Tales of Suspense #49

Cover Date: January 1964

Plot Overview: Angel is flying back to Xavier's school when he comes across Iron Man. Iron Man tries to warn him about an upcoming nuclear blast but doesn't make it in time. The blast catches Angel and turns him evil. Iron Man tries to catch up to the Angel as he flies off but his thrusters run out of power. Iron Man saves himself from the brunt of the fall with his repeller but suffers some damage. He sets about repairing the damage to his armor.

The Angel returns to the school and quits the X-Men. He says he'll be joining the evil Mutants and then escapes when the other X-Men try to restrain him. Professor X returns and mentally tries to talk sense into the departed Angel. After failing to reach Angel, X begins to doubt his mission.

The X-Men decide to call for the Avengers and Iron Man is the only one to answer. He heads out to find the Angel. Meanwhile, the Angel steals some TNT and sets it off above town to try and draw attention to himself. The police are aiming to shoot him down but Iron Man convinces him to wait. Iron Man chases the Angel through one of his hangers and tries to trap him in there. The Angel outsmarts him and tries to lock him in. Iron Man easily escapes and decides he has one chance to try and turn the Angel good again.

Iron Man grabs Angel and flies really high into the air until his thrusters give out. He begins to fall to the earth and the Angel snaps out of it and saves him at the last minute. Iron Man and the Angel return to the Xavier School and they thank Iron Man for helping the Angel. As Iron Man leaves, Professor X mentally tells him that he'll repay this act one day.

The Watcher appears in a backup and tells a tale of an alien race that follows the progress of mankind. They begin to worry that humans may one day rival them. But the humans discover nuclear power and the Cold War begins. The aliens relax and figure the humans will destroy themselves. The tale ends with the Watcher warning humanity to not let this alien race take over the galaxy.

My Take: This issue was a rough one to get through. For starters the dialogue was really bad. I mean, brutally bad. I know they had to show Angel was evil but he probably said "evil mutants" 20 times in an 18 page story. Having him say Magneto instead would have been a lot better and not so fake sounding. Also, when the nuclear blast he had an awful inner monologue that I'm adding a picture of here.

On top of the poor dialogue, Iron Man's plan to make Angel a good guy again was asinine on multiple levels. For starters, what if the Angel wasn't strong enough to stop his fall. Iron Man is a guy in a suit of armor and Angel is a mutant with wings that can fly. There's no indication that he had the strength to pull that off. And what if it hadn't snapped Angel out of it. Iron Man didn't have a plan B to save himself. It just wasn't a well conceived idea.

On top of those problems. There was a typo as they refer to Tony Stark as Anthony Blake early in the issue. There might have been another one but I don't recall it now. Not a huge deal, just thought I would point it out.

The art was good though. The Iron Man armor looked better than in the last issue. It seemed more refined and just overall better designed. As I said last issue, this newer armor will prevent some of the wonky contortions that some artists had him doing in the old tank armor. I think that will be a giant plus in the long run.

I give this *1/2 out of *****.

Notes: There was nothing of note in this issue.

Next Issue: Amazing Spider-Man #8

Avengers #3

Cover Date: January 1964

Plot Overview: The Avengers decide that the Hulk can't be left to roam freely. Iron Man unveils one of Tony Stark's inventions, an image projector. He uses the image projector to visit the Fantastic Four, Spider-Man and the X-Men. The FF and X-Men are too busy with their own affairs and Spider-Man was just Spider-Man about it. The Avengers remember Rick Jones and decide to contact him.  Jones sets out and finds the Hulk in New Mexico. He contacts the Avengers and they all head to New Mexico in their unique ways.

Iron Man is the first there and gets ambushed by the Hulk. The Hulk uses the needles of a cactus as deadly projectiles. Iron Man blocks the attack but the needles cause some problems for Giant-Man, ant sized at the moment, and the Wasp. They head to a nearby ant hill and use the ants to cause the ground to collapse to try and catch the Hulk. The Hulk avoids the trap and takes to the air as he continues to battle Iron Man. Iron Man uses his magnetic repulsers to spin the Hulk until Thor arrives.  The Hulk tries to flee and hitches a ride on a nearby train. He fends off the Avengers before using flour in the smoke stack of the train. He uses the resulting confusion to escape from the Avengers.

The Hulk hides in a truck load of gravel and then takes to the ocean after it gets dumped. He gets picked up by a ship and is pretty worn out. Meanwhile, Namor has been watching the Hulk the entire time. When the Hulk decides to leave the boat and head to a secluded island he is greeted by Namor. They have a short battle where Namor gets the upper hand in the water. Afterwards, they decide to team up to get their revenge upon humanity. They head off to begin their conquest while planning to destroy each other afterwards.

The Avengers are challenged to battle them at Gibralter. They arrive on the scene and Namor fires an old WWII cannon at them. Iron Man repels the shell and Namor uses a pellet with emery dust to disable Iron Man. Giant-Man and the Wasp find oxygen equipment and set about cleaning Iron Man up while Thor keeps Namor and the Hulk busy with his Hammer. Namor and the Hulk make a temporary retreat.

The battle continues on and just as things are starting to look good for Namor and the Hulk, the Hulk reverts back to Bruce Banner. Banner flees from the scene of the battle. The Avengers easily capture the abandoned Namor as he grows weaker without water. Namor manages to crack a wall and the water revives him. He makes his escape and  Thor says that he's earned his escape today. The issue ends promising us some big surprises for the next issue.

