“Yesterday’s” Comic> Iron Man #206

“Sorry, guys, I left a cake in the oven.”

Iron Man #206

Marvel (May, 1986)

An attorney thinks he can make his career by defending the recently awakened Goliath. Surprising nobody, especially Hawkeye and Mockingbird, Goliath uses the opportunity to escape and attack the two West Coast Avengers. Iron Man comes to help but AIM sabotaged Rhodey’s test flight of a new shuttle so he must rush to save his friend before using a few tricks to take Goliath out. Meanwhile, Cly decides to leave, still upset about her brother’s death.

What they got right: If you were wondering what happened to Erik Josten after his Iron Man Annual appearance, now you know. Tony gets his shot at the big giant and he does things different than Rhodey did in the old suit. And since this the best time to look at it, I like this armor (later dubbed “Silver Centurion”). It actually looks like armor instead of just a costume. I suppose that could be the artists’ fault over the years but this may have swapped silver for gold but it’s still one of my favorites.

What they got wrong: There’s no comparison to Rhodey, the last Iron Man who fought Goliath. I’m assuming Tony did his homework on Josten’s new powers and stuff, but some reference would have been nice. Instead we get some sabotage story for Rhodey that disrupts the flow for no real payoff except maybe this running subplot about AIM and the guy the current leader is keeping in the cell. I have no idea what the current leader’s name is or the significance of Yorgon Tykkio is. Maybe with more surrounding issues I would.

Recommendation: Some dropped balls in favor of an unnecessary subplot but still a decent story that’s worth checking out, if only for the continuing story of Eric Josten.

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