Enemies: Iron Man, Ed Deal

Known Relatives: None

Aliases: None

Base of Operations: Japan

First Appearance: Iron Man Annual#10 (1989); Marvel Super-Heroes III#15 (October, 1993)

Powers: Inoshiro Kondo derives his powers from Element Z. He possesses cybernetic telescoping limbs, superhuman strength, and the ability to transform himself into other substances, including smoke, oil, and diamond. By turning himself into diamond, he can create diamond claws.

History: (Marvel Super-Heroes III#15)- Inoshiro Kondo was a powerful, ruthless business man, obsessed with controlling other companies. He took even his tennis games seriously, killing one of his opponents. He was also obsessed with one day fighting, and beating Iron Man, and had built robots of Iron Man to destroy to test himself.

When Stark Enterprises employee Ed Deal contacted Kondo, wishing to purchase a sample of Element Z, Kondo believed he was working on orders from Stark himself, and had him captured and tortured. The torture session was interrupted by the arrival of Iron Man. Pleased that he would finally be able to prove himself in combat against Iron Man, Kondo went all out, and came close to defeating Iron Man-- until he grasped the box containing Kondo's Element Z. Needing the Element Z to preserve his own life, Kondo collapsed in agony. At that moment, the spectral Miyu appeared, claiming that Kondo belonged to her. She guaranteed that Kondo would never threaten a Stark employee again. Iron Man took her at her word, and departed.

(Iron Man Annual#10/2)- Sometime later, Kondo visited a "Bar With No Name", and related to his fellow patrons (Crimson Dynamo, Half-Face, the Space Phantom, Blizzard, Beetle and Blacklash) how Iron Man had foiled his plot. When Iron Man himself came in for a drink, he and the others ran away.

Comments: Created by David Kraft, Keith Pollard, and Len Kaminski.

Profile by Prime Eternal

There were four years between the publication of the Keith Pollard pin-up of Kondo, and the actual story behind it in Marvel Super-Heroes. Kaminski was likely brought in at the last minute to complete the unfinished story. As it is, the finished project is somewhat lacking in coherancy.

The official Iron Man index treats the Iron Man Annual#10 story story as canonical.
--David A. Zuckerman

"Shinma" means "God-Demon".

Miyu seems like a character of mythical origin. I asked Will U, who said:
Closest possible: Miyazu-hime, a Japanese princess who married the divine hero Yamato-takeru. He left a mystical sword in her protection before he died in battle.

More than one person has told me this information. This is specifically from Pat Sandhop:

• There is an anime known here as Vampire Princess Miyu. The main plot of the series is that Miyu, with her retainer Larva, is charged with removing various boojums known as Shinma from Earth. In it, she is termed a princess of the Shinma. Fairly dark storylines but oddly enjoyable. Oh, and the initial release was 1988 in Japan and arrived over here in the early nineties.
  

Clarifications:
Miyu, the Dark Lady, has no known connection to:

• The Dark Lady, one of the Furies, who briefly possessed Paula Harris, @ Ghost Rider III#77, 80

He was a Stark Enterprises scientist working on the VLS-2980 Satellite Project. When Tony Stark put this project on suspension, Deal resolved to purchase Element Z from Kondo, to complete the project himself. Kondo, believing him to be working on Stark's orders, captured and tortured him. He was saved by Iron Man.

aka. "Empress of the Dark", "Dark Lady", of the Shinma.

First Posted: 06/15/2002
Last updated: 02/13/2003

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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