Didjutal Comiks: IRON MAN #194

Digital comics are the future of comics, so says everyone on the Internet and everyone trying to justify their purchase of an iPad and leveraging that into a desperate attempt to generate content for their blogs and stuff. It is in this spirit that the management at Witless Prattle continues the following new, exciting, weirdly specific and slightly iconoclastic feature.

Iron Man #194

May 1985

"Otherwhere!"

Writer: Denny O'Neil

Artists: Luke McDonnell (pencils) Akin & Garvey (inks)

Stark in his grey Iron Man suit is hauling "altered to the point we can't be sued but really, it's Godzilla, guys" out to sea. Unfortunately his armour's not up to it and nearly drowns until he shucks his armour and Hawkeye and Mockingbird come save him.

Meanwhile, Jim Rhodes is meeting with Henry Pym to work out his mental problems, because when one is suffering unidentifiable mental problems . . .why not go to someone who has certifiable mental problems. Somehow this leads to someone sticking Henry Pym up looking for some shrink-gas to help hide out from the cops, but not too small--he still wants the ladies to know he's all man, after all. This doesn't go well and Rhodes punches him into some dimensional rift that Pym just stupidly left open while he and Rhodes were talking because Hank Pym doesn't really understand lab work aside from "make science go now!"

In Subplot Corner, Bethany Cabe shows up looking for Stark, only to get the brushoff from the Erwin siblings. This plot will repeat itself, occasionally with people storming in to kidnap her for a couple more issues from here on in. Oh, and Obadiah Stane hires the Enforcer to kill the Termite, who failed in his mission to sabotage Stark's new company. Unfortunately, the Enforcer gets killed by the Scourge a page later. This is the first of the Scourge kills, so you Spider-Woman and Marvel Team-Up villains watch your asses.

Ultimately, Rhodes gets Pym and the criminal out of the Tripping Balls Dimension, except the criminal decides it would be a great place to hide out and runs back in. O'Neil demonstrates that he's not that good with reactions at this point because everyone's like "whoa, I guess he went nuts in there or something. So, anyone for grilled cheese sandwiches?" Our issue ends with Pym saying they're finally going to cure Rhodes, by which he means he's going to throw up his hands and hand the problem off to someone else.

OK, well, except for the Scourge thing, this really doesn't figure into anything major and the various plots are spinning their wheels while we wait for the road to #200 to begin in earnest. It's kind of a weird issue in that it feels so . . .less than urgent, but as it's not "The Crossing" it could be leagues worse.