Featuring: Iron Man
Release: October 8, 1964
Cover: January 1965
12 cents
Story by: Stan Lee because we wanted the best!
Art by: Don Heck because we wanted the finest!
Inking by: Dick Ayers because we wanted the tops!
Lettering by: S. Rosen because we wanted to keep him busy!
12 pages
| Previous | #287 | Next |
|---|---|---|
| Strange Tales #128, Story B | Reading order | Tales of Suspense #61, Story B |
| Tales of Suspense #60, Story B | Tales of Suspense | Tales of Suspense #61, Story B |
The cover boasts that Tony Stark will die at the hands of the Mandarin. Covers often exaggerate or outright fabricate such things. This caption is closer to true than usual, though.
We are informed the Mandarin returns by overwhelming popular demand. I was not given a vote. He remains my least favorite Marvel villain.
We meet Inspector Flint, investigating the disappearance of Tony Stark. I spent some mental cycles trying to decide if he was the unnamed inspector we met last issue. He resembles that inspector, and it makes sense he would still be on the case. However, since he introduces himself to Happy and Pepper, that implies they’ve never met. So I assume he is a different inspector.
A journalist overhears Flint talking to Happy and Pepper, so the papers reveal that Iron Man is top suspect in Stark disappearance. Clearly, Iron Man is the only suspect. Either Stark is on vacation like Iron Man claimed, or Iron Man is lying. So if there is a criminal case, Iron Man is at the center of it. Or, Iron Man is telling the truth, and there is no criminal case.
Iron Man notes it’s important he protect his secret identity, because otherwise his factories would be under constant attack. But… they already are. It’s a weird secret identity because Iron Man is so associated with Stark Enterprises that everybody wishing to attack Iron Man already goes after Stark anyway.
Tony does what he should have done last issue. Just put a bathrobe over his armor to talk to his friends and the police. Claim to be sick. Duh.
“Next time don’t think!” Harsh, Tony. Harsh.
Now we come to the death of Tony Stark, as promised. Everybody saw Tony Stark in his bed in his mansion. Then the Mandarin destroyed the mansion with a space laser. Apparently, Chinese space lasers were a concern at the time. Today, all you hear about is the Jewish space lasers.
With his friend dead, what does Happy think? No competition for Pepper’s affections. Harsh, Happy. Harsh.
Having killed Tony Stark, Mandarin now has captured Iron Man and plans to kill him once he finishes revealing his evil plan. Maybe Tony Stark really will soon be dead…
Notice that Heck is starting to vary his page layouts more. Still neat rectangular rows, but we see frequent rows of 4 panels and even a 5-panel row. A half-page splash to finish it.
Hey, another one of those pin-ups.
Obviously we’ll want to see how this Mandarin situation resolves itself straightaway. So we’ll get right to the next issue of Tales of Suspense… once we finish this issue. Apparently, there’s a Captain America story next. Is it weird that Captain America and Iron Man each only get half a comic?
Rating: ★★½, 47/100
Significance: ★★★☆☆
Scans are taken from a reprint in Marvel Collector’s Item Classics #19 (1969).
You can find it in the Iron Man Epic Collection vol. 1 or Marvel Masterworks: The Invincible Iron Man vol. 2. Or on Kindle.
Characters:
- Iron Man/Anthony “Tony” Stark
- Pepper Potts
- Happy Hogan
- Inspector Flint
- Mandarin
- Koto
Story notes:
- Pepper and Happy resign.
- Stark has been missing for over a month.
- Mandarin launches satellite. Both Americans and Soviets think it belongs to the other side.
- One ring controls killer satellite; fires laser beam from space to destroy Stark’s mansion.
- Iron Man takes commercial jet in disguise, then jumps out in midair.
- Koto a giant robot that looks human.
- Mandarin wants to tell Iron Man his origin.
| Previous | #287 | Next |
|---|---|---|
| Strange Tales #128, Story B | Reading order | Tales of Suspense #61, Story B |
| Tales of Suspense #60, Story B | Tales of Suspense | Tales of Suspense #61, Story B |
