8:56 PM
Brad
Cover Date: July 1963
Plot Overview: An experimental fan goes haywire at Stark Industries and Iron Man saves the day. Tony Stark later arrives to check on things. Random men start disappearing until Stark himself becomes enclosed and sinks to the center of the Earth. He's greeted by Kala, Ruler of the Netherworld. She announces her intentions to invade the surface world with the superior technology of the Netherworld. But she needs energy to do that and that's why she kidnapped Tony Stark.
Stark agrees to the dismay of his co-workers. He gives Kala a list of the supplies he'll need and gets to work. Stark talks with Baxu, who disagrees with the invasion. Stark works secretly and creates a new suit of Iron Man armor.
Iron Man attacks and makes short work of Baxu and then goes after Kala. Kala uses many weapons of the Netherworld but Iron Man successfully defeats each weapon. IM drags Kala to the surface where she grows old. Her invasion would never work because her army would grow old and weak when they got to the surface. Kala can't stand the idea of being old and ugly and begs IM to take her back to the Netherworld.
Kala's beauty is restored in the Netherworld and she vows never to invade the surface. IM suggests that Kala and Baxu get married for the good of the Netherworld before returning to the surface.
My Take: I have a bit of a soft spot for this particular book. I remember in my early comic book days that this was one of the wall comics at Comic Town for my early visits. For that reason this cover always catches my attention.
I enjoyed this story quite a bit. It was a well paced read compared to the Tales to Astonish issue I read right before. There wasn't too much text, the story moved pretty well and the villains had goo motivation for a Silver Age story.
I like how Iron Man wasn't so gimmicky as a hero. He used a few gadgets but it felt like he mostly won the day with his brains and his strength. Some of the other issues feel like the 60s Batman show where he was a device for everything. It's also noteworthy to mention that his heart condition didn't come up once in this issue. I felt like this was overall a good change of pace from the previous Tales of Suspense issues.
The art was good for this issue. The Netherworld looked interesting and the people living there were colorful. The Iron Man suit also didn't do the weird unnatural bending like it had in previous issues.
I really like how Tales of Suspense is shaping up as a book. They seem to have developed the Iron Man character really well in a short period of time. I look forward to seeing some of his regular villains showing up and meeting some of his supporting cast.
I give this *** out of *****
Notes: This is the first appearance of Kala. She becomes a minor annoyance to several Marvel characters throughout the years. She's what I would call a D list villain. I'm pretty sure she hasn't appeared in a Marvel title in a really long time. But she'll be back and obviously up to no good. You just can't trust those Netherworld people I tell you.
Next Issue: Amazing Spider-Man #3
Posted in: Iron Man,Kala,Tales of Suspense
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