Iron Man #120
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeIron Man #120 is the opening chapter of 'Demon in a Bottle,' the nine-issue Bronze Age arc that redefined Tony Stark by placing alcoholism — not a super-villain — at the center of his crisis, a move that critics later called 'the quintessential Iron Man story' and one that continues to shape how writers approach the character. The issue also delivers the debut of Justin Hammer, a corporate mirror-image of Stark whose remote-hijacking of Iron Man's armor introduces a uniquely modern kind of villainy rooted in technology and unethical capitalism rather than brute strength. Together, those two threads — a protagonist unraveling from within and an antagonist who weaponizes the hero's own suit against him — gave mainstream superhero comics a template for mature psychological storytelling that preceded the genre's later 'revisionist' wave by nearly a decade. The arc that begins here went on to win the 1980 Eagle Award for Favorite Single Comic Book Story, cementing its place in the medium's history.
In "The Old Man and the Sea Prince!", Iron Man crashes into the Atlantic during a clash between U.S. forces and the Sub-Mariner, forcing Tony Stark to investigate—and confront the underwater warrior head-on. With Justin Hammer secretly sabotaging his armor, Iron Man must push past exhaustion and betrayal as the battle beneath the waves escalates. Written by Bob Layton and David Michelinie, with art by Bob Layton and John Romita Jr., and a cover by Bob Layton, this 1979 Marvel classic delivers a tense, character-driven showdown.
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The creative team of writer David Michelinie, plotter/inker Bob Layton, and penciller John Romita Jr. had only recently taken over the Iron Man title when this issue hit stands with a cover date of March 1979 (released December 19, 1978). Layton later recalled in a 2014 interview that he and Michelinie conceived Justin Hammer as a cautionary vision of what Tony Stark himself might have become — a tribute to actor Peter Cushing visually, and to the archetype of the amoral arms dealer thematically. The creative team pitched the alcoholism thread to editor-in-chief Jim Shooter, who approved it with direction to handle the topic responsibly; the story was plotted collaboratively by Michelinie and Layton, with Michelinie providing the final script and Layton delivering finished art over Romita Jr.'s breakdowns. The issue was edited by Roger Stern, with Jim Salicrup serving as assistant editor.
Trivia · 8 facts
- First appearance of Justin Hammer (villain), a British industrialist and rival arms dealer to Tony Stark, introduced as the mastermind remotely hijacking Iron Man's armor via a hypersonic scanner.
- First appearance of Captain Jonas Hale, a secondary villain in the same issue.
- Opens the nine-issue 'Demon in a Bottle' story arc (Iron Man #120–128, March–November 1979), which centers on Tony Stark's escalating alcoholism.
- Written by David Michelinie and Bob Layton; pencilled by John Romita Jr. (breakdowns) with Bob Layton on finished art; cover by Bob Layton.
- Story title: 'The Old Man and the Sea Prince!' — features Iron Man vs. Namor the Sub-Mariner, with the cliffhanger of Hammer's agents flooding Iron Man's helmet, leaving Stark to drown.
- Justin Hammer was deliberately designed to visually resemble British actor Peter Cushing, a fact confirmed by Layton in a 2014 interview; the character concept was built as a dark foil to Stark — both in the same industry, but with diametrically opposed moral compasses.
- 'Demon in a Bottle' won the 1980 Eagle Award for Favorite Single Comic Book Story; the storyline's name originally referred only to the final issue (#128) and was retroactively applied to the full arc when collected.
- The arc has been collected in multiple editions: a trade paperback (2006, Marvel), Marvel Premiere Classic hardcover (2008), and subsequent reprints in 2010 and 2025; the issue also appears in Marvel Masterworks: The Invincible Iron Man Vol. 13 (2021) and the Michelinie/Layton/Romita Jr. Omnibus (2013).
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↩ Reprints [Marvel Hostess Ads] #34 (1979)
Reprinted in Strange #122 (1980), L'Uomo Ragno [Collana Super-Eroi] #282 (1981), Power of Iron Man #[nn] (1984), Tesoros Marvel #7 (1999), Iron Man: Demon in a Bottle #[nn] (2006), Iron Man: Demon in a Bottle #[nn] (2008), The Invincible Iron Man: Demon in a Bottle #[nn] (2010), Marvel Gold: Iron Man: El Demonio En Una Botella #[nn] (2010), Marvel Gold : Iron Man - Le Diable en bouteille #[nn] (2012), The Ultimate Graphic Novels Collection #1 (2013), Iron Man by Michelinie, Layton & Romita Jr. Omnibus #1 (2013), Die offizielle Marvel-Comic-Sammlung #1 (2014), Universo Marvel #6 (2014), Marvel. Официальная коллекция комиксов #29 (2014), Marvel Masterworks: The Invincible Iron Man #13 (2021)
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