My Take: I wanted to start this issue off by saying the Avengers really came off like jerks in the first part of the story They were essentially telling the Hulk he was a menace to society that shouldn't be allowed to roam free and then getting mad that he didn't want to reason things out with them. Yes, because antagonizing someone is a great way to get them to see your point of view!

Iron Man also makes a mental note that no one knows that he's really Tony Stark about 3 times in this issue. It was overkill and I think I literally rolled my eyes the last time it randomly was mentioned in this issue. We get it, you're Tony Stark and no one knows! With all of that hand wringing on his part, he makes a slip of the tongue early on in the issue. He goes on at length about Tony Stark's image projector and then after using it he calls it HIS image projector. No one really reacted so I think that was more of a writing error than anything else.

These first 10 issues of Avengers are burned into my brain from being a teenager. I was lucky enough to get about 4 of the Marvel Masterworks when I was a teenager and this was one of them. I remember not liking this issue much from those days. As an adult, it wasn't so bad. There were a lot of interesting aspects to this issue. For starters, everyone in the Marvel Universe showed up in this issue. The Fantastic Four, Spider-Man and X-Men all made appearances here. They all blew Iron Man off, Reed picked an experiment over fighting the Hulk, and that was really interesting. You would expect for all the heroes to jump at the chance to fight a bad guy. But they all kind of shrugged it off as an Avengers issue and weren't terribly interested. It humanizes the Marvel characters in a very negative way. All of the characters have depth and it really shows that the Marvel heroes don't march to the same drum.

It's also really interesting to see how this book slides into continuity. I think a book like the Justice League of America ran away from trying to fit in with the heroes solo books but Stan Lee seems to really embrace it. The heroes costume changes appear in the Avengers even the same month that it happens. It mentions the upcoming Iron Man issue from the same month. And Stan Lee makes a point of reminding you when you last saw a character. The universe is really small right now but it's incredible to see the care that Stan is taking to fit it all together.

The art was really good in this issue. The Hulk looked great and there was some really good action going on in this issue. Most of the issue was just an all out brawl with the Avengers vs. the Hulk and the Avengers vs. Namor and the Hulk. Jack Kirby also did a good job of refining the look of the new Iron Man armor in this issue. It looked a little wonky and crappy in Tales of Suspense #48 but it looked better in this issue.

I give this issue *** out of *****.

Notes: This issue features the first meeting of Hulk and Namor. Their relationship will be important in the 70s as they become two of the main members of the non-team the Defenders. Their relationship keeps a very similar dynamic to this issue throughout those issues.

Next Issue: Tales of Suspense #49

Tales of Suspense #48

Cover Date: December 1963

Plot Overview: One of Stark's associates back out of a deal and Tony decides to drive out to Charleton Carter's estate to find out why he's decided to no longer do business with him. Stark arrives and sees Carter being terrorized through a window.

Stark becomes Iron Man and enters the room. He comes face to face with Mister Doll. Mister Doll's powers seem to revolve around a sort of voodoo doll that he can shape to look like people. He shapes the doll to look like Iron Man and starts to cause pain. Iron Man tries to flee the scene and falls over a railing into the water. Mister Doll assumes that Iron Man has died.

Iron Man pulls himself out of the water but his chest plate is almost out of power. He manages to get back to his lab and hooked up to the power before passing out. He's awoken the next day by Pepper Potts calling him. Meanwhile, Mister Doll has forced Carter to sign over his business and he now plans to go after Tony Stark.

Tony Stark has become frustrated with the bulk of his current suit and decides to design a new one. He creates the more familiar red and gold armor of Iron Man. This suit features magnets which help him put it on faster. In general, it's got the same or more power but is lighter and more flexible.

The police decide to protect Stark from Mister Doll. Stark is displeased by this because he wants to track down Mister Doll as Iron Man. Stark tricks the guard into thinking he wants to ask Pepper out on a date and the guard allows them to go into a different room. Stark thanks Pepper for her help and tells her, to her disappointment, to keep acting like she's in love with him.

Iron Man relieves the guards just in time for Mister Doll to arrive. Doll again makes Iron Man suffer through the use of the doll. He decides that he's subdued Iron Man and changes his doll to look like Tony Stark. Iron Man now has a problem. If he registers any pain, Mister Doll will know his true identity. Iron Man struggles to not show any reaction and Mister Doll takes his disinterest as a sign of weakness. He decides to send Iron Man away until he has further use of him.

Iron Man locks himself in the lab and struggles with all the pain. He decides that he must temporarily disable his chest plate. This will numb his nerves and block out the pain so he can build a counter to the voodoo doll. Stark works quickly and finishes his device just in time.

Iron Man confronts Mister Doll again and uses his new transistor ray to shape the doll into the shape of Mister Doll. Mister Doll drops the doll out of fear for hurting himself and is incapacitated. Iron Man turns him over to the police.

A short time later, Happy and Tony realize they left Pepper locked in that room. They go let her out, needless to say, she is not happy about it.

My Take: I'm a little sad to see the tank style Iron Mam armor make it's exit so soon. I love the clunky old style look to it. But it does make way for the more iconic red and gold Iron Man armor. Tony will be sporting a version of this armor well into the 70s.

This issue was a pretty fun read despite Mister Doll being a lame villain. We just had the Puppetmaster in FF and he's pretty much the same character. Mister Doll wasn't that important to the story. I think the new armor was the big deal in this issue and I liked how they handled that. They did a good job of showing off the new features of the armor and Tony did a really good job of explaining why the old armor needed to go.

Despite my love of the old armor, the new armor will be better from an art stand point. There were exactly two artists that understood how to draw the tank armor and that was Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko. Everyone else that drew the armor had him doing weird contortionist moves. I consider it a welcome upgrade for the future art of Iron Man appearances.

