Iron Man #183-184 (1984)

Rhodey needs money because Tony Stark is trying to recover from his alcoholic bender and Iron Man no longer works for Stark International—because it’s now Stane International.  So he takes a bodyguarding job that puts him in the middle of a fight between and Taurus and a Taurus life model decoy.  Here’s how he answers the phone.

And here’s how he, quite easily, beats Taurus.

His interference puts him on the Zodiac cartel’s radar, and in #184 he fights Aquarius.

The armor is starting to give Rhodey headaches.

They could have done more with the parallel here: Tony is a drunk, James is starting to be addicted to drugs…Still, this remains some of O’Neil’s best work.

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