Featuring: Iron Man
Release: December 10, 1964
Cover: March 1965
12 cents
Have you the nerve to read this great Stan Lee story?
Should we preserve these thrilling Don Heck drawings?
Dare we observe this unique Dick Ayers inking?
Do we deserve the impact of this Sam Rosen lettering?
12 pages
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|---|---|---|
| Strange Tales #130 | Reading order | Tales of Suspense #63, Story B |
| Tales of Suspense #62, Story B | Tales of Suspense | Tales of Suspense #63, Story B |
Introduces a new villain, the Phantom, who is sabotaging Stark’s plant. I thought about naming all the Iron Man villains whose plan has involved attacking or sabotaging Stark’s plant, but it would be easier to name the rest of them.
This resolves the story arc where Tony Stark seemed to be dead. He turns out not to be.
He pretended to be dead because he was trapped in his armor. Yet… trapped in his armor, he could still remove his helmet and gloves, at least. He has always been trapped in the chest plate and just puts clothes over it. So I don’t understand why he couldn’t have just put clothes over the rest of his armor.
Whatever the explanation, he modified a transistor so now only needs the chestplate. Basically, his new invention allowed him to take his pants off.
He explains his absence and nobly opens up room for Pepper and Happy by pretending to have a fiancée.
Happy has less than charitable thoughts about his boss and best friend being not dead. We’ll soon see Foggy Nelson echo similar thoughts, as the two love triangles are written as entirely identical.
Tony knows he can’t have Pepper due to his heart problems. However, I did some research, and in real life people with heart problems get married all the time. In fact, nearly half of all American adults have some form of cardiovascular condition.
A forgettable villain sabotaging the plant isn’t interesting. The mystery of the villain’s identity isn’t interesting. Spoiler: it’s the one scientist we meet who is angry at Stark. The love triangle isn’t interesting. The only hints at being interesting come from the reaction to the sabotage. One party reacting represents the US government, threatening to pull Stark’s military contracts if he can’t handle internal security. We’ve seen such rumblings before, and they have the potential to build.
The new party is Adams the Union representative, concerned about worker safety in Stark plants. This is a potentially interesting thread. I expect it to never come up again.
Rating: ★★☆☆☆, 39/100
Significance: ★★★☆☆
I read this story in The Invincible Iron Man Omnibus vol. 1. You can find this story 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
- Dr. Birch/Phantom
- Adams
Minor characters:
- Sam (Stark security guard)
- Peter (Stark security guard)
Story notes:
- Reference to last issue’s battle with Mandarin.
- Reminder factory is on Long Island.
- Dr. Birch is head of projects division.
- Iron Man modifies a master transistor to triple its power output. This will allow him to breathe even without his armor, just needing the chestplate.
- Tony realizes Happy also loves Pepper. Duh.
| Previous | #308 | Next |
|---|---|---|
| Strange Tales #130 | Reading order | Tales of Suspense #63, Story B |
| Tales of Suspense #62, Story B | Tales of Suspense | Tales of Suspense #63, Story B |