The art was decent in this issue. Mister Doll was a stupid looking villain and the new armor needs a little work. But those are really my only complaints about it. The art looked pretty good other than those two things.

I give this **1/2 out of *****.

Notes: This is the first appearance of Mister Doll. I had to look him up and it appears he's just a footnote in Marvel history with a handful of appearances. This book is also the first appearance of the Mark III Iron Man armor. As I said earlier, this suit undergoes some revisions but it's one of the iconic armors for Iron Man.

Next Issue: Amazing Spider-Man #7

Tales of Suspense #47

Cover Date: November 1963

Plot Overview: A government test ends when the tanks fall apart. Upon inspection it's revealed that the parts were greatly weakened. Meanwhile Stark is attacked from behind at one of his plants by the Melter.

The Melter reveals that he was a competitor of Tony Stark named Bruno Horgan. Stark outed him for using inferior parts and he lost all of his government contracts. Horgan of course vowed revenge. Some time later, Horgan discovers a beam that can melt iron and decides to use it for evil. The Melter now plans to sabotage Tony Stark at every turn to ruin him.

Happy Hogan finds Stark and helps him back to his office. Stark makes some excuse so he can sneak off and recharge his chest plate. Meanwhile, the Melter is still in the plant and begins to melt one of Stark's generators. Stark sees the alarm and becomes Iron Man.

Iron Man hits the scene and the Melter immediately melts one of Iron Man's arms. Iron Man flees the scene and uses some of his magnets to burst a few steam pipes. The Melter is forced to retreat from the scene. Iron Man returns to being Tony Stark and orders the generator repaired. Stark realizes that he can't confront the Melter again and begins to think of ways to beat him.

The government summons Stark to Washington DC and threaten to pull his contracts if he doesn't get the mistakes under control. They don't believe his story about the Melter and give him one last chance. Stark then gets called away to his Long Island factory on an emergency.

The melted iron has completely covered the generator and it's going to take even longer to repair the generator. Stark says he'll send in Iron Man to help with the repairs. Stark becomes Iron Man and starts to repair the generator.

The Melter appears again and melts a mass of pipes that Iron Man has lifted over his head. Iron Man escapes the molten iron and the Melter then tries to melt him. No effect. The Melter is taken aback by this and starts flailing for anything that might help him beat Iron Man. He melts a crane holding a boulder and Iron Man is forced to save Pepper and Hogan from being crushed. The Melter flees and Iron Man corners him in part of the factory. The Melter tries to melt the floor under Iron Man but he just turns on his transistor jets. Iron Man tears a panel of floor up and knocks the Melter off balance. The Melter decides to dive into the sewers and risk drowning over being captured by Iron Man.

Iron Man is frustrated by the fact that the Melter escaped and he doesn't know if he's dead or alive. He becomes Tony Stark again and the reader learns that he used an aluminum suit to thwart the Melter's ray. He orders everyone to get back to work as the issue comes to a close.

My Take: Really fun issue this time around. The Melter was a fun villain with your usual cliche origin story. He worked well in this story and it was nice to see Tony Stark being forced to think of a solution to his problems in this issue. I'm happy that Iron Man has been getting a steady stream of super villains and not just beating up on thugs and dictators. Marvel has been doing a really good job with the more recent issues of introducing super villains for the heroes to fight.

My biggest problem with this issue is that he came from the same template as Tales of Suspense #46. It had the same story with the government threatening to pull his government contracts due to some sort of sabotage. I don't think he's been named yet in the comics but Harrington Byrd seems to exist solely to threaten and question Stark every issue. This isn't a deal breaker by any means, it just felt like I was reading a really similar story to what I read last time. But that's comics for you.

Steve Ditko came on art for this issue and it really looked good. The Melter had a decent look and the Iron Man armor looked awesome in this issue. Ditko probably made Iron Man look better and more realistic to anything that's been done with him before, just a tremendous job on art.

I give this *** out of *****.

Notes: This issue features the first appearance of the Melter. I have a hard time framing the Melter in a context of what tier he should be in. He's essentially a C list villain but he's also been a part of some important moments in Marvel History. He was a founding member of the Masters of Evil and he was a semi important Iron Man rogue for awhile at least. As I said before, I have a hard time really placing him in that sort of context.

Next Issue: Amazing Spider-Man #6

Avengers #2

Cover Date: November 1963

Plot Overview: Thor and Hulk argue until Giant-Man and the Wasp arrive to start their meeting. Meanwhile, the Space Phantom lands from outer space. He plans to defeat the Avengers so the other Space Phantoms can invade and take over the Earth. He's been observing the  Avengers for awhile and knows that they're meeting in Tony Stark's mansion.

The Phantom switches places with a guy on the street, casting him into limbo, and walks into the mansion. The Avengers are watching the intruder from a tv and the Hulk decides to go confront him. The Phantom switches places with the Hulk and then starts a fight with Iron Man. The Hulk is in a certain limbo while the Phantom has his form. The Phantom escapes the mansion and meets up with Rick Jones.

Rick Jones quickly figures out that this isn't the real Hulk and the Phantom decides to brag about his plans and reveals himself to Rick. The Hulk reappears but disappears again as the Phantom takes on his form again. The Phantom goes to a Stark plant and destroys a special missile project. This draws out Iron Man and the battle is on. Iron Man grabs the Phantom and gives him a little shock. The Phantom, lacking the pain tolerance of the actual Hulk, freaks out and takes off running.

