearly a very direct response to the readers - they've heard those of us who have been complaining, and are doing right by us (obviously, because we are, at the very least, the vocal majority). Here's to hoping the current beat doesn't lose steam, cause that would be a major disappointment.
Weird letter response - I think in #66 a letter-writer stated that now that Grell was gone, he was too. I say, 'Good Riddance'! If you were only there for one writer, and one who completely ignored the core idea behind the title - buh-bye! Won't miss ya! -- TJ
