Iron Man #170
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeIron Man #170 stands as one of the most consequential single issues in the character's history because it marks the first time James Rhodes — not Tony Stark — wore the Iron Man armor as its full-time bearer, a status he would hold for the better part of three years. The handoff was not a stunt but a genuine character development rooted in Stark's worsening alcoholism, itself a continuation of the groundbreaking 'Demon in a Bottle' arc from 1979; writer Dennis O'Neil deepened the consequences of addiction rather than resolving them tidily, giving the Iron Man title a moral seriousness unusual for mainstream superhero fare of the era. As the first extended legacy-hero tenure for the Iron Man identity, it paved the road for Rhodes to eventually become War Machine and proved that a title character's mantle could survive — and even be enriched — by a sustained change of protagonist. The issue also carries meaningful cultural weight as an early moment in Marvel history where a Black supporting character stepped up to headline one of the publisher's flagship titles in a sustained, consequential way.
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The issue was written by Dennis O'Neil, penciled by Luke McDonnell, inked by Steve Mitchell, colored by Bob Sharen, and lettered by Rick Parker, under editor Mark Gruenwald and editor-in-chief Jim Shooter, with Mike Carlin serving as assistant editor. It hit newsstands on February 8, 1983, with a cover date of May 1983, and carried a cover price of sixty cents. O'Neil had taken over the Iron Man title beginning around issue #161, deliberately extending and darkening the alcoholism thread that David Michelinie and Bob Layton had introduced in 'Demon in a Bottle,' framing Stark's relapse as the result of Obadiah Stane's calculated campaign to destroy him financially and emotionally; issue #170 is where that long-building crisis finally strips Stark of his armor entirely. According to a contemporary letters column noted by fan-history sites, the issue generated an unusually large volume of reader mail for the title, suggesting the creative team's gamble on a prolonged identity switch resonated immediately with the readership.
Trivia · 8 facts
- First issue in which James Rhodes officially becomes Iron Man in a sustained capacity — not a temporary fill-in but a full handover of the identity, role, and armor that would last until approximately Iron Man #200 (1985).
- Written by Dennis O'Neil, penciled by Luke McDonnell, inked by Steve Mitchell, colored by Bob Sharen, lettered by Rick Parker; edited by Mark Gruenwald under editor-in-chief Jim Shooter.
- Story title: 'And Who Shall Clothe Himself in Iron?' — Part 2 of a two-part arc beginning in Iron Man #169.
- The story is set against the ongoing Obadiah Stane subplot: Stane secretly dispatches his armored operative, the Knight (Raleigh Halward), to stop villain Magma from destroying Stark International — property Stane intends to acquire.
- Introduces Morley Erwin as a new supporting character — a young Stark International engineer who helps Rhodes understand the armor's basic systems during the crisis.
- At issue's end, Rhodes calls the Avengers to inform them Iron Man is resigning from the team; the crossover consequence is picked up in Avengers #231.
- Reprinted in: the French-language L'Invincible Iron Man (Editions Héritage) #125/126; Iron Man: The Enemy Within Epic Collection (2013); Decades: Marvel in the '80s — Awesome Evolutions (2019); and Marvel Masterworks: The Invincible Iron Man Vol. 16 (2022).
- The Rhodes-as-Iron-Man tenure that begins here would encompass Marvel's first major crossover event, Secret Wars, making Rhodes — not Stark — the Iron Man who participated in that landmark story.
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