Random Happenstance

We mentioned this one a couple months back, with the return of Killmonger, which retconned today's book into a fakeout: from 1982, Iron Man Annual #5, "War and Remembrance!" Written by Peter Gillis, co-plotted by Ralph Macchio, pencils by Jerry Bingham, inks by Dan Green.

Although I recognized the cover, I'm not sure I read this issue until just recently; and I had thought it was from Rhodey's first stint as Iron Man. Nope! Still Tony, before his second bout with alcoholism; and Rhodey's here as his pilot. They're off to Wakanda to help the Black Panther with terrorism attacks and contaminated vibranium, and have a plan. A plan that seems to go south on multiple levels: Rhodey is knocked out and captured by Madam Slay, while the Panther is murdered, shot down in a fight against armed gunmen!

Killmonger is more than a little disappointed in the Panther for dying, but at his funeral takes his cape and resolves to avenge their king, by killing every foreign devil in Wakanda! (Which, I wouldn't think would be very many; it was never known for its tourism...) Killmonger's little rebellion is out in the open now, though; which was the Panther and Iron Man's plan all along! The 'dead' Panther was a Life Model Decoy; IM mentions in passing the Beast programmed its agility. While Killmonger gathers the Panther's "hated western art" for torching, Madam Slay tells his new troops how she found his body after being thrown off a cliff (in Jungle Action #17, which I swear I've read and can't be as exciting as that cover) but it disappeared one night and he was reborn. I'm not sure why the Panther had all that art--investments, perhaps? But he ends up fighting Killmonger over it. Iron Man is surprised Killmonger is able to stand up to him, but he has another surprise: a ring that Tony recognizes, but then he has to take off to rescue Rhodey.

Iron Man finds Rhodey on the vibranium mound, uncharitably referring to him as "our maiden in distress." The deathtrap was a little more far-reaching than most: heavy particle beams focused on the vibranium could change it to the other variation of that metal, Antarctic vibranium, or anti-metal; that could destroy all metal in the entire hemisphere, maybe further! Tony has to dig deep and overload his armor to defeat it; while the Panther thrashes Killmonger, revealing him to be merely an animated corpse, as that ring disappears, returning to the Mandarin! Who was showing a lot of skin back then, but maybe he wanted to show off his ink. Still, it would be fourteen years (!) until Killmonger's next appearance, where they try to play this one off as a "ploy" cooked up by Kill and the Mandarin to see what might happen. About what you would expect to happen, honestly.