Featuring: Iron Man
Release: June 8, 1965
Cover: September 1965
12 cents
Story by: Stan Lee, the idol of Millions!
Art by: Don Heck, the toast of two continents!
Inking by: V. Colletta, the pride of the bullpen!
Lettering by: Sam Rosen, the last angry letterer!
12 pages
| Previous | #404 | Next |
|---|---|---|
| X-Men #16 | Reading order | Tales of Suspense #69, Story B |
| Tales of Suspense #68, Story B | Tales of Suspense | Tales of Suspense #69, Story B |
But, Iron Man must accept the challenge! It’s a matter of national pride… of prestige!
There are many stories I consider iconic. And, usually, who knows how this impression forms. Decades of reading comics and talking about comics has given me a sense of some stories that stand out.
I think of this as an iconic story and I know exactly why I think that. Very early in my Marvel reading, I also collected Marvel cards. The 1990 set had a set of famous battles. This was one of the chosen battles.
We’ve seen one famous battle (per that card deck) before, the Hulk/Thing fight from Fantastic Four #25–26. And are currently in the middle of another, the “Nick Fury vs. Hydra” battle begun in Strange Tales #135.
Of course, Titanium Man has one other claim to fame. Paul McCartney selected him alongside Magneto as villains to write a song about. (He also references Crimson Dynamo.)
The MCP wants Iron Man to attend the wedding in the middle of the events of this issue. I don’t see why it can’t just be before this issue. Maybe I’m missing some subtlety. As the issue opens, he’s spent weeks working on this sub-miniature reverser. He could have taken a brief break to attend a wedding.
Continuity does get complicated here though. Avengers #20 is concurrent to Tales of Suspense #70. Avengers #19 takes place in the middle of the Hydra Saga, yet Tony Stark’s life gets complicated starting now, so issue 69 or before is the best chance for his appearances in Strange Tales, including his appearances after the Hydra saga. And of course Iron Man shares a comic with Cap. As Nick Fury does with Dr. Strange, the latter of which we are months behind on reading.
For a reading order, we’ll read the Iron Man/Cap stories, then the Avengers stories, then the Dr. Strange/Nick Fury stories. But we’ll talk about what must be concurrent and what must fit where as we go.
Titanium Man is the Soviet answer to Iron Man. He issues a public challenge to prove Soviet superiority. Titanium is more powerful than Iron, so his armor is more powerful, but also slower and bulkier.
In an interesting parallel, Commissar Bullski makes prisoners design his suit of armor. Stark designed his armor while a prisoner, when he was supposed to be building a weapon for his captors. Instead, he used the suit to escape. These prisoners don’t think of that. They build the powerful suit as told, then give it to their jailer.
Senator Byrd insists Iron Man accept the challenge so that America not lose face.
The battle will be held in Alberia, a neutral nation, and supervised by international committee. This is a fictional nation, just as Latveria is. The venue is an old World War II battleground.
Iron Man recently resigned the Avengers, and it wasn’t exactly clear why. Giant-Man and Wasp resigned, but also retired from superheroing entirely. Iron Man is still a superhero, so it seems sensible to do your superheroing with the Avengers. They go into a bit of explanation this issue. His chest device has been giving him trouble, and he felt his heart problems created complications for continuing on the team.
Besides the big battle, we meet one more new character, Countess De La Spiroza. She is an old girlfriend of Tony’s, out for revenge for being rejected. Pepper is instantly jealous.
I’m generally pretty hard on the Iron Man stories, but I think slowing down the pace is working here. They spend the issue on build-up to a battle which starts in the last couple pages, and it works. Let’s see how well they can pull off the battle itself next issue.
We’ll read it straight away, once we finish the comic we’re holding, which also includes a Captain America story.
Rating: ★★★½, 61/100
Significance: ★★★★☆
One of the best Iron Man stories yet, though competition is low.
I read this story in Iron Man Omnibus vol. 1.
Characters:
- Iron Man/Tony Stark
- Happy Hogan
- Pepper Potts
- Commissar Boris Bullski/Titanium Man
- Senator Byrd
- Countess Stephanie De La Spiroza
Story Notes:
- Iron Man has spent weeks working on sub-miniature reverser.
- Tony still pining over Pepper.
- Happy invites Pepper to the Frug A-Go Go. She will wear her new discotheque dress.
- Happy unhappy Pepper invited Tony on their date.
- Comrade Bullski new Commissar at Communist work camp in Siberia.
- Bullski seeks to destroy Iron Man to gain favor.
- Greatest scientists in camp build suit of titanium in exchange for freedom.
- Soviet scientists unable to make suit as small as Iron Man’s, as they lack his knowledge of miniature transistors.
- Newsreel shows Iron Man against Melter and Black Knight.
- Titanium Man armor will include disintegrator ray.
- Bullski breaks his promise to free the scientists.
- Scientists work in same lab where Crimson Dynamo suit was made.
- Soviet Union referred to as “Commieland”.
- Byrd wires Stark that Iron Man must accept Titanium Man’s challenge.
- Stark invents power reinforcement for chest device.
- Burgomaster of Alberia reads the rules.
- Titanium Man had secretly prepared a minefield trap.
| Previous | #404 | Next |
|---|---|---|
| X-Men #16 | Reading order | Tales of Suspense #69, Story B |
| Tales of Suspense #68, Story B | Tales of Suspense | Tales of Suspense #69, Story B |
