Mysticism trumps transistors when voodoo extortionist Mr. Doll targets Tony Stark! This new threat requires an equipment upgrade . . . but will it be enough?
Notes:
- Despite his droopy horns and small-time criminal mentality, Mr. Doll pushes our hero harder than any previous adversary because his weapon is sympathetic magic, specifically a pain-inflicting voodoo doll pilfered from an African witch doctor. So, after nearly dying in what football analysts call "a bad matchup", Stark finally decides to shed the extra bulk of the high-tech turkey fryer he's been wearing and develop a sleeker, lighter suit of armor that doesn't lose its charge like an old iPod after 10 minutes of combat. A delicate antenna sticks out of the left shoulder, but the "classic" Iron-Man outfit is nearly complete in this issue.
- To escape the pain of the deadly fetish, Stark intentionally turns off his chest plate life support to deaden his senses and allow him to assemble the precision energy beam he uses to disarm Mr. Doll. It's a gritty move that establishes the character's toughness and ingenuity. This win feels well-earned by our hero.
- Steve Ditko would seem to be the ideal choice to illustrate a tale with a magical main ingredient, but other than a glimpse of Mr. Doll's collection of weird African artifacts in the corner of a single panel, his creepy mystical milieus are nowhere to be seen. Stan Lee tries a bit harder in this issue. It's still nothing special but it at least represents an improvement, mainly in its depiction of Stark's desperation.
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