And then there was the time Tony Stark was assassinated!
Oh, don't worry, Comics Code! It was only an LMD!! Sherlock Holmes used the very same trick once!!
Anyway, you know who doesn't get enough love? Spymaster, that's who! Great costume, great shtick...
...and great gadgets!! Even Iron Man thinks so:
Plus, he also has...
...more cool gadgets!!!
Plus--electrified nunchucks!!
OF course, this is Iron Man you're fighting, so...
So...
Gotta love the bounce.
Don't worry, Comics Code--Spymaster had earlier boasted of having "absorption mesh" in his costume that let him absorb big impacts. So he's probably not permanently crippled.
So why doesn't Spymaster get more play these days?
Sure, he's a bit out of Iron Man's weight class, as Shellhead seemingly gets more powerful every day. But that's sort of the point--like Superman, you're not going to beat him physically. But using guile and craft and great Q-Branch style gadgets? You can bedevil him and frustrate him and confuse him, even if you don't defeat him. He's like Toyman is to Superman...
Plus, there are plenty of other heroes Spymaster could take on, especially in the "younger generation." Let him come up against Moon Girl or Ms. Marvel or Nova. That's one interesting way the Marvel Universe has evolved in the last few years--the old guard is focused more on Earth-shattering crises. So let the new guard take on some of the old school "minor" threats!
Anyway, Spymaster. Bring him back more often, please.
From Iron Man #117 (1978)