The Phantom changes places with a wasp and the real Hulk returns. Iron Man continues his attack and fights with the real Hulk. Meanwhile, Rick Jones calls Giant-Man and the Wasp for help. They arrive on the scene quickly and breaks up the fight. The Wasp senses an evil presence and then is attacked by the Phantom, as a wasp. Giant-Man senses the Wasp is in danger and gets Hulk and Iron Man to follow him to Stark's plant.

Giant-Man makes the save but the Phantom trades places with him. The Phantom attacks the Hulk but quickly realizes that the Hulk is far stronger. The Phantom tries to crush the Hulk with an experimental tank but the Hulk kicks it away. The tank hurtles towards an unsuspecting Iron Man but he uses the suit to protect himself. The Phantom switches places with Iron Man.

The Wasp decides to get Thor and heads to the offices of Dr. Don Blake. Blake says that he'll summon Thor for her. Blake sends her out of the room and becomes Thor. Thor heads to the fight to find that the Phantom as Iron Man is getting the best of the Hulk and Giant-Man. The Phantom tries to switch places with Thor and instead is cast into limbo. Thor says that this happened because he is not a human, he is the god of thunder.

The conventional wisdom seems to be that the Space Phantom is trapped there forever because no one can take his place. The Hulk takes this moment to quit the Avengers. He says he never realized how much they all hated him and will do things along like he always does. The Avengers worry about how dangerous the Hulk will become as the issue comes to a close.

My Take: This issue has a deep and lasting impact on the Marvel Universe. Even as recently as the Avengers vs. X-Men crossover has this issue played it's part. Let that sink in a little bit for how important the Hulk quitting the Avengers was that it gets a little nod in a story 49 years later.

This was a pretty fun issue. The Space Phantom was a really fun villain for this issue and he was used well throughout the issue. I liked getting to see the various Avengers fight with each other throughout the issue. The Iron Man vs. Hulk match up was intriguing but hasn't gotten a lot of time in the first 2 issues.

The Hulk leaving in issue 2 was huge, HUGE! That event right there sets a tone that the Avengers keep throughout their entire history. This roster is about change and change happens a lot as the years progress. The roster is almost always in some state of flux and you can see that it started at the very beginning. I just have to write that again, we're at issue 2 and one of the founding members have quit the team already. That was just unheard of in this time period.

The art was really good in this issue. It was one of the stronger books that I've read art wise so far. Jack Kirby has really been doing some good issues recently. The Phantom Stranger was weird looking and fairly unique. I would also add memorable. The fight scenes also looked pretty good throughout.

I give this ***1/2 out of *****.

Notes: This is the first appearance of the Space Phantom. He is a C list villain that gets a lot of appearances through re-tellings of this particular story. I would say that he's probably one of the most memorable C list villains in the Marvel Universe because of how important and retold this story is. He makes some other appearances over the years but I don't think I've read any of those other ones.

The Hulk leaves the Avengers in this issue.

Next Issue: Tales of Suspense #47

Tales of Suspense #46

Cover Date: October 1963

Plot Overview: Anton Vanko has developed a suit for Communist Russia. The suit gives him control over all things electrical. He can use the suit to short circuit electrical equipment or to directly control it. He puts on an impressive display for his leader and is sent off to America to sabotage some of Tony Stark's weapons.

Stark is testing a new rocket and decides to watch the test as Iron Man. The rocket goes out of control thanks to the Dynamo and Iron Man is forced to save the day. The Dynamo continues to sabotage various Stark plants over the next few weeks and the U.S. government starts to lose faith in him. There are murmurings that Stark might be a Communist himself and they talk about pulling all his government contracts.

The Dynamo decides that he's had enough of sabotage and wants to face Iron Man head on. He shorts out the electricity at Stark's main facility and the battle is on. Iron Man immediately realizes that the Dynamo controls electricity and put up a shield to save himself. Iron Man takes to the air where the Dynamo can't hurt him and traps him with a bunch of uprooted trees.

Iron Man then picks up the Dynamo and threatens to drop him in the water which gets the Dynamo to surrender. Iron Man plays a fake conversation from Russia that convinces the Dynamo to defect to America. Stark later hires him to head up electrical research.

My Take: Fun issue this time out. The Crimson Dynamo and his electrical abilities were kind of unique as far as villains I've seen in the past. He didn't so much shoot electrical beams as he caused short circuits or took over other things. It felt like someone really thought outside of the box when they worked on him.

I really enjoyed the plot of this story. It was nice to see Iron Man squaring off with another guy in a suit for I think the first time in a series. It was also nice to get an actual fight at the end of the book. It was one sided but a lot of times in these Silver Age books you don't really get a fight. A lot of times you get a gimmicky way to defeat the villain and a really brief encounter. So  I always get a kick out of an issue that gives me a fight of some kind.

The art on this issue was okay. The Iron Man suit fared a little better than usual as he wasn't contorting in weird impossible ways. The Crimson Dynamo suit was downright terrible though. I added a picture to this post so you could see how bad it was. It wasn't quite as bad as the Porcupine from the last issue of Tales to Astonish but you would have to try and look as bad as the Porcupine did. Just for the sake of comparison, I added a picture of the Porcupine as well.

I wanted to take this issue to go on a brief tangent. The last few months at Marvel has really seen the focus shift towards super villains and that makes me happy. During a lot of the early issues it was just Thor or Iron Man taking out a Communist threat or some one shot sci-fi threat. That's fine here and there but it really makes you yearn for some real baddies after awhile. In just the past couple of months we've been introduced to Jack Frost, the Super Skrull, Sandman, Doctor Octopus and the Eel. There's varying levels there but those are all super villains that had some staying power with multiple appearances over the years. It's nice to see them building a rogue's gallery for the Marvel Universe.

