Marvel Masterworks: The Invincible Iron Man, Volume 1

Marvel Masterworks: The Invincible Iron Man

by Stan Lee, Larry Lieber, Robert Bernstein

In 1963, Marvel had hit after hit, bringing new characters to a public ready for heroes with feet of clay. None that touched both that heroic ideal and human reality like Iron Man! A jet-setter, playboy, and brilliant scientist, Tony Stark's life changed forever when a battlefield explosion ripped into his heart. Only the amazing Iron Man armor could keep him alive! Led by Stan Lee, artists Don Heck, Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko bring you the birth of a cultural icon. You'll see the ever-evolving Iron Man armor in development, the first appearance of classic characters from Happy Hogan and Pepper Potts to the Crimson Dynamo and the Mandarin, and much, much more!

COLLECTING: TALES OF SUSPENSE 39-50

Genres: Comics, Marvel, Graphic Novels, Superheroes, Fiction, Science Fiction, Graphic Novels Comics

208 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 1992

About the author

Stan Lee (born Stanley Martin Lieber) was an American writer, editor, creator of comic book superheroes, and the former president and chairman of Marvel Comics.

With several artist co-creators, most notably Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko, he co-created Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four, Thor as a superhero, the X-Men, Iron Man, the Hulk, Daredevil, the Silver Surfer, Dr. Strange, Ant-Man and the Wasp, Scarlet Witch, The Inhumans, and many other characters, introducing complex, naturalistic characters and a thoroughly shared universe into superhero comic books. He subsequently led the expansion of Marvel Comics from a small division of a publishing house to a large multimedia corporation.

Reviews

[Jim Ef · Rating 2 out of 5]

4.7/10
This is very dated.
If you are a big Iron Man fan then you can give this one a go, mostly for historical reasons.

Iron Man's origin, the change of colour of the suit ( and the reason ), the first appearance of Happy and Pepper are among the good things you can read here.
The down side is that the stories are a product of the time and you can tell. Definitely not as enjoyable now as they were back in the day.

I would recommend this to Iron Man fans only.

[Dave · Rating 4 out of 5]

Collecting issues #39-50 of Tales of Suspense we get the first 11 issues featuring the Golden Avenger from his origin through stories featuring his most infamous villains such as Jack Frost ( who later becomes The Blizzard), The Crimson Dynamo, The Melter, and The Mandarin.
I always liked Iron-Man and it was enjoyable to read g the these historic issues for my first time. My good friend Steven loaned me the book and I carved out the time to get to them finally.

[Chelsea 🏳️‍🌈 · Rating 2 out of 5]

This suffers from a case of the 1960's and some pretty meh writing.

It's important for me to see where my favorite characters started out. Unfortunately, I read this after reading some pretty great Avengers comics. Similar time periods but that one managed to have so much excitement and character. Iron Man/Tony Stark are very interesting characters but these issues don't use him very well.

I love Tony Stark for his brain, strategy, self-sacrificing nature and the protectiveness he has over his friends and employees. These issues only moderately showcase that. Most of these seem too focused on his enemies with little snippets of Tony. In some ways, I felt like I was getting more of them and Happy and Pepper's bickering than I was getting of Tony.

That being said, I appreciated Tony's introspection. Some nice things were done to show the hardship he suffered because of his chest plate.

I own collections with some of the next issues and I know they're much better than these. I'm bummed Iron Man had such a lackluster beginning.

[Maggie · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.3

[Aaron · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first 12 issues of Tales of Suspense which introduced Iron Man, from 1963. Tony Stark, rich industrialist, is captured by the tyrant Wong-Chu in Vietnam while demonstrating one of his inventions for the U.S. military. A landmine goes off, placing shrapnel near Stark's heart and putting him at his captor's mercy. He is forced to make weapons but instead creates a gadget-laden iron suit which both saves his life and allows him to escape. Stark later upgrades the bulky gray suit to a bulky yellow suit, and then to his classic trim red-and-yellow suit in issue 48. In later issues, the supporting characters of Pepper Potts and Happy Hogan are introduced, Stark has a run-in with the X-Man Angel, and classic Iron Man villains such as the Crimson Dynamo and the Mandarin rise from the Communist countries to threaten Stark's and America's interests.

