Category Archives: Iron Man

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Essential Iron Man Vol. 5

Essential Iron Man Vol. 5

First Published: April 2013

Contents: Iron Man #62 (September 1973) to #75 (June 1975); and #77 (August 1975) to #87 (June 1976); and Iron Man Annual #3 (1976)

Key Creator Credits: Mike Friedrich, Bill Mantlo, Len Wein, Steve Gerber, George Tuska, Arvell Jones, Keith Pollard, Herb Trimpe, Sal Buscema, and others

Key First Appearances: Michael O’Brien, Blizzard

Story Continues From: Essential Iron Man Vol. 4

Overview: Welcome back to the fifth Essential Iron Man volume from Marvel Comics, in which our hero, Tony Stark, finally adds the one accessory to his suit that it really didn’t need – an iron nose!

This volume has several storylines that run across multiple issues at a time. Iron Man battles Doctor Spectrum from the Squadron Sinister at the Stark Industries plant in Detroit, which leads to a battle against his fellow Avenger Thor. During this battle, Happy Hogan is injured while trying to cover for Tony, and the treatment to heal him reverts Happy back to his Freak personality.

That story no sooner wraps up before Iron Man is off to southeast Asia, where he gets caught-up in a super-villain royal rumble, as the Black Lama is setting up villains to fight each other for supremacy. Enter the Yellow Claw, the Mandarin, the Unicorn, Man-Bull, Whiplash, the Melter, and others. This complex storyline, plagued by the dreaded deadline, wraps with Iron Man and Firebrand following the Black Lama to his home dimension for one last showdown. The best part of this story arc was issue #72, which found Tony grounded in San Diego for repairs, and makes a visit to the 1974 San Diego Comic Convention.

One of the minor highlights of this volume occurs around issue #73 when Stark Industries undergoes a name change to Stark International. Tony wanted to showcase the diversity of all business aspects that the company was involved in, and he wanted to put some distance between the munitions manufacturer that his company was once branded as.

What makes this Essential?: I really was not that impressed with this volume. Some decent stories, but these are not great stories. You read this volume only if you are a die-hard fan of Iron Man. But my guess is that if you are that die-hard fan of Iron Man, you might be better off owning the original issues. Some checking of online retailers shows that most of these issues are very affordable despite being 40 years old.

Footnotes:  Iron Man #76 is a reprint issue of Iron Man #9. The cover for #76 is included in this Essential. Issue #9 was collected in Essential Iron Man Vol. 2.

Iron Man Annuals (King-Size Specials) #1 & #2 and Giant-Size Iron Man #1 were all reprints of various stories from Tales of Suspense. The covers to those issues are included in this Essential.

If you like this volume, try: Iron Man: Armor Wars from the 1980s. Written by David Michelinie and Bob Layton, with art Layton, Mark Bright, and Barry Windsor-Smith, this has been collected numerous times in trade paperbacks and hardcovers. Tony Stark discovers that some of the technology used in his suits – technology that is so secret he dares not patent it – is now being used in the suits of numerous super-villains. Tony goes on an armor hunt to track down his missing technology, while at the same time updating his own armor to stay ahead of the competition. This story arc would be repeated multiple times in multiple formats, such as in comics as well as the Saturday-morning cartoon series from the 1990s.

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Essential Iron Man Vol. 4

Essential Iron Man Vol. 4

First Published: April 2010

Contents: Iron Man #39 (July 1971) to #61 (August 1973)

Key Creator Credits: Gerry Conway, Gary Friedrich, Mike Friedrich, Steve Gerber, Jim Starlin, and George Tuska

Key First Appearances: Guardsman, Moondragon (as Madame MacEvil), Blood Brothers, Thanos, Drax the Destroyer, Chronos, ISAAC, Mentor, Eros/Starfox

Story Continues From: Essential Iron Man Vol. 3

Story Continues In: Essential Iron Man Vol. 5

Overview: You would think that Tony Stark would have things easy by now. His company, Stark Industries, is doing well; Tony’s heart is getting stronger thanks to a pacemaker; his love interest Marianne Rodgers, really digs his thoughts; and his Iron Man armor has never been better. Life’s good, right? Um, not so much….

Tony Stark/Iron Man faces a variety of challenges – at home, in the corporate boardroom, and on the battlefield. Stark finds that with his heart healing, he can commit to a long-term relationship with Marianne, and proposes to her. However, Marianne has E.S.P. powers that constantly foretell of dangers that Iron Man will face. She can’t bear the thought of Tony dying, and stumbles down the path to insanity. Tony breaks off the engagement, as he finds that his role as Iron Man once again gets in the way of living a normal life.

At Stark Industries, Tony is facing a takeover battle by Simon Gilbert, the chairman of the board. Gilbert uses his sway to have Kevin O’Brien don the Guardsman armor, which corrupts his thinking. The Guardsman becomes a pawn for Gilbert to use against Stark. When the takeover bid fails, Gilbert takes matters into his own hands by planting a bomb in one of Stark’s construction plants. His hubris gets in the way, and Gilbert is killed in the explosion.

While in the armor, Iron Man faces a variety of foes, some familiar and some new. No book would be complete without an appearance by the Mandarin. He sneaks into the picture as Gene Kahn (think about it!), a labor organizer trying to create unions at Stark’s facilities. Firebrand returns and the revelation of his parentage explodes across the pages. And in the midst of everything, a new villain is introduced that would have far-reaching effects on the Marvel Universe as Iron Man is caught up in a fight between Drax the Destroyer and Thanos!

What makes this Essential?: Issue #55 (first appearance of Thanos) is what makes this volume of stories Essential. However, the stories preceding and following this issue seem small in comparison. You could get this volume as a cheap way to read this issue. There are other reprint collections which feature issue #55, in color, for close to the same price. Pick up one of those volumes. Get this only if you are a die-hard Iron Man fan. Even that might be a waste of money, but not as much a waste as Iron Man installing roller skates in his boots — see issue #56.

Footnotes:  While Iron Man #55 is considered to be the first appearance of Thanos, he does not truly appear in this issue. The Thanos we see is a robot, and other appearances are in flashback. The first full appearance of Thanos is Captain Marvel #27.

Iron Man #55 was also reprinted in Essential Captain Marvel Vol. #2.

If you like this volume, try: the Thanos Rising story by Jason Aaron and Simone Bianchi. I realize that I am quickly making this review into Essential Thanos Vol. 1, but bear with me. Thanos has become a major player in the Marvel Universe, and now the Marvel Cinematic Universe. With the interest in the character, Aaron and Bianchi visit the origins of the demigod, explaining his childhood and how he came to power. Both creators are at their artistic peaks with this storyline, making the reader feel compassion for what is one of the most-evil villains in the Marvel library.

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Essential Iron Man Vol. 3

Essential Iron Man Vol. 3

First Published: April 2008

Contents: Iron Man #12 (April 1969) to #38 (June 1971); and Daredevil #73 (February 1971)

Key Creator Credits: Archie Goodwin, George Tuska, Gerry Conway, Don Heck, Allyn Brodsky, and others

Key First Appearances: Controller, Crimson Dynamo (III), Madame Masque, Eddie March, Firebrand, Kevin O’Brien, Spymaster, Marianne Rodgers

Story Continues In: Essential Iron Man Vol. 2

Story Continues In: Essential Iron Man Vol. 4

Overview: Every hero has to have a weakness, right? Over at DC Comics, Superman must avoid Kryptonite, Green Lantern is useless against anything yellow, and Aquaman cannot be away from water for very long. At Marvel, Iron Man comes to mind, as Tony Stark has been living on borrowed time with his damaged heart. His armor has kept his heart beating for years. But for all of his money and genius, Stark has never been able to fully repair his heart – until NOW! So let’s dive into Essential Iron Man Vol. 3.

Tony Stark finally decides to scale back his Iron Man life and to live more outside of the armor. He has met the (current) love of his life, Janice Cord, and wants to spend as much of his time with her as possible. That means he is finally ready for that heart transplant, so he doesn’t have to be tied down to the armor so much. The transplant is a success, but circumstances always force Stark back into the armor. Shortly after his surgery, Iron Man has to face off against the Titanium Man and the new Crimson Dynamo. During that battle, Janice Cord is fatally injured, once again throwing Tony’s life into chaos.

Some new faces come into Tony Stark’s life, some more important than others. Boxer Eddie March becomes the next man to wear the Iron Man armor. His run is short-lived, but he will return in later Essential volumes in a freaky appearance. Whitney Frost, whom we met in the last Essential, is injured and forced to hide her scars behind a face plate, becoming Madame Masque. The villain Firebrand shows up for the first time, but he will have a longer (and more important) story arc in the next collection. And Kevin O’Brien is hired on at Stark Industries; in the next collection, he will don a green version of Stark’s armor and will be called Guardsman.

Perhaps the most significant addition would be Marianne Rodgers, who becomes the new romantic interest for Tony. While her first appearance is listed as Iron Man #36, some people believe that she is the “Marion” character from Tales of Suspense #40, who suggested that Iron Man paint his armor some other color besides battleship gray. When she appears in Iron Man #36, it’s implied in the story that they already know each other, Tony starts referring to her as “Honey” within three pages.

What makes this Essential?: I liked this volume, but I am struggling to give this a strong endorsement. Archie Goodwin and George Tuska dominate the first half of this book, and those are good stories. Allyn Brodsky and Gerry Conway take over the writing duties, with art by Don Heck, and I can’t really complain about that. But I keep looking through the book and I can’t imagine wanting to read this again. If I was more of an Iron Man fan, I could envision wanting to get back into these issues. So what to do, what to do….. Definitely, read this if you are a fan of Iron Man. There are some key character introductions that will play important roles in the years to come. For the casual Marvel fan, maybe just flip through this on the side.

Footnotes: Iron Man #35 & #36 and Daredevil #73 are also collected in Essential Daredevil Vol. 3.

If you like this volume, try: reading Iron Man: Demon in a Bottle story by David Michelinie, Bob Layton, and John Romita, Jr. Collecting Iron Man #120 to #128 from 1979, Iron Man is besieged by numerous foes, with someone attempting to take over his armor. As the pressures increase, Tony Stark turns to alcohol. Unfortunately, Stark’s compulsive personality leads him further and further down a dark path. He is forced to turn over his armor to the police, and he must step down as leader of the Avengers. Stark finally bottoms out and recognizes his problem. With the help of Bethany Cabe, Tony goes through a withdrawal and begins the long, slow climb to sobriety. At the time this was created, this wasn’t necessarily written as a long storyline; they were just attempting to tell a good story month after month. It was only after the fact that people began to refer to this story arc as “Demon in the Bottle” (which was the issue name for the final issue in Iron Man #128) In 1984, this was one of the first stories that Marvel ever collected in a trade paperback. It has been reprinted multiple times in multiple formats, and should be easy to find.

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Essential Iron Man Vol. 2

First Published: November 2004

Contents: Iron Man stories from Tales of Suspense #73 (January 1966) to #99 (March 1968); Sub-Mariner story from Tales to Astonish #82 (August 1966); Iron Man & Sub-Mariner #1 (April 1968); and Iron Man #1 (May 1968) to #11 (March 1969)

Key Creator Credits: Stan Lee, Gene Colan, Archie Goodwin, George Tuska, and Johnny Craig

Key First Appearances: Ultimo, Whiplash, Whitney Frost/Countess Giulietta Nefaria, Janice Cord

Story Continues In: Essential Iron Man Vol. 1

Story Continues In: Essential Iron Man Vol. 3

Overview: Welcome back to the world of Iron Man! Tony Stark is a man of many roles — inventor, businessman, playboy, and Avenger. Whether holding off another scheme by the Mandarin, or testifying before Congress, Tony Stark balances the many demands and threats on his life with the charm and suave that makes men jealous and women swoon.

In this volume, we see more of Tony’s ties with Nick Fury and his agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (Supreme Headquarters, International Espionage, Law-Enforcement Division). Tony’s best friend, Happy Hogan, undergoes some freakish changes. And the villain known as Whiplash makes his debut; however, he will rename himself Blacklash in later issues.

Some new ladies come into Tony Stark’s life. First up is Whitney Frost, a.k.a. the Countess Nefaria, the heiress to the Maggia crime family. This puts her at odds with Tony Stark, in and out of his armor. In the next Essential, we see Frost injured in a place crash, forcing her to don a mask to hide her disfigurement and adopt a new identity of Madame Masque. Another character introduced was Janice Cord, Tony’s girlfriend and the daughter of the CEO of Cord Industries, a rival to Stark Industries. Unfortunately, being the girlfriend of a Marvel hero is a hazardous occupation, as we see in Essential Iron Man Vol. 3.

What makes this Essential?:This collection explodes off the page as Gene Colan replaces Don Heck as the Iron Man artist in Tales of Suspense. These stories read quickly, as the stories cram a lot of events into 12 pages of stories. Colan would stay with the character for the remainder of the Tales of Suspense run. (It was also in this era that Colan took over the art duties on Daredevil.) The end of Tales of Suspense marked a lot of changes for the character. Iron Man moved into his own title, and Archie Goodwin replaced Stan Lee as the Iron Man writer. New artists take over from Colan at the same time. Because of the art, I consider this to be a better volume than Essential Iron Man Vol. 1, but so much gets introduced in that first volume that it still remains an essential read.

Footnotes: Tales to Astonish #82 and Tales of Suspense #80 were reprinted in Essential Sub-Mariner Vol. 1

If you like this volume, try: reading S.H.I.E.L.D. by Jonathan Hickman and Dustin Weaver. This series from 2010 explored the history of the S.H.I.E.L.D. organization, with roots back to Leonardo da Vinci and Isaac Newton. While the story jumps around in different eras, the characters from the most current era of the story are Howard Stark (future father of Tony Stark) and Nathaniel Richards (future father of Reed Richards). Hickman creates a wondrous history of an organization designed to protect humanity, and Weavers illustrations are majestic in the scope of the story. Easter eggs are scattered throughout the issues, sure to delight long-time Marvel readers. Hickman and Weaver keep promising to finish up the second volume of S.H.I.E.L.D., so hopefully we will see that later this year.

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Essential Iron Man Vol. 1

Essential Iron Man Vol. 1

Essential Iron Man Vol. 1

First Published: September 2000

Contents: Iron Man stories from Tales of Suspense #39 (March 1963) to #72 (December 1965)

Key Creator Credits: Stan Lee and Don Heck

Key First Appearances: Tony Stark/Iron Man, Professor Ho Yinsen, Wong-Chu, Stark Industries, Kala, Pepper Potts, Happy Hogan, Blizzard (Jack Frost), Anton Vanko/Crimson Dynamo, Senator Harrington Byrd, Melter, Mandarin, Scarecrow, Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow, Unicorn, Clint Barton/Hawkeye, Morgan Stark, Titanium Man

Story Continues In: Essential Iron Man Vol. 2

Overview: In 1963, Stan Lee and Don Heck teamed up to create a modern day knight in the midst of the Cold War. Tony Stark was a weapons manufacturer that had everything he could ever need, with the looks, the women, and the money to do anything. Visiting troops in Viet-Nam to see his weapons in use, Stark is injured in a land-mine explosion, which placed metal shrapnel next to his heart. Captured by the evil warlord Wong-Chu, Stark and Professor Yinsen build a suit out of iron to use in an escape. Stark dons the armor, and Iron Man is born.

Following his return to the United States, we see Tony Stark try to balance his life between his business responsibilities for Stark Industries, and the need to put on the Iron Man armor to fight the super-villains popping up left and right. We meet his closest friends – Happy Hogan serves as Stark’s chauffeur and confidant, and Pepper Potts is his loyal secretary who keeps her love for her boss hidden away. Iron Man is introduced as Tony Stark’s bodyguard, which explains why Iron Man shows up so often when Stark is in danger.

The villains are a mix of Cold War enemies (Crimson Dynamo, Titanium Man, and the Black Widow) and major threats at home (Melter, Blizzard, Unicorn, and Hawkeye). The Black Widow and Hawkeye would later reform their ways, and eventually become loyal members of the Avengers, the super-hero team which Iron Man helped to found and financed for many years. The Avengers make numerous appearances in these stories.

What makes this Essential?: I find myself being more impressed with this volume over time. While the first year of stories are somewhat clunky (no pun intended), it smooths out and finds it’s footing in the following two years. The number of characters created with lasting impact is very remarkable for stories that were 8-to-12 pages per month. You can read these stories and get a solid understanding of all things Iron Man, even more than the later Essential volumes. If you are a fan of Iron Man or the Avengers, pick up this volume.

Shades of Gray: Following in the footsteps of the Incredible Hulk, the first appearance of the Iron Man armor in Tales of Suspense #39 was all gray. In the next issue, the armor was painted in the traditional red and gold.

Footnotes: As time has moved further and further away from the Viet-Nam war era, the origin of Iron Man has been updated to match the current era. The basic storyline remains the same, with Stark being injured and forced to create the armored suit. However, the location has been updated to the first Gulf War in the 1990s, and then to the wilds of Afghanistan in the last decade.

If you like this volume, try: another viewing of the first two Iron Man movies. The origin of Iron Man is visually exciting in the first movie, and the supporting cast with Pepper Potts and Happy Hogan make the Tony Stark aspect of the story just as important as the Iron Man aspect. In the second movie, the Black Widow is introduced, and Anton Vanko was used as a combination of Whiplash and Crimson Dynamo.