Featuring: Iron Man
Release: February 11, 1965
Cover: May 1965
12 cents
Story by Marvel’s merriest marcher: Stan Lee
Art by Marvel’s most amiable artist: Don Heck
Inking by Marvel’s dizziest delineator: Mickey Demeo
Lettering by Marvel’s persnippiest pen-pusher: Sam Rosen
12 pages
| Previous | Next | |
|---|---|---|
| Young Men #27, Story B | Prelude | |
| Sgt. Fury #16 | Reading order | Tales of Suspense #65, Story B |
| Tales of Suspense #64, Story B | Tales of Suspense | Tales of Suspense #65, Story B |
We just spent several weeks reading Red Skull stories to prepare for this, and it’s an Iron Man story. What gives.
But I see Red Skull on the cover. Ah, flipping ahead, there are two stories in this comic. The second story is about Captain America and the Red Skull. Maybe we’ll get there tomorrow.
There’s a new name in the credits. Who is Mickey Demeo? Well, his real Name is Mike Esposito. He’s been working in comics since leaving the army in the late 1940s, and is best known for his decades of collaboration with Ross Andru. I know him best as an inker, but he was often the main penciller on his earlier work. He and Ross Andru started small publishers together in the 1950s, including Mikeross Publications, and MR Publications, which published Mr. Universe. Esposito and Ross had a decade-long collaboration on the character of Wonder Woman, which helped give a definitive and iconic look to the character. Together with writer Bob Kanigher, they co-created the original Suicide Squad and the Metal Men. Esposito will become a significant inker on Amazing Spider-Man, for a time in collaboration with Andru.
Why the alias? He probably doesn’t want DC to know he’s doing Marvel work. And it’s not just this title. He’s also inking this month’s Human Torch and Avengers adventures.
Here is a sampling of some early pencil work by Esposito.
- Men’s Adventures #6 (Marvel, 1951)
- Weird Adventures #3 (PL Publishing, 1951)
- Girl Comics #8 (Marvel, 1951)
- Blazing Sixguns #15 (Super Comics, 1963)
And here is some of his inking work in collaboration with Ross Andru.
- Mr. Universe #2 (MR Publications, 1951)
- All-American Men of War #6 (DC, 1953)
- Get Lost #1 (Mikeross Publications, 1954)
- Wonder Woman #58 (DC, 1958)
- Brave and the Bold #25 (DC, 1959)
- Showcase #37 (DC, 1962)
On to Iron Man. In this issue, Iron Man fights Iron Man!
Really, the new Iron man fights the old Iron Man.
That is, somebody steals Tony Stark’s new armor. So Tony has to put on his old armor to fight him.
You’d think he’d have safeguards put in against this sort of thing.
Stark takes an extended business trip to give Pepper and Happy time to be together. The status quo at this point is basically: Tony loves Pepper, his secretary. His chauffeur Happy also loves Pepper. Pepper loves Tony. Tony thinks he can’t ever be with Pepper because he has a heart condition, so he pretends not to love Pepper to open up space for Happy. The early issues when Tony was a playboy with a girlfriend in every port were way more interesting than his pining for Pepper.
Weasel Wills finds Stark’s case and deduces Stark is Iron Man. Dead or amnesiac by issue’s end? Who’s betting?
It’s also a little confusing because Tony needs to wear his chestplate to live. So how did Weasel find it? Maybe he found a spare? But then, Tony wouldn’t need to put on the old armor unless Weasel had stolen his main armor. Hmm.
Rating: ★★½, 45/100
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
- Iron Man/Weasel Wills
Minor characters:
- Charlie (Stark truck driver)
- Pete (Stark security guard)
Story notes:
- Stark travels to midwestern rocket factory to observe test.
- Refers to “transistorized repulser ray” he uses for tunneling.
- Avengers currently scattered around the country.
- Weasel loses mind and thinks he really is Iron Man; forgets true identity.
| Previous | Next | |
|---|---|---|
| Young Men #27, Story B | Prelude | |
| Sgt. Fury #16 | Reading order | Tales of Suspense #65, Story B |
| Tales of Suspense #64, Story B | Tales of Suspense | Tales of Suspense #65, Story B |
