Essential Iron Man, Vol. 1 by Stan Lee

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


To me, the most amazing fact about Iron Man is that it took him more than 5 years to get his own self-titled comic book. He premiered in Tales of Suspense #39 and continued to be the top feature or one of the top features until Issue 99 when the Magazine was named after Captain America and he was off for a one-shot magazine with Sub-mariner before getting his own in May 1968. This book collects Iron Man's first 34 adventures in Tales of Suspense.

Overall, they made for some pretty interesting reading. Due sharing Tales of Suspense, most of Iron Man's adventures were 13 pages long, with eight few being 18 (45, 47-49, 55-58). Even the 18 page story is less than heroes such as Spider-man, Daredevil, the FF were given for their own books. This led to plots being spread across multiple issues.

Still, long time fans of Iron Man will see some key introductions. Early Iron Man pals Happy Hogan and Pepper Potts entered in TOS #45, the Crimson Dynamo in #46, the Mandarin in #50, the Black Widow in #52, Hawkeye in #57, and Titanium Man in #69.

The nearly 3 years of Iron Man stories gives a great birds eye look at the development of the character. In Issue #39, Tony Stark is introduced as a billionaire who with the help of a good elderly scientist defeats the Communists who captured him by becoming Iron Man and finds himself condemned to live in his armor forever to stay alive.

By Issue 40, it'd turned into just the chestplate. In Issue 41, Iron Man would receive the first of many makeovers in his costume. The first makeover was changing from Silver to Gold (to show he had a heart of gold and to make him less like a sci-fi monster.) By issue 48, his armor looked very similar to what we had today. This is one case where not having color in these Essential Books does make a difference, as I'd love to see the colors in these transitions.

While Issue 39 advertised Tony as a tragic figure, this got lost in most early. For the first year, Iron Man seemed to be having his own golden age or trying out for DC. These are much more light-hearted fare with some odd science fiction and some odder science. My favorite scene remains the one where Tony sells the army rocket-powered roller skates that will allow soldiers to go down a sixty miles an hour. Just what they needed in the jungles of Vietnam.

Some of my favorite story archs in here included: 1) Mandarin Issue (#50, 54-55, 61-62): From the beginning, the Mandarin was a great villain, very powerful, and their first meeting with Iron Man fought to a standstill. Somewhat politically incorrect with the more oriental look, but still a great challenge to Iron Man.

2) The Captain America v. Iron Man Story (#58): A story that personifies Silver Age silliness. The Chameleon shows up at Stark's factory disguised as Captain America and tells him the real Captain America is actually the Chameleon disguised as Captain America.Iron Man proceeds to fight Cap. Captain America thinks its a joke and is expecting to see it on Candid Camera.The whole thing is resolved by Ant Man and Iron Man ends the story by quoting LBJ.

3) The Battle with Titanium Man (#69-#71): The Soviet Titanium Man challenges Iron Man to a duel. Iron Man fights him, but with the Soviet cheating, Iron Man will need a help from a supporting cast member who makes a big sacrifice, a moving story.

Beyond story lines and intros, this is a good collection. They come up with some great puzzles for Iron Man and while the villains are hit and miss, there's definitely some A material in here. I also love the Anti-Communist stuff and am adding an extra star for that. ("It's a feature not a bug.)

There are negatives. Some of the stories don't worry. The early incarnation of Hawkeye seems to be little more than Marvel's answer to Green Arrow. The blind hypnotic following of Black Widow makes the character seem weak and somewhat pathetic and he has no motivation other than a desire for attention for donning a costume. He has no reason for changing direction from costumed hero to costume villain other than the Black Widow asking him to.

The one other complaint I can have is that sufficient grounds for a secret identity weren't established. He's a public figure, Iron Man is his bodyguard. He says at one point he fears for his employees or for Pepper and Happy, but given that every criminal knows he hangs around Stark's factory that doesn't really cut it.

Overall, Iron Man is a fascinating character. Once again, Lee creates a character that thoughtfully prods us on how we judge other people. Like Spider-man and Daredevil, our assumptions can be wrong. Tony Stark, considered one of the most lucky men on earth is lonely, and his heart is one step away from stopping needing constant recharges. Tony is a fascinating character in that he jury rigs a device to take care of his heart and never considers turning to another doctor or scientist. It says that Tony is an accomplished man who thinks he can do anything and nearly can, but that do it alone attitude is going to be the source of a lot of grief.





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