- "A... a man of iron? My god, that's just what I've become, isn't it? And if I want to live, I'll have to remain this way! Trapped in this metal shell... forever!"
- ―Tony Stark
| "Journey!" | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Iron Man | |
| Title: | "Journey!" |
| Volume: | 1 |
| Number: | 122 |
| Cover price: | .40 |
| Cover date: | May, 1979 |
| Publisher: | Marvel Comics |
| Credits | |
| Chief: | Jim Shooter |
| Writers: | David Michelinie |
| Pencilers: | Carmine Infantino |
| Inkers: | Bob Layton |
| Cover artists: | Dave Cockrum |
| Cover inker: | Bob Layton |
| Colorists: | Ben Sean |
| Letterers: | John Costanza |
| Assistants: | Jim Salicrup |
| Editors: | Roger Stern |
| Navigation | |
| Previous: | Iron Man #121 |
| Next: | Iron Man #123 |
"Journey!" is the 122nd issue of the first Iron Man ongoing comic book series published by Marvel Comics. It was written by David Michelinie with artwork by Carmine Infantino and inks by Bob Layton. It was colored by Ben Sean and lettered by John Costanza. The story was edited by Roger Stern with Jim Salicrup as assistant editor. This issue shipped with a May, 1979 cover date and carries a cover price of .40 cents per copy.
"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 controlTony's armor, but now he is preparing for the biggest test of all.
Featured characters
Supporting characters
Villains
- Justin Hammer
- Wong-Chu (In flashback only)
Minor characters
- Captain America, Steve Rogers (In flashback only)
- Giant-Man, Hank Pym (In flashback only)
- Ho Yinsen (In flashback only)
- Hulk, Bruce Banner (In flashback only)
- Nick Fury (In flashback only)
- Rick Jones (In flashback only)
- Thor Odinson (In flashback only)
- Wasp, Janet van Dyne (In flashback only)
- Beau
- Cookie
- Hsaio
Organizations
- Avengers (In flashback only)
- Hammer Industries
- S.H.I.E.L.D.
- United States Air Force (In flashback only)
- United States Army (In flashback only)
- United States Navy
Races & Animals
- Altered humans (In flashback only)
- Atlanteans
- Asgardians (In flashback only)
- Humans
Locations
- Vietnam (In flashback only)
Items
- Assault rifles (In flashback only)
- Captain America's shield (In flashback only)
- Grenades (In flashback only)
- Hammer (In flashback only)
- Iron Man armor
- Iron Man armor model 01 (Grey & Gold finish)
- Iron Man armor model 02
- Iron Man armor model 03
- Iron Man armor model 04
- Mjolnir (In flashback only)
- Power armor
Vehicles
Powers
- Aquatic respiration
- Armored flight
- Energy projection (In flashback only)
- Flight
- Superhuman strength (In flashback only)
- Winged flight
Miscellaneous
- 1960s
- Cold War (In flashback only)
- Flashbacks
- Smoking (In flashback only)
- Vietnam War (In flashback only)
Notes & Trivia[]
- Iron Man was created by writers Stan Lee & Larry Lieber and artist Don Heck. He first appeared in the first story presented in Tales of Suspense #39 in March, 1963 titled "Iron Man Is Born!".
- This issue carries the approval stamp of the Comics Code Authority.
- This issue is included in the Invincible Iron Man: The Complete Collection digital media collection produced by Graphic Imaging Technology, Inc. and released in January, 2007.
- This issue is included in the Iron Man: Demon in a Bottle trade paperback collection released in 2006.
- Beginning with this issue the cover price raises from .35 cents per issue to .40 cents per issue.
- Editor-in-Chief Jim Shooter is also a co-plotter on this issue.
- 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.
- 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.