We just saw the Atom doing a little tour of the human circulatory system from the inside; luckily, Iron Man doesn't know the Atom, or it would be a competition. And Tony doesn't do the shrinking part himself, he gets Henry Pym for that. Iron Man gets down to bacteria size, in order to install a microchip to restore Captain America's mobility. 
I think this was just after, or on the tailend of, Cap's "Fighting Chance" storyline: the Super-Soldier Serum in Cap's blood was finally breaking down, leaving him with paralysis. Hank (rather stupidly) points out that "nobody thought to study the long-term effects of that serum...not over a fifty-year interval, at least." Dude, I'm not sure there was even animal testing on the Super-Soldier Serum. (Which, on further consideration, probably wasn't such a bad idea: I don't like the idea of a rat at the peak of...rat condition.)
Tony notes that Cap had retired when his condition was diagnosed, he wouldn't be in such sorry shape, but he and Hank both admit it's a lot easier to talk about or threaten to retire, than to actually do it. After a stout fight through Cap's SSS-enhanced immune system, Iron Man manages to place the chip. Afterwards, Cap is bothered, and seems to feel like it's a cheat, but Iron Man assures him that a man's worth is measured by his actions. Plus, a chip in your spine is probably less of a cheat than the Super-Soldier Serum, anyway: without it, little Steve Rogers could've lifted weights and snorted creatine for years, and still not become Cap.
Panels from Iron Man #314, "Heroic Intervention" Written by Len Kaminski, art by Tom Morgan.
OW. Hadn't thought about the whole suit-of-armor-in-the-vein thing before, but ... OW.
ReplyDeleteKinda makes you wonder if the Atom's costume is made of surgical lubricated fabric, doesn't it? ;-)