Iron Man #117
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeIron Man #117 is the opening chapter of one of Marvel's most celebrated creative runs — the Michelinie/Layton/Romita Jr. era — and serves as the first appearance of Bethany Cabe, a character deliberately conceived as a grounded, capable foil to Tony Stark who would go on to play a pivotal role in the landmark 'Demon in a Bottle' alcoholism arc beginning in issue #120. The issue also marks the new team's decisive break from the previous decade of Iron Man storytelling: they retired the Life Model Decoy plot device (the Stark LMD makes its final appearance here) and began redirecting the title toward character-driven realism. Cabe's introduction was itself a philosophical statement — writer David Michelinie deliberately sidelined Pepper Potts as a romantic interest in favor of a self-sufficient woman who worked as a security specialist, reflecting the influence of second-wave feminism on Marvel's editorial culture at the time. Together with its immediate successors, this issue seeded the narrative infrastructure that would make 'Demon in a Bottle' one of the most discussed superhero stories of the Bronze Age.
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David Michelinie and Bob Layton came aboard as writer and co-plotter/inker with issue #116, one issue after John Romita Jr. had signed on as penciler for what became his first regular ongoing series assignment at Marvel. Editor Roger Stern oversaw the book under Editor-in-Chief Jim Shooter, whose relatively new tenure was allowing creators to explore more mature themes than Marvel had previously published in its superhero line. The story title — 'The Spy Who Killed Me!' — is an explicit nod to the then-current James Bond film 'The Spy Who Loved Me,' grounding the issue in its precise late-1970s pop-culture moment. The division of labor followed what would become the team's signature approach throughout their run: Michelinie and Layton co-plotted, Michelinie scripted, Romita Jr. provided breakdowns, and Layton finished the art, with Bob McLeod sharing the cover credit.
Trivia · 8 facts
- First appearance of Bethany Cabe (Earth-616), Tony Stark's bodyguard and love interest, who would become central to the 'Demon in a Bottle' storyline in issues #120–128.
- Written by David Michelinie (script) and Bob Layton (co-plot); penciled by John Romita Jr. (breakdowns) with Bob Layton providing finished art; cover by John Romita Jr. and Bob McLeod.
- Story title is 'The Spy Who Killed Me!' — a deliberate reference to the 1977 James Bond film 'The Spy Who Loved Me.'
- Marks the final appearance of the Tony Stark Life Model Decoy; Spymaster shoots and destroys it, believing he has assassinated Tony Stark.
- Nick Fury appears in a cameo role — later revealed in issue #120 to also be a Life Model Decoy, not the real Fury.
- First appearance of the Carnelian Embassy location; Tony's invitation from Carnelian ambassador Sergei Kotznin is established as a plot thread carried into subsequent issues.
- Spymaster (Ted Calloway) serves as the primary antagonist; his previous battles with Iron Man are noted as having occurred in issues #35–36.
- Reprinted in the Iron Man by Michelinie, Layton & Romita Jr. Omnibus (Marvel, 2013) and in several international editions including a Spanish-language collection (Tesoros Marvel, Planeta DeAgostini, 1999).
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