Episode #20 - Distant Boundries
Original Airdate November 11, 1995

Madame Mask kidnaps several Stark Industury employees in order to lure her former boyfriend Tony Stark into getting Iron Man to steal her ancient jewel which will grant her immense power.

Credits
Screenplay By: Greg Johnson
Directed By: Bob Arkwright
Music By: Keith Emmerson
Animation By: Koko Enterprises
Guest Starring: Robert Hayes as Iron Man/Tony Stark, Dorian Harewood as War Machine/James Rhodes, Tom Kane as HOMER, Jennifer Hale as Spider-Woman, Scott Valentine as Dark Aegis and Gerard Maguire as Titanium Man

Review: This episode was certainly a weird episode, but a greatly enjoyable one. This episode, like Beauty Knows No Pain also features the return of any enemy we haven’t seen before, but thankfully, unlike the aforementioned episode, this features a flashback to the previous fight, so the viewer isn’t as confused. Whilst the flashback was only a few seconds long, it was nice to see it’s inclusion.

One of the more shocking aspects of the aspect is the return of Titanium Man. If you remember his previous appearance, he was nothing more than a drunken attempt at a bad joke, but here, he was a threatening villain. He actually spoke here, and had motivation for his crimes. I found him to be similar to Crynsom Dynamo; only he looked a lot more powerful, because he was massive. His presence made him appear that much more threatening.

The new villain, Dark Ages had a great, creepy design but unfortunately, didn’t really do all that much. He nuked the planet on which the episode was set on, but we never saw it, so it barely registers to the viewer. His tempting Iron Man was also… odd, as it felt like he was wasting his time. It's episode like this I really feel I would benefit from if I actually read Iron Man comics. Shame.

The best aspect of the episode is Rhodie once again struggling with his armour. Dorian Harewood deserves a special mention here, he really sold his characters struggle with his suit. Of the 3 different people who voiced War Machine, he was undoubtedly the best.

Despite the few slip-ups with the villains, I felt this was a strong episode, again, mainly thanks to War Machine. Especially that “I’ll slap you if I have to!” line. Brilliant!

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