Issue(s): Iron Man #253
Cover Date: Feb 90
Title: "Laughing all the way to the graveyard"
Credits:
Danny Fingeroth - Writer
Gene Colan - Penciler
Gene Colan - Inker
Len Kaminski - Assistant Editor
Howard Mackie - Editor

Review/plot:
I'd say that we're in the fill-in period between the Michelinie/Layton run and the Byrne/Romita run except that next issue seems to be an attempt by Layton to carry on the story by himself. In any event, this is definitely a fill-in, and it's so boring that the cover artist (Byrne, coincidentally) depicted a random action scene from early in the story instead of anything having to do with the actual plot of the issue.

I do have to admit that the early action scene is pretty awesome. Iron Man flies in to catch a roller-coaster that flies off the tracks, and just puts it back on the tracks so it can continue on its way.

They should have left it there because the scene is kind of ruined when the caboose falls back off the track and Iron Man has to do some additional rescuing.

Anyway, the actual plot is of the standard "invent a friend for a fill-in" variety. The friend this time is a former peer of Tony Stark's that dropped out of MIT to become a stand-up comic. And not a particularly funny one.

He's gotten involved with some criminals who now want a million dollars from him. So the comedian goes to Tony and tries to hold him up for the money, but changes his mind after pulling out the gun. Tony follows him as Iron Man and attacks the criminals while the comedian is trying to make a partial payment. It turns out that the criminals have the guy's daughter.

Iron Man makes another rescue attempt later but it turns out that the comedian has built a modified version of the Iron Monger armor. It's called Slagmire here.

Iron Man defeats Slagmire and gives his old friend a job at Stark Enterprises.

It's nice to see Gene Colan illustrating the issue, but that's about the only nice thing i have to say about it. Danny Fingeroth has done better fill-ins than this, but they've involved guest appearances. It might have been better for him to revisit the Spider-Woman story that never found its way into a mini-series.

Quality Rating: D+

Historical Significance Rating: 1

Chronological Placement Considerations: N/A

References:

• Tony Stark was shot by Kathleen Dare in Iron Man #242.

Crossover: N/A

Continuity Insert? N

My Reprint: N/A