Featuring: Iron Man
Release: June 11, 1963
Cover: September 1963
12 cents
Story plot: Stan Lee
Script: R. Berns
Art: Don Heck
18 pages
We meet a new villain, Jack Frost. His special suit covers himself in ice and he can freeze people. He isn’t the first ice-themed super character and won’t be the last. Though off the top of my head, I am not thinking of any earlier examples within Marvel. Over at DC, we met Captain Cold in Showcase #8 (1957) and Mr. Zero in Batman #121 (1959).
But Jack Frost is something of a footnote in the Marvel Universe. This is the first of 6 stories he’ll appear in, making him the most significant Iron Man villain we’ve met, but still not all that significant.
The bigger news is that Iron Man gets a supporting cast!
The writers must know that having a supporting cast is a good idea. This isn’t new. Superman has had Lois since his first issue. Jimmy and Perry followed eventually. Batman has had Alfred for a couple decades at this point. It’s just not a new concept. And it’s working really well for Spider-Man. Aunt May, J. Jonah Jameson, Flash Thompson… they help make the book. But the other stories have mostly not bothered with the concept. Thing has Alicia and Thor has Jane, but that’s the extent of it so far.
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