Iron Man Vol 1 122

Iron Man #122
Previous Issue	Iron Man #121
Next Issue	Iron Man #123
Cover Date	May, 1979
Issue Details
Editor-in-Chief	Jim Shooter

1. "Journey!"
Appearances · Synopsis
Writer(s)	David Michelinie
Penciler(s)	Carmine Infantino
Inker(s)	Bob Layton
Letterer(s)	John Costanza
Editor(s)	Roger Stern

 If this third trial proves as successful as the previous two, I believe there will be little question -- that the iron gentleman shall be ours to command! 

—Justin Hammer

Appearing in "Journey!"

Featured Characters:

• Iron Man (Tony Stark) (Main story and flashback)

Supporting Characters:

• Bethany Cabe
• Ho Yinsen (Only in flashback) (Death)
• James "Rhodey" Rhodes

Antagonists:

• Wong-Chu (Only in flashback) (Death)
• Hammer Industries
  • Justin Hammer
  • Unnamed employee

Other Characters:

• Roxxon Oil (Mentioned)
• Rick Jones (Cameo) (Main story and flashback)
• Sub-Mariner (Namor) (Main story and flashback)
• Avengers (Cameo) (Only in flashback)
  • Captain America (Steve Rogers) (Only in flashback)
  • Giant-Man (Henry Pym) (Only in flashback)
  • Hulk (Bruce Banner) (Only in flashback)
  • Thor (Only in flashback)
  • Wasp (Janet van Dyne) (Only in flashback)
• S.H.I.E.L.D. (Cameo) (Main story and flashback)
  • Nick Fury
• Unidentified admiral
• Cookie ( Naval officer) (First appearance)
• Hsaio (Wong-Chu's underling) (First appearance)
• Hiram Dobbs (Mentioned)

Races and Species:

• Humans (Main story and flashback)
• Atlantean-Human Hybrids (Main story and flashback)
• Asgardians (Only in flashback)

Locations:

• Justin Hammer's Villa
• United States of America (Cameo)
  • New York (Cameo)
    • Long Island (Cameo)
      • Montauk
• South Atlantic
• Vietnam (Main story and flashback)

Items:

• Captain America's Shield (Cameo) (Main story and flashback)
• Iron Man Armor Model 1 (Main story and flashback)
• Iron Man Armor Model 1 (Gold finish) (Cameo) (Main story and flashback)
• Iron Man Armor Model 2 (Cameo) (Main story and flashback)
• Iron Man Armor Model 3 (Cameo) (Main story and flashback)
• Iron Man Armor Model 4
• Mjolnir (Cameo) (Main story and flashback)

Events:

• Vietnam War

Synopsis for "Journey!"

After saying goodbye to the Sub-Mariner, Jim Rhodes and Bethany Cabe, Iron Man flies off en route for home. Along the way, he reflects upon the events that made him into the man he is today.

Flashback

Tony Stark is in a secluded laboratory within the U.S. defense perimeter in Vietnam during the war. He demonstrates his revolutionary new transistor technology to a U.S. general and shows how it can amplify the power of a single magnet to tear down a solid steel door.

Later, Tony accompanies an army platoon through the jungle. He trips on a land mine and the explosion kills every man in the unit and nearly kills Tony as well. A piece of shrapnel embeds itself in his chest where it is lodged dangerously close to his heart. A North Vietnamese warlord named Wong-Chu takes Tony Stark back to his bunker where he makes him an offer: In exchange for having Wong-Chu's surgeons save his life, Tony must agree to develop weapons for the NVA. Tony has little choice in the matter but to comply. Wong-Chu partners him with an elderly scientist named Ho Yinsen.

Tony Stark and Ho Yinsen labor for many weeks, but they do not develop a weapon to be used by the Vietnamese. Instead, they secretly create a rudimentary battlesuit made from scrap metal and various electronics. When Professor Yinsen is alerted to the arrival of Wong-Chu's men, he rushes out into the corridor to create a distraction, enabling Tony enough time to power up the armor. Emerging from the table as the "Iron Man", Tony hears gunfire and knows that Professor Yinsen is dead. He breaks free of the compound and stalks off into the nearby village to confront Wong-Chu.

He finds Wong-Chu entertaining himself by wrestling captured villagers. Iron Man grabs the warlord, hoists him up into the air, and spins him about before slamming him back onto the ground. Wong-Chu's troops open fire on Iron Man, but their bullets are ineffective against Tony's armor. Wong-Chu flees in panic, but Iron Man ignites a nearby ammunitions dump which explodes, seemingly killing Wong-Chu.

Back in the United States, Tony Stark makes several upgrades to the armor and eventually has a heart transplant, eliminating the need for a transistorized chest plate. As the super-hero Iron Man, he becomes a longtime member of the team known as the Avengers.

As Iron Man approaches Long Island, his flight path is monitored by the criminal industrialist Justin Hammer. Hammer is pleased with his past attempts to control Tony's armor, but now he is preparing for the biggest test of all.

Notes

• With this issue the cover price raises from 35¢ per copy to 40¢ per copy.

• This issue recaps Iron Man's origin as originally presented in Tales of Suspense #39. Since the time of publishing, the setting of Iron Man's origin has been retroactively changed from Vietnam to Afghanistan.

• The last detailed origin of Iron Man was given in Iron Man #47.

• Iron Man's adventure with the Sub-Mariner was chronicled in Iron Man #120-121.

• Justin Hammer caused the malfunctions in Iron Man's armor in issues #118 and #120.

• This issue contains an advertisement for Hostess Snacks featuring Spider-Man.

See Also

• 1 image(s) from Iron Man Vol 1 122
• 6 reprint(s) of Iron Man Vol 1 122

Recommended Reading

• Iron Man (Volume 1)
• Iron Man (Volume 2)
• Iron Man (Volume 3)
• Iron Man (Volume 4)

Links and References

• Iron Man #122 - Comic Book Database
• Iron Man (Volume 1) series index at the Grand Comics Database Project