I give this issue *** out of *****.

Notes: This issue features the first appearance of the Crimson Dynamo. 4 or 5 guys take up the Dynamo armor over the decades at Marvel but he stays a fairly constant presence in the Iron Man titles. I would call him a strictly B list villain but I would also include him in Iron Man's rogue gallery. He definitely has a place in the lore of the Iron Man books.

There are also some other minor first appearances here. Senator Harrington Byrd makes a few more appearances in the Marvel Universe so I included him.

Next Issue: Amazing Spider-Man #5

Tales of Suspense #45

Cover Date: September 1963

Plot Overview: Tony Stark enters a race with a car created by his own technology. During the race, his chest plate begins to run out of power and his heart stops beating. Stark crashes the car and is trapped. A man named Happy Hogan comes out of the crowd and saves Stark from the car. Stark has Hogan take him to his hotel so he can recharge his chest plate.

Stark offers Hogan money to show his gratitude and Hogan says he would rather have a job than money. Hogan explains that he's a former boxer that didn't have the heart to finish off his opponents. Stark hires Hogan as his new chauffeur. They arrive at Stark's Office where he introduces Hogan to Pepper Potts. They take an immediate disliking to each other as Stark sneaks off to test out his armor.

The alarm goes off and Iron Man catches Professor Shapanka stealing from the vault. Iron Man captures Shapanka. Later, Tony Stark decides to let Shapanka walk but also fires him. Shapanka essentially vows revenge as he leaves.

Shapanka gets the idea from Stark saying cold feet and develops a cold suit to make himself immortal. Shapanka goes on a crime spree before finally approaching Stark for revenge. He freezes the guards plus Potts and Hogan. Hogan almost catches Stark changing into Iron Man just before being frozen. Iron Man tries to catch Shapanka with a trap door but he freezes the gears and manages to climb out. Iron Man can feel his suit freezing during the fight and decides to make a gamble. He creates a heat ray with his suit that melts the ice on Shapanka's suit. Shapanka surrenders and Hogan decides that he should also be Stark's bodyguard as the issue comes to a close.

My Take: This was a really good issue. The addition of consistent supporting characters immediately pays off as the book has more personality and Stark has more characterization. Happy and Pepper have a good dynamic between them and it has made Tony think about his changes into Iron Man a little more.

The expansion to 18 pages for this story was a huge help here. Everything was able to breathe a little bit. The characters got some time to develop and the story seemed to progress naturally. Sure, the Jack Frost stuff was probably 4 pages of an 18 page story but he wasn't important.

I really liked seeing Stark bring Hogan into the fold and meeting his assistant Pepper and how all three characters are going to interact with each other. Honestly, I don't think this issue even needed a super villain to be an enjoyable read. The characters were able to carry the story that will for the first 10 pages.

Jack Frost as a character is a good idea. He's an actual super villain which has been rare so far in the Iron Man books. He has a power that will provide some problems for Iron Man and his bad heart. And he's generally a good second tier villain to throw out there for the hero to beat in a one shot story here and there.

I'd give this **** out of *****

Notes: This is the first appearance of the villain Jack Frost. He eventually becomes Blizzard who is a consistent Iron Man C list villain throughout the 70s and early 80s. He's actually one of my favorite Iron Man villains.

More importantly than the Blizzard, this issue introduces Pepper Potts and Happy Hogan. They will of course become two of Iron Man's main supporting characters through his entire existence.

Next Issue: Amazing Spider-Man #4

Avengers #1

Cover Date: September 1963

Plot Overview: Loki is looking to cause some mischief to draw out Thor for another battle. He comes across the Hulk and tricks him with a mental projection of TNT on a train track. The Hulk smashes the tracks by mistake and has to quickly save an oncoming train. People mistake his actions and think the Hulk was in fact trying to destroy the train.

Rick Jones and the Teen Brigade try to contact the Fantastic Four for help but Loki intercepts their radio transmissions and sends them to a band that Thor listens to. Thor picks up the transmission as well as Ant-Man, the Wasp and Iron Man. They all head to the southwest independently. Meanwhile, the Teen Brigade finally contacts the FF and Reed says they're busy but that he thinks other people should be able to help them.

Just then, Thor, Iron Man, Ant-Man and the Wasp all arrive on the scene. Rick Jones explains the situation to them and asks that they help the Hulk if he is indeed innocent. Loki is not amused by the appearance of other heroes and uses his mental powers to trick Thor into leaving the group with an image of the Hulk. Thor realizes it's just a mental projection and that Loki must be behind it.

Thor heads to Asgard as the scene changes to a circus. The Hulk is posing as a robotic act named Mechano. An ant on the scene relays the info to Ant-Man and the remaining heroes head off to face off with the Hulk.

The ants chew up the ground and the Hulk falls into a giant hole. Ant-Man tries to reason with the Hulk but the Hulk just wants to leave. The ants drop a giant steel drum onto the Hulk which enrages him. The Hulk escapes the drum as Ant-Man has the Wasp try to lure him under a net. The Hulk takes out the Wasp with a bellows and captures her. Iron Man arrives on the scene and the Hulk forgets about the Wasp. The Hulk breaks through the net that Ant-Man had used and Iron Man pursues. The Hulk manages to damage Iron Man's power source and he's forced to break off the chase.