More enjoyable Silver Age weirdness in my trip through the beginnings of all of the original Avengers. Again (as with Thor) it feels like Stan Lee unduly forces Stark to remain a secret identity in order to facilitate a love triangle between Stark, Happy, and Pepper. Iron Man finds some long-lasting enemies in this first volume, but he also fights some lame ones like the Queen of the Netherworld, Mister Doll, and Jack Frost. Iron Man feels like the most dated of all of the Silver Age Marvel heroes I've read so far, mainly due to his reliance on super-science that makes little sense in a modern context. Stark relies on transistors and magnets (and wall outlets!) to power his suit, all of which I'm sure were more mysterious back then than they are today. The Iron Man of today always seems plausible and on the bleeding edge of what might be real (assisted greatly by the recent films), but it does lead me to wonder how dated the technology of today's Iron Man might appear years from now.

[Pranay · Rating 3 out of 5]

The origin of Iron Man is interesting. It also includes the origin of other well known characters as well like Dr. Strange, The Mandarin and Pepper Potts.
Comics especially Marvel kept breaking the fourth wall and talking to the readers which now feels childish but ofcourse at that time they were talking to kids and building loyalty.
In these stories written in sixties, every one is either good or bad. No grey characters. Typecasting anyone non white as evil or a despot trying to rule the world. (Hey, that was sixties America at that time.)


For me, it was good to know how the story tropes were so simple, sometimes predictable and text heavy during the sixties comics.
I enjoyed the art of legends like Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko and the transition of Iron Man's suit from dull gray to the bright colourful red and gold/yellow.

[Steve · Rating 3 out of 5]

A few years back I took advantage of a huge sale and bought a whole bunch of Marvel Masterworks collections for Kindle. I'm finally trying to catch up on reading them.

This one collects the first 13 Iron Man stories from 1962 and 1963. While not as half-assed as the earliest Thor stories, these were not assembled with as much care and invention as Marvel was devoting to the Fantastic Four, Spider-Man, or the Hulk in the early days. The creative team on these books changed virtually every month, but that makes for some great artwork to study all these years later. Jack Kirby, Don Heck, and Steve Ditko took turns drawing Iron Man, while Larry Leiber, some guy named Robert Bernstein, and Stan Lee himself wrote the words based ostensibly on Lee's plots.

Iron Man's origin story was changed only slightly when they made the first movie only (gulp) 17 years ago. It was set in Vietnam the first time, but the gist of a bad guy capturing Tony Stark and forcing him to labor with another scientist to create weapons before he would die from shrapnel near his heart, but Stark created his superhero armor while the bad guy wasn't looking, is the same. Ah, well, I rarely actually enjoy reading origin stories.

Things stayed crazy for a while, as Iron Man had to worry about space aliens (who thought he was one of many similar protectors of Earth), a guy named Dr. Strange whose name would be recycled later, a guy named Mr. Doll whose power was like that of the Puppet Master only with a single puppet he could reshape in seconds, the first appearance of the Melter whose power was literally that of melting iron, making him pretty deadly to our hero until Stark remade his suit of aluminum, a battle with the Angel of the X-Men who had temporarily gone evil after flying over an atomic test at Stark labs, and the first appearance of the Mandarin, a villain with racist origins who was somewhat different than the tropes might indicate.

I owned many of these back in the seventies, when I could buy back issues of these books for under $5 apiece. But I think there were a couple I hadn't read before, and the rest I had mostly forgotten. So, it was a diverting look at the early days of Marvel Comics when it was by no means certain they would actually take over the world of popular culture later.

[Alex Andrasik · Rating 4 out of 5]

You know, these early shellhead stories are pretty good! AMong what I've read so far, I'd place it solidly just below Fantastic Four and Spider-Man, maybe slightly above the Hulk, and way ahead of Ant-Man, Thor, and the Torch. These stories have a little more unique character and pizzazz, benefiting from the industrial milieu, Tony Stark's unapologetic playboy persona, and pleasantly melodramatic twist of his heart in constant need of recharging--an effective, plausible weakness to limit our hero's invulnerability and ingeniousness. Heck, even the early Larry Lieber-scripted issues aren't as hackneyed as his work elsewhere.

A lot of these stories lean on the old anti-communist tropes comics relied on in the 60s, with some unfortunate and unflattering Asian stereotypes, in particular. What the Iron Man stories do better than most, though, is to give their "commie baddies" a little character--not particularly deep or flattering character, but an improvement nonetheless over the usual faceless, moustache-twirling one-offs. The communist saboteurs Iron Man battles reveal the suspicion and backbiting that American observers attributed to the Soviet society and power structure; though these are stereotypical depictions, they actual help to endear the villains to this reader--it builds empathy for me to see the results of the supposedly corrupt society these people have to endure. There are a couple of occasions where these comics comment on the difficult circumstances of people living