Issue(s): Marvel Super Heroes #13 (Iron Man / Midas story only)
Cover Date: Apr 93 / Spring 93
Title: "Gold fever"
Credits:
Kurt Busiek - Writer
James Fry - Penciler
Jim Sanders III & Frank Percy - Inker
Dan Cuddy - Assistant Editor
Rob Tokar - Editor

Review/plot:
Frank Percy is credited with an art assist. He's not listed in the main credits, which make a joke about the fact that both James Fry and Jim Sanders are always credited as the third.

This issue features the return of a long forgotten villain.

The story started "weeks ago" when gold shipments needed by Circuits Maximus were not making it to their destination from Greece.

Tony Stark wanted to investigate as Iron Man, but James Rhodes and Clytemnestra Erwin convinced him that the company needed him. So Rhodey contracts out to a private investigator friend.

But now the PI has turned up dead, so Iron Man goes to Greece. While he's investigating, he is helped by a fan of Iron Man.

He's a little dismissive of her, and she resents it.

Inside the smuggler's den, he is attacked by armored goons and then the big boss.

Who turns out to be Midas.

The last time we saw him, he was comatose but human. It's taken him "long months" to regain his sanity, but he's discovered that his "golden touch had turned inward" and he's now made out of gold. And he can only eat gold, too. That's why he's been stealing it.

I feel like his goons should at least mold the gold into turkey leg shapes for him.

Iron Man is captured by Midas and his goons, and they leave him because it's Midas' mealtime. But the tourist that helped him earlier comes into the base and frees him. This time he's more willing to let her take on some of the risk, and he sends her to contact the police even though if she gets caught she'll be killed.

Meanwhile, Midas is still an over-eater even if he can only eat gold.

When Iron Man comes after Midas again, Midas can't help but pile up his submarine full of gold bars.

To be fair, the guy does need it to live. But the weight of the gold is too much for the ship, and Midas winds up getting dumped out with all his gold while the pilot is making evasive maneuvers. He sinks to the bottom of the ocean, and the electrode that he uses to allow him to be mobile shorts out. Iron Man searches for him for half an hour but can't find him.

Every bit as ridiculous as a Midas story should be.

In the end, Tony tries to get a date with the tourist but she's so over him and Iron Man.

He realizes that she didn't give him her last name, so he can't really look her up later.

Whenever a newly introduced supporting character is that helpful, i always assume they're gonna be a bad guy, and was happy to see that wasn't the case. But the way she's drawn, i assumed she was a teenager and was kind of shocked when Tony asked her out at the end. Also, characters are always learning valuable lessons in fill-ins, but i'm kind of surprised that the valuable lesson this time is that he should put civilians at risk more often. Luckily, the valuable lessons that characters learn during fill-ins rarely carry over to their regular issues.

Interestingly, the next (and last) time that Midas will be used is in the first issue of Kurt Busiek's 1998 Iron Man run, as one of several villains vowing to be featured during that run. But Busiek won't ever get to doing that Midas story. And of course this story never saw print in realtime. So that's twice that Busiek planned to do a Midas story but it never manifested (or, in this case, only manifested belatedly in a way that not many people saw).

Quality Rating: C+

Historical Significance Rating: 1

Chronological Placement Considerations: A footnote says that this story takes place prior to Iron Man #215, when Cly Erwin turns on Stark and when Stark Enterprises is unveiled. It's actually surprising to see the Circuits Maximus name still in use, since i thought that ended when their building was destroyed and Cly's brother was killed in Iron Man #199. But that same story resulted in the debut of Iron Man's red and white costume, so this definitely has to take place after Iron Man #200 but before Iron Man #215.

The flashback showing Cly Erwin and James Rhodes takes place "weeks ago" so i haven't listed them as characters appearing.

The other Iron Man story from this issue is covered in a separate entry.

References:

• Midas was put into a coma by Marianne Rodgers in Iron Man #107.

Crossover: N/A

Continuity Insert? Y (inventory story)

My Reprint: N/A