This wasn't at all my favorite issue. Bleah. It wasn't as bad as the last one-off, but started off a terrible wreck. Dull, and he keeps recollecting old Turok. Nice guy, and at his level, but the foreshadowing is ALL TOO heavy. Let's see, if Aric were to PERHAPS give up the armor - WHO might take it? Ken? Of course not. Wait. Who is THIS new character? The conflict resolution at the end of the comic is excellent. I loved how Aric was condemned to death, then saved by the armor. After that, he leaves one alive, and the Carboni family kills him. THAT sounds like Mafioso. THAT sounds fun.
Here we go.
I'm not sure why Iron Man comics understood this - but many other Marvel contemporaries had a problem with it. Tell a story over multiple encounters! I know that many serialized dramas did exactly that, but comics at this time were reluctant. This issue brings back the Mandarin, one of the better villains at this time. While I stumble over the over-use of the word Oriental in the comic... I was in an encounter as of late where an adult person used it often... Shudder... But the comic is pretty good at the front end. The back? Ugh. These are getting worse.