Meanwhile on Asgard, Thor has received permission to travel to the Isle of Silence to confront Loki. Thor arrives at the Isle to be greeted by a volcanic eruption created by Loki. The volcano spews these bubbles that can drain a god of his powers so Thor swims for it. Loki greets Thor on land and tricks him into getting attacked by a troll. The troll tries to pull Thor under ground but he blinds it with lightning from his hammer. Loki makes multiple images of himself but Thor blows them away by swinging his hammer. Thor captures Loki and returns to Earth with him.

Back on Earth, Iron Man and the Hulk continue to battle one another. Thor arrives and explains that Loki framed the Hulk. Loki becomes radioactive suddenly and commands Hulk and Iron Man to leave so that he and Thor continue their battle. Just then, a group of ants release a trap door and Loki falls into a lead lined tank. Thor explains that Loki won't be radioactive for very long and then he can return him to Asgard for punishment.

Ant-Man and Wasp stop everyone from leaving. Ant-Man thinks they should continue teaming up due to how powerful they are together. Everyone agrees and the Wasp comes up with the name the Avengers on the spot. The issue ends with them proclaiming that no one will be able to stop the Avengers.

My Take: This book is historic for a lot of reasons. There have been some crossovers before this issue but pretty much the entire Marvel Universe appeared in this issue. Spider-Man was really the only hero that was absent during this book. It feels like the Marvel Universe has suddenly come together in a huge way for this book and it makes a good deal of sense.

The story is kind of a mixed bag here. A lot happens in the 22 pages of story and that's a good thing and a bad thing. I really like how they brought the team together in this issue. There's something very realistic about the Teen Brigade wanting the Fantastic Four and circumstances bringing them a different group of heroes. I also liked the battle between Iron Man and the Hulk in this issue. Loki also made sense as being the first antagonist for the Avengers to face. I don't think say, Namor would've worked as well in this issue. I also really like the team of the Hulk, Thor, Iron Man, Ant-Man and the Wasp. I think it's a good mix of personalities and powers and you want to check out the next issue to see how the Hulk is going to work within the confines of a team.

What I didn't like was the Asgard portion of the story. It felt needless and it really secluded Thor from the other heroes in this book. It was really good when they all stormed into the Teen Brigade HQ but the book splits them up almost immediately. I wanted to see them working together, not all wandering off and doing their own thing. It also made the story drag a bit at that point. It just felt like you were reading one book and kind of wandered into a different book.

The art was good in this issue. Everyone looked good. Iron Man wasn't doing any of his weird contortions in his gold armor. It's a Jack Kirby drawn book. So what can you really say bad about it?

This book had it's ups and downs but ultimately I enjoyed it. It was an easy read, I wasn't page counting like I do with some of the weaker books I've read for this. And that's always a sign that I'm into what I'm reading. It has a lot of historical value as well.

I'd give this *** out of *****

Notes: This is the first appearance of the Avengers as a team. The Avengers will be a consistent top team in the Marvel Universe from here on out. A huge number of Marvel super-heroes will have stints with the team over the years. Thor, Hulk, Iron Man, Ant-Man and the Wasp all become the founding members of the Avengers in this issue.

Next Issue: Tales of Suspense #45

Tales of Suspense #44

Cover Date: August 1963

Plot Overview: Tony Stark heads to Egypt to help an old friend on a dig. Tony tells his friend that he needs Iron Man, who just happens to be in Egypt. Stark heads off and returns as IM. He finds the tomb of Hatap and digs it up. Later that night, Tony Stark is confronted by Hatap. Hatap tells Stark about how he took a serum that let him sleep for 2000 years. And now, he's going to use an amulet to take them to the past so that he can steal the throne from Cleopatra.

They head to the past and Tony slips away and becomes Iron Man. Hatap flees at the sight of Iron Man so IM goes looking for Cleopatra. IM comes across a Roman siege and easily destroys the invading forces. Cleopatra sends for IM and he tells her about Hatap and how he will capture him. Iron Man confronts Hatap and makes short work of his forces.

Hatap tries to return to the present but IM sprays his amulet with oil and he drops it. Hatap dives for the amulet but falls on a sword and kills himself. Cleopatra declares her love for Iron Man as he returns to the present. The issue ends with Tony Stark telling the press that you never know, Cleopatra might have fallen in love with him.

The Ridiculous: Iron Man places wheels on himself and propels himself at Hatap and his enemies to win the day.

My Take: This wasn't a bad little romp. I was dreading reading this from the cover as I typically hate these "hero X goes back in time and meets historical figure y" but this one wasn't so bad. I think the use of magic over science made the story a little better. Past that, this was just Iron Man showing off his powers against overmatched opponents.

My biggest complaint is they made a big deal about his chest plate running low on power early in the issue but it wasn't an issue once he was in the past. He made mention that he had limited power but there seemed to be no real sense of worry that he couldn't recharge while in ancient Egypt. I don't think it was a big deal but it was something that bothered me during the story.

I'm really starting to want to see Iron Man vs. some super villains. The mad scientists, rulers, etc. stuff is fun but it really makes me want to see him going toe to toe with a super powered baddie.

The art was rock solid on this issue. I've really grown to like Don Heck's art style through this project.

I'd give this ** out of *****

Notes: This is the first appearance of Hatap and Cleopatra. Cleopatra has another appearance in Strange Tales a few years down the road but that's it as far as these two go.

Next Issue: Journey Into Mystery #95

Tales of Suspense #43

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

Tales of Suspense #42

Cover Date: June 1963

Plot Overview: Iron Man catches several Communist agents in an FBI sting operation and hears the name the Red Barbarian. A short while later Tony Stark shows off his new disintegrator ray. U.S. officials comment that the Communists would love to get their hands on this new technology.

