Writer: Stan Lee
Artist: Dick Ayers
“The Threat of the Torrid Twosome”
December 10, 1962
Finally! One of the dumbest ideas in this comic is put to rest – Johnny’s “secret identity”. I know that for a while there, they were trying to give Johnny a sense of a normal life and all in Glenville, but it never really made sense that a maskless individual who was part of the world’s greatest superhero team was not known to the general world at large made no sense.
Johnny is approached by an acrobat named Zante who propositions Johnny to join his team as a pair of crime fighters. He plays on Johnny’s ego by telling him how he is usually the one who rounds up the villains in the FF’s adventures. He also points out that Johnny receives nothing for his efforts. Johnny goes to Reed to demand a salary and is disappointed when Reed turns him down.
With that in mind, Johnny joins forces with Zante. His first assignment? Rescue a man trapped in a bank vault. But when Johnny burns through the vault door, he finds no one there. Zante subdues Johnny not only with liquid asbestos, but he shoots, with a bullet-driven gun, Johnny.
Zante escapes but is quickly caught by the rest of the FF. Johnny, though wounded, wants his shot at taking down Zante. The acrobat races up a building that Johnny tries to fly up, but his wounded arm throws off his flight. He makes it past Zante and heats the metal of the fire escape. Zante is forced to fall and is caught by Mr. Fantastic.
Johnny tries to explain he knew it was a fake all along, but clearly, the others aren’t buying it. They welcome him back into their ranks as they walk off into the sunset. This was a better story than others in this series, but I do think that’s in large part to having the entire team there helping Johnny out. In fact, the front cover proclaims it’s the first appearance of the entire team. Makes you wonder why bother than with a solo Johnny Storm comic? Unfortunately, we have 28 more issues before he moves out.
Writer: Stan Lee
Scripter: Larry D. Lieber
Artist: Don Heck
Letterer: Artie Simek
“Iron Man is Born”
December 10, 1962
It’s funny, but in many ways, this is the most iconic of the Marvel superhero origins. Playboy millionaire and government weapons manufacturer Tony Stark is given a new lease and view on life when he designs a suit of armor that not only keeps him alive but also gives him the ability to fight crime. It’s not exactly Batman, is it?
Right off the bat, I had to laugh at the splash page with a great image of Iron Man with Stan’s text – “Watch his awesome approach! Listen to his ponderous steps as he lumbers closer…closer…” Not exactly the Iron Man we know now, especially the one in the movies where his parts are flying to him. I know Stan was trying to show what an imposing figure Iron Man is as he moves, but considering how he is portrayed now, it just gives the image of a lumbering tank.
What I find most interesting about this origin story is how much the original movie took from the origin. I don’t think I ever read this before or certainly didn’t read it in any detail, but the beats are all there. The only thing missing from this is the arrogance. Tony doesn’t come across as arrogant here as he does in the movie. And of course, there is the time distance. It’s the ’60s here, obviously, and it’s Vietnam instead of Afghanistan as in the movie. Tony is not just selling weapons, but rather transistors so small, it could make for smaller weaponry and vehicles that could penetrate the jungles of Vietnam with ease.
And finally, there’s the ending as Iron Man walks off. No propulsion. And we are left with the idea that he is trapped in the suit, needed to keep him alive past the point that the shrapnel that is moving toward his heart hits its target. It’s an interesting premise and I’m really curious to see how we get to the point where he can remove the suit for a time. Is it similar to what we see in the movie?
This is my first story with art not be Jack Kirby or Steve Ditko and I’m fine with that. I seem to recall there will be some artists coming up whose work I’m not impressed with because it seems rather rushed. That is not the case here. The splash page is excellent and the other images of Iron Man give the impression of power and strength that Stan then imparts with the actions as written.
Iron Man happens to be one of my favorite characters in the Marvel universe, so I’m really looking forward to watching this story unfold in my read-through. I’m also looking forward to his part in creating the Avengers, my all-time favorite hero team.
