IRON MAN vol. 3 #82 (426 - labelled but really 427)
(July 2004) "Force Projection" -- The Deep End, part 4.
Cover art: Adi Granov.
Script: John Jackson Miller.
Art: Philip Tan. Hey! Whaddya know?
JJM hits on everything I brought up about Carl Walker from last issue! In other words, Tony Stark is stymied as to just what ails Force, his former ally! Answer: Swarmy government bastich Sonny Burch blackmailed Walker into retrofitting Stark's old suits of IM armor. Apparently, when Stark gave Force his new ID, they never changed his fingerprints -- and Burch found out who Walker really was! Instant Forgiveness Dept.: Upon hearing the truth from Stark, Force instantly cures his bloodlust for Tony and helps him out! Vitriol's master plan to dump her metal-dissolving bacteria into Iraq's rivers has to be thwarted -- but it's too late! The tractor trailer carrying the bio agent crashes into a local water stream! Hoooo-boy!! But a bomber appears overhead ... and drops an economy-sized "magnesium hydroxide" bomb -- essentially milk of magnesia!! At issue's end Stark gets a frantic phone call and jets home in a hurry!
It's cool seeing old foe/friend Force in IM's pages again, along with his rad new outfit. But his hatred for Stark seems way too forced (pardon the pun), especially considering his instant transformation upon hearing Tony's side of the story. Stark's brainpower wins the day with specialized bomb -- another plus. Still, the ish is standard garden-variety fare, complete with cliché continued ending. The issue's numbering is still off -- it should be #427 but reads #426.
Hube's Recommendation: 2 1/2 repulsors!
