Iron Man is born!

[iamrman]

Tales of Suspense #39.

Plot by Stan Lee

Script by Larry Lieber

Art by Don Heck

You all know the story by now, millionaire philanthropist Tony Stark is captured and he makes a suit of armour to escape.

Comments

[trooper924]

Very much a product of its time--and not just with the 60s racism, but also in the fact that it's the sort of pro-American/anti-communism material that Marvel often did in its early years before public opinion really turned against Vietnam.

[bravest_spinja]

That Vietnam went horribly wrong is something that could easily dated Iron Man beyond repair, but over time sort added a level of complexity to him, and sadly it wasn't too hard for the movie to update the setting to the War On Terror, of made him fit in with (and reach the popularity of) "original sin" characters like Spider-Man and Wolverine.

Critics of superheroes say they're fascist or super right wing, (When a Dem is President, it's because they operate outside the law, when a Republican is President it's because they uphold the status quo, which probably says a lot to how much of that sentiment is expressed in good faith) but I think it's always interesting that most Communist adversaries never took hold. Largely a lot of Lost Causers or maybe revanchists like Omega Red. They were at their nadir of popularity in the comics in the 50's, and it's funny that moviegoers are losing interest in them around the time the West's relationship with and China and Russia is at its tersist. (Granted, Russia is hardly Communist now, but some have accused Putin of sort of being Soviet brained)