Meanwhile behind the Iron Curtain, the Red Barbarian is approached by the Actor. The Actor can impersonate anyone that he sees just once and he wants to steal the plans for the Barbarian. The Actor departs for the U.S. and uses his abilities to summon Tony Stark to Washington D.C. for a fake meeting.

The Actor uses the chance to impersonate Tony Stark and gain access to his secret lab. The Actor figures out that Tony Stark is Iron Man while searching for the plans. The Actor finds the plans and leaves behind some Communist agents to assassinate Tony Stark. Stark arrives shortly and the agents attack. Their bullets have no effect because of the chestplate Tony Stark wears. Stark turns out the lights and becomes Iron Man. He grabs the agents and they tell him about the Actor stealing the plans.

Iron Man uses a rocket to get to Russia ahead of the Actor. He captures the Actor while he travels to meet the Red Barbarian. Iron Man then departs and approaches the Red Barbarian pretending to be the Actor. Iron Man hands the Red Barbarian a case and tells him that he needs to wait 4 hours for it to open and then departs.

Iron Man frees the Actor who then runs to the Red Barbarian. The Actor tells the Barbarian his story but the Barbarian thinks the Actor is trying to trick him. The Actor tries to reveal Iron Man's true identity but the Barbarian has him killed before he can communicate the information.

My Take: This was kind of a weird comic. The villains got a ton of screen time and Iron Man actually kind of felt like an afterthought when the issue was all said and done. It kind of felt that the issue was mostly from the perspective of the actor.

This issue was a fun read. It didn't get too bogged down in exposition. The story moved at a fast pace and it was pretty straightforward. The end was also a pleasant surprise as Iron Man used trickery instead of brawn to win the day. And it didn't feel too contrived.

My main complaint is that Tony Stark and Iron Man needed a little more screen time. This is only Iron Man's fourth appearance and he really didn't get much character development in the issue. It felt different from the way the past 2 issues had worked. But that's really a minor complaint from me.

I'd give this **1/2 out of *****.

Notes: The Red Barbarian and the Actor first appear in this issue but I don't think they ever show up in another comic.

Next Issue: Journey Into Mystery #93

Tales of Suspense #41

Cover Date: May 1963

Plot Overview: Tony Stark has donated $100,000 to a local hospital and has set up Iron Man to do a demonstration at the local children's hospital. Tony's date asks why he can't get married and Tony explains all of his scientific ventures to her. Tony also thinks about how he can't because he's also Iron Man and must always wear the armor over his chest to keep his heart beating.

Iron Man arrives at the children's hospital and the people are wowed by the many feats he performs. The announcer's mention a Dr. Strange and the scene shifts to a local prison. Dr. Strange has a plan to take over Iron Man and use him for his escape. Strange explains that he was struck by lightning several months ago and it's made him extremely intelligent.

Strange turns on his machine and Iron Man is compelled to release him from prison. As they make their escape, Dr. Strange thinks about his daughter and how he'll make her a queen of the world. Strange escapes and later arrives on an island with a makeshift army of dictators and thugs. His daughter is disgusted at what he's doing.

Meanwhile, Iron Man finds out what he did and is really upset about it. The police let him off on his word. Dr. Strange explodes a giant bomb in outer space and then tells the world to surrender or he'll set off more bombs. Iron Man offers to take him down. He has a submarine fire him under the water. Iron Man digs towards Dr. Strange's lab and destroys his generator.

Iron Man is left powerless from this act and Dr. Strange gloats at him. Strange explains that his daughter will rule the world once he conquers it. Strange's daughter tells him that she wants no part of his scheme and throws Iron Man a flashlight. Iron Man uses the flash light to recharge himself and Dr. Strange flees the scene. The issue ends with Iron Man saying that Dr. Strange's daughter was his greatest contribution to the world.

My Take: Two family based villains in back to back issues was a little much for me. In fairness, they were very different stories. This one was more about how Dr. Strange loved his daughter and couldn't show her in a normal way. It was an interesting little dynamic that they had going on between them. I wish the story could've been longer to explore them as people.

I found it funny that the woman in the first several pages was never referred to by name. Tony called her "baby", "honey" or other numerous things like that.

The story itself felt rushed. The setup was literally 9 pages of the story and the actual resolution was the last 3 pages with Iron Man. They really tiptoed around for the first 5 or 6 pages and ran out of room. You, HAVE, to get to the point in a 13 page story. You can't take a few pages and deal with things that aren't a central part of the story. This issue just kind of fell on it's face because you realize on page 10 that they have 3 pages to completely resolve a story that has 50% done at that point.

The art was very good in this issue. Tony wasn't doing weird and awkward looking things in his big bulky looking armor. They kept his actions pretty stiff, slow and plodding. It just looked right this time.

I'd give this ** out of *****.

Notes: This is the first appearance of Dr. Strange. Not the Dr. Strange we all know and love though. Just some random villain that they gave that name to. I guess they weren't thinking too far ahead at this point as the real Dr. Strange makes his first appearance in another few months.

Next Issue: Amazing Spider-Man #2

Tales of Suspense #40

Cover Date: April 1963

Plot Overview: This issue opens and goes about establishing that Tony Stark is a scientist, a playboy and a superhero. It also shows that Stark has to recharge his chest plate from time to time to keep his heart beating. Last issue, he of course suffered an injury where shrapnel is in danger of puncturing his heart.

Stark has a date at the circus when the animals get out of control. Stark becomes Iron Man and notices that the crowd is terrified of him as he enters the building. Iron Man makes short work of the animals but ponders how to alter his appearance. His date, Marion, suggests that Iron Man don gold armor so that people would know that he has a heart of gold. Stark likes the idea and paints his suit gold.

