Although not collected until 2007, when the prospect of the first Iron Man movie had the marketing department at Marvel Comics slavering over the prospect of additional book-sale profits, Armor Wars is definitely entrenched in the 1980s. For proof, check out Tony Stark's curly perm and the shoulder-pad design on his armor.

Armor Wars took place during Stark's red-and-silver phase, when his trademark red-and-gold Iron Man suit was shelved for this tougher-looking, broad-shouldered model. In this collection, Stark realizes that his armor technology has been stolen and used by several supervillains in numerous crimes, so he sets out to put a stop to it by destroying all related technology -- even if it's owned and used by the good guys, including heroes employed by the U.S. and USSR governments.

It never occurs to him to tell anyone what he's doing until late in the book, and he never thinks of attempting legal means to reclaim his stolen tech. Of course, this ends up with Iron Man being declared a criminal; fortunately for Tony, only his fellow Avengers know he and Iron Man are one and the same, and they're not telling. (Considering their standing as quasi-law enforcement officials, their behavior, too, is questionable.)

Set up to be an epic tale, Armor Wars falls short. For one thing, there's little here beyond a series of iron-on-iron fights that Iron Man ultimately -- and often very easily -- wins. It grows tiresome fairly quickly. Also, one wonders -- if it's so easy for the hero to find and subdue these various armor-powered bad guys -- why he didn't do it sooner. Besides, since Stark in his civilian identity as a defense contractor sold the technology to the government, he actually does cross the line and become a crook when he takes it back, causing untold damage and injury in the process.

Of course, you just know Stark is going to find a way to escape any kind of real penalty for his wrongs.

A lot of folks point to this episode as a thrilling climax in Iron Man's ongoing storyline, but it falls flat for me. The battles are monotonous, Stark's tortured inner monologue -- often recited ad nauseum to chum Jim Rhodes just so readers can be reminded every few pages why he's doing this -- is tedious, and the lack of any real consequence for his crimes is disappointing.

Oh, and the hair and shoulder pads are just embarrassing.