Issue(s): Iron Man #247
Cover Date: Oct 89
Title: "Malled!"
Credits:
David Michelinie - Script
David Michelinie & Bob Layton - Plot
Bob Layton - Pencils
Tim Dzon - Inks
Howard Mackie - Editor

Review/plot:
I remember seeking this out at some point many years ago (but not in realtime) due to the fact that it tied in with Hulk #361 and being immediately put off by the cover. Whoever was doing this comic clearly didn't "get" the grey Hulk; you can't just draw the green Hulk and paint him grey! I don't know if i even read the story; reading it again now for my project, it didn't seem at all familiar to me. But it turns out that David Michelinie and Bob Layton actually get the grey Hulk just fine, and this is a pretty good comic. It's much more tied in to Iron Man's current plotline (obviously!) than Hulk's, but it still has a very natural connection with the Hulk thanks to the use of the Maggia, who had been giving the Hulk trouble in his own book.

The story starts with Iron Man having a special meeting with the current heads of Hydra and AIM. The Maggia have been attacking Hydra and AIM's interests, and Iron Man wants to stop them too, so they propose an alliance.

Iron Man rejects the idea, but the meeting still has two consequences. The first is that Hydra and AIM share their information on the Maggia that Iron Man can use to go after them himself. And the second is that Hydra and AIM, remembering their shared origins, put aside their differences for the moment to hire someone else to fulfill the role that they hoped Iron Man would play.

And that someone is the Hulk, who was recently run out of Vegas thanks to attacks from the Maggia (or at least that's how the Hulk sees it. It was actually his own reaction to those attacks that was the problem.).

The Hulk is sent after Madame Masque.

Iron Man arrives at the Maggia's location after Hulk has left with Masque, but he traces him to the current AIM/Hydra location, which happens to be underneath a shopping mall (it seems to be a favorite location of AIM).

After the Hulk delivers Madame Masque, he's told to leave through the mall, and while he's walking through the mall, he's attacked by the Maggia's Dreadnoughts, which are trying to get Masque back. That's when Iron Man shows up...

...but Iron Man just flies on through to the AIM/Hydra base...

...and tries to rescue Masque, who he wants to interrogate. Instead, Masque is able to escape.

It turns out that Masque is under the protection of the FBI, but when the Agent Mallard that Stark has been running into reveals this, Iron Man records the conversation for delivery to the network news channels.

In Iron Man annual #10, Iron Man got the impression that a general, presumably a US army general, was in collusion with Hydra on their scheme to sell drugs in the US. In this story, the FBI is colluding with the Maggia. I don't know if the wires got crossed between the annuals and the regular series or if Michelinie really meant for there to be two government conspiracies going on at the same time. But both stories reflect the fact that the Nicaraguan Contra/cocaine news stories were topical at the time. The end of this issue has President George Bush disavowing knowledge of the conspiracy and vowing to bring the rogue agents to justice.

Iron Man was also told that the FBI wasn't cooperating with him because of his actions in Armor Wars, which may also have been true but which obviously takes a back seat to the idea that the FBI was colluding with the Maggia.

During the fight, the Hulk's cash payment got destroyed.

So he decides he needs to stick around in Los Angeles to make the trip worthwhile.

As far as a Hulk guest appearance, it's pretty true to his character, although Michelinie's scripting doesn't match the wit of Peter David's. But the Hulk and Iron Man barely interact this issue; that is all saved for the Hulk side of this loose crossover.

Also in this issue, we continue to see Tony not adjusting well to being paralyzed.

At the end of this issue, he gives his lawyer Felix Alvarez instructions to begin the process of his stepping down as head of Stark Enterprises. But in a different subplot, we see Abe Zimmer getting a result on the computer virus that was searching for cures for paralysis. Interesting drama despite the coming reversal to this plotline.

Quality Rating: B

Historical Significance Rating: 1

Chronological Placement Considerations: A follow up story (not a direct continuation) occurs in Hulk #361.

References:

• Tony Stark was paralyzed in Iron Man #243 (no footnote).
  
• Hulk got fired from his Vegas enforcer role in Hulk #357-359 (no footnote).
  
• A footnote tells us the Hulk's effort to make his visit to LA pay will be shown in Hulk #361.

Crossover: N/A

Continuity Insert? N

My Reprint: N/A

I believe this has been mentioned before by fans but iron man seems to have gadgets for every occasion a bit like batman. It's a bit too much

The guy at the airport seems to know the Hulk is alive but at the end of Hulk 359, only Cloot and Berengetti knew that.

JSFan,this can be a common problem for Iron Man, as lazy writing creates new gizmos whenever a new challenge happens. The Michelenie/Layton team likes to come up with nifty new things for Iron Man, but usually they put some effort in introducing them so it is not out of the blue. Not always, but usually.

The best Iron Man runs have a status quo, and keep Iron Man's powers set, and if they introduce anything new, it's low key and only after a long period. But it is easy to screw this up.

Michael, i think it's more that the guy recognized the Hulk, whether or not he knew that he was supposed to be dead or alive (and of course it was really just a jokey introduction for readers).

From what I recall, the implication in Iron Man annual is that Hydra is involved with a Panamanian general, specifically Manuel Noriega. The Hydra leader even refers to the person who he is speaking to on the phone in the annual as "Manuel."

So, in short, Hydra was working with the Panamanian government, and the Maggia was working with the FBI. Which actually makes sense given then-current events, as the US invaded Panama and captured Noriega in December 1989.

Tim Dzon's inks give an unusual fluidity to Bob Layton's pencils.

My favorite moment of this issue is Agent Mallard's reaction when he realizes than Iron Man has recorded his collusion into the crime families' actions.