Later, Stark wonders why Marion didn't arrive at the airport and he's told that the city of Granville has shut down it's airport. Stark decides to head to Granville as Iron Man. When he arrives, he finds that the city has built a wall around itself and the federal government is powerless to do anything about it.

Iron Man decides to dig into the city. Upon his arrival he finds that the citizens of Granville are completely under the influence of a caveman called Gargantus. The citizens attack Iron Man while others worship Gargantus. Iron Man evades the locals and issues a public challenge to Gargantus.

The caveman arrives on the scene and Iron Man realizes the creature is trying to hypnotize him by reflecting the sun off his eyes. IM notices that it's a cloudy day and waves a flag to see that there is a breeze. IM evades attack from Gargantus and then uses magnets to subdue him. Gargantus falls apart revealing that he was a robot. The locals become normal again and IM reveals that he figured out that the clouds were unnatural and that Gargantus' hypnosis was coming from a device inside of him. IM then reveals that a UFO was behind the clouds. The aliens flee Earth because they feel they are no match for the Iron Men of this planet.

The issue ends with Stark and Marion reuniting.

My Take: A quick aside to this. Iron Man using transistors for everything is really a sign of the times. He tends to take about his transistor power whatever constantly throughout the issue. He'll do this in pretty much everything until technology shifts a little and Marvel doesn't feel the need to harp on it so much. You just have to grin and bear it for awhile.

This was a decent issue. You get a good idea of the status quo for the early Iron Man tales. He has a love interest or two, has to charge his chest plate and then fights a bad guy. Like a lot of the early Marvel stories, this felt more sci-fi than superhero. It felt like a monster horror movie and there just happened to be a superhero to save the day at the end.

The issue was pretty straightforward from start to finish. They re-established what the character was about in the first few pages and then showing off what he can do for the rest of the issue. The villain was silly but most Silver Age villains are. I tend to look at the villain as an afterthought to this issue though. This was about really hitting home who Tony Stark was and what his adventures were going to be like. I think this issue succeeded at that.

One aspect that I really like about Tony Stark at this point is that he feels like what Bruce Wayne should be. Wayne has always felt like the playboy aspect was tagged on whereas Stark feels like the real deal in that aspect.

The art was solid for this issue. It looks about how you would expect Tony Stark to look in the early 60s. The Iron Man armor makes for some weird art though. The artist was switching between the armor being bulky and clumsy one panel and having him do very agile movements in it the next. It was very distracting.

I'll give this **3/4 out of *****.

Notes: This is the first appearance of Gargantus. He'll pop up again at some point. He's a very very minor villain in the Marvel Universe though. Now, I'm not sure about Marion. She might be a recurring character for awhile but I'm not totally sure on that point. I will mention in future note sections if she does continue to appear.

This issue also sees the first of many armor changes for Iron Man. His armor changed from grey to gold in this issue. He'll keep this look for a few months before changing to a more recognizable armor.

Next Issue: Journey Into Mystery #91

Tales of Suspense #39

Cover Date: March 1963

Plot Overview: Millionaire playboy Tony Stark has invented a new transistor and heads to Vietnam to show it off for the military. Stark accidentally steps on a land mine and wakes up in the camp of Wong-Chu. Stark has shrapnel heading towards his heart and only has a few days to live. Wong-Chu wants Stark to build him a powerful weapon and gives him the raw materials to do it. Stark decides to double cross Wong-Chu and build a weapon to help him escape and to build something to keep him alive.

Wong-Chu throws Professor Yinsen in with Stark to assist in the building. Stark reveals the plans for the Iron Man to Yinsen. They continue working until Stark is on the verge of death. Yinsen gets him into the Iron Man armor and distracts the guards while the batteries charge. Yinsen is killed and Stark vows to avenge his death.

Iron Man confronts Wong-Chu and bests him in a battle. Wong-Chu flees after Iron Man breaks up his army. Iron Man uses the oil in his armor to blow up the camp and free the other prisoners. The issue ends with Iron Man walking off into the darkness wondering about what his future will hold.

My Take: What can you say about this issue? It's a classic that still holds up pretty well today. The technology is really outdated but that's not too big a deal. The concept of Iron Man is pretty well thought out here. They showed off some of his abilities and they gave him some personality. Tony Stark doesn't have a ton depth yet but he seems like a little more than a two dimensional character with a set of powers.

It made you want to see where they go from here. How is Tony going to fix his heart? Is he stuck in the armor forever? There are all sorts of issues and questions that these 13 pages gave you to latch onto going forward.

The art was pretty good for this issue. The armor is ugly but it makes sense considering he pieced together a bunch of junk to make it. I really enjoyed this issue. I'm really looking forward to the next issue.

After this issue I think it's the third highest book on my list right now. Spider-Man is the top book and Fantastic Four would be number two.

I'd give this ***1/2 out of *****.

Notes: This is the first appearance of Iron Man. This is also the first and only appearance of his grey armor. After this issue his armor will be gold. The Iron Man origin is pretty much what you think it was. His concept is pretty dead on to what his modern version of the character is. I always find it interesting that some concepts are well developed from the start and others seem to take some work to get right.

This is the first and only appearance of Yinsen. He is probably one of the most important characters to ever just appear in 1 issue alive. He will forever be an important part of the Iron Man mythos.

Tales of Suspense is another one of those anthology titles that their superhero line took over in the early 60s. Iron Man will be the main feature on the book for awhile but Captain America will eventually join the book as a co-feature.

Next Issue: Incredible Hulk #6