Customer Reviews

Invincible Iron Man, Vol. 1 (Marvel Masterworks)

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Recently, Marvel has begun printing a good portion of their hardcover Masterwork volumes (which reprint the earliest adventures of their classic heroes) in a cheaper, paperback format. In this volume are 12 stories from Tales of Suspense, where our hero made his debut.

Tales of Suspense #39 - "Iron Man is Born"

Here it is, the dramatic origin. It's pretty much just like in the movie, except the location was moved to Afghanistan instead of Vietnam and the arc reactor was actually a transistorized metal plate. The scene where Stark rises up for the first time in his new armor is very striking and memorable.

Tales of Suspense #40 - "Iron Man vs. Gargantus"

In this issue Iron Man battles a giant, robotic Neanderthal sent to conquer earth by extraterrestrials. It is notable only because it is also the first appearance of Iron Man's gold armor. As an added bonus, however, we are introduced to Stark Patent No. 030: Motorized Roller Skates to speed up move troops!

Tales of Suspense #41 - "The Stronghold of Dr. Strange"

This story details what happens when Iron Man meets the dastardly Dr. Strange (not to be confused with the Master of the Mystic Arts). No, this guy is just your standard ego-maniacal bozo with a secret island fortress stocked with atomic bombs. The fight scene is pretty weak, lasting a whole 2 pages, and at the end Dr. Strange just escapes (never to be heard from again). Also, be sure to check out Stark Patent No. 411: A machine gun that shoots artillery shells!

Tales of Suspense #42 - "Trapped by the Red Barbarian"

Iron man is called into crush a Commie spy-ring led by the Red Barbarian. Stark Patent No. 672 figures greatly in this tale: a real-life Disintegrator Ray!

Tales of Suspense #43 - "Iron Man vs. Kala, Queen of the Netherworld"

Iron Man takes a trip to the Netherworld and has to prevent an Atlantean army from invading the surface. There were a lot of these types of characters showing up in early Marvel history (Mole Man for the Fantastic Four and Tyrannus for the Hulk), but they can't all be winners. One highlight, though, is Stark Patent No. 502: Nuclear Clippers that can carve through solid rock!

Tales of Suspense #44 - "The Mad Pharaoh"

Iron Man goes back in time to ancient Egypt to protect Cleopatra from an evil wizard. Unfortunately, Marvel already had a much better Egyptian-themed villain in Rama-Tut (a time-traveling despot who sets himself up in Egypt as related in Fantastic Four #19). We do get a sneak peek, however, at Stark Patent No. 127: X-Ray Goggles that can see through stone!

Tales of Suspense #45 - "The Icy Fingers of Jack Frost"

A deranged scientist tries to steal the secret's of Stark's transistor technology, but is stopped by Iron Man. The doctor swears revenge, and goes on to invent an ice-suit that protects him from gunfire and allows him to project cold rays. Starting a trend that continues on for the next few issues, he swears revenge against Iron Man and starts attacking Stark Industry factories. Incidentally, this issue also serves to introduce us to two familiar members of the supporting cast - Happy Hogan and Pepper Pots.

Tales of Suspense #46 - "Iron Man Faces the Crimson Dynamo"

Those dastardly Commies raise their ugly heads again. This time around they send out the Crimson Dynamo (basically a Soviet knockoff of Iron Man) to sabotage Stark's factories. Of course this scheme backfires, and Iron Man even gets the guy a job at Stark Industries. This character, by the way, is who the main villain of Iron Man 2 was loosely based on.

Tales of Suspense #47 - "Iron Man Battles the Melter"

So you've just invented a ray that melts iron. Do you A) patent it and sell it to the highest bidder, or B) put on a fruity costume and swear revenge against the whole world? Well, if you're the Melter you choose the latter option and end up getting beat up by Iron Man.

Tales of Suspense #48 - "The Mysterious Mr. Doll"

Mr. Doll's evil schtick is that he makes a voodoo doll of you, then threatens to maim it if you don't fork over your cash. Basically, he is a cheap imitation of the Puppet Master (from the Fantastic Four's comic). This issue's main claim to fame is as the first appearance of Iron Man's more familiar red-and-gold armor.

Tales of Suspense #49 - "The New Iron Man Meets the Angel"

This is essentially an all-out slugfest issue. It seems that while flying over a Stark Industries factory, a nuclear test is conducted and the Angel (from the X-Men) is turned evil by the radiation. Tony Stark feels like he's to blame so he sets out to bring the now marauding Angel in. First the Angel beats up the entire X-Men team, then he goes toe-to-toe with Iron Man in the air. Needless to say, everything works out in the end.

Tales of Suspense #50 - "The Hands of the Mandarin"

This issue introduces us to the Mandarin, one of Iron Man's most powerful and persistent enemies (and my hands down favorite for the 3rd movie villain). He's basically modeled on Sax Rohmer's yellow menace character Fu Manchu. Iron Man's battle takes up a good 8 pages of the story, but you're still left wanting more because it ends in a stalemate. For those not in the know, the Mandarin has ten power rings on his fingers, each able to shoot a ray with different effects.

Overall, I liked this collection a lot. The first six stories (13-pages each) utilize familiar tropes of the old Tales of Suspense mold - alien races and menacing monsters. The second six stories (18-pages each) finally enter into the new Marvel Age by introducing interesting challenges and memorable supervillains for our hero. It is fun to see the progression of the character, and all the changes just make you want to see what happens next.

Excellent for any Titanic True Beleiver (T.T.B.)and former members of the
M.M.M.S. Re-live the wonderful Silver Age of Marvel comics. Though simple
maybe even primitive by more contemporary standards, these are the stories
and the artwork that made comics great. Soft bound format makes this a book
you can enjoy for it's price point. We can all be reminded in these stories
of a simpler time, both for ourselves and for society.

I understand this is a very old title in the history of Marvel, but it had its pros and cons. It had a very nice 1st issue that you should truly enjoy and be inspired by, but the rest in my opinion is too lackluster. When action happened, Iron Man would not throw a single punch, but rather use his various scientific contraptions. In this way, it did not excite. For true Iron Man fans unlike myself, it may be worth owning.
The best part of this book is the storyline. It goes through the transitional process of his armor, how it goes from grey to gold to the more modern armor.

The concepts of a mechanical man and the use of armor in battle have been with humans for a long time. Therefore, the development of the Iron Man comic character was probably one of the most natural that could have been created. This book contains the first episodes of the Iron Man character that appeared in "Tales of Suspense" Nos. 39-50. Initially considered an experiment by the Marvel people, it took some time before he was given his own comic.
The modern reader will encounter the simple-minded treatment of the "evil commies" and consider it absurd, which it is in retrospect. However, it is also a look back into the collective mindset of the early sixties, when most people in the United States thought that way. As brutal as it was, the Vietnam War did alter the collective thought processes of the American public for the better.
The original Iron Man was drawn as a behemoth, gray in color, stolid in appearance, looking like a metallic gorilla. Fortunately, Stan Lee and company realized that his attire was not that befitting a super hero and they first changed the color of the armor and then completely redid it into a much more stylistic and body-fitting format.
As should be the case, all of the villains are powerful, albeit predictable in the sense that they believe themselves to be invincible. Although it is corny in retrospect, my favorite story is the first one that describes the origin of Iron Man. I read all of these stories when they hit the newsstand for the first time and can remember how enthralled I was at the character. For, unlike most of the other superheroes and their powers, Iron Man is one that could be you, if you only have enough technical knowledge to construct the armor. As technology continues to advance, there is little doubt that some day there will be body suits like that worn by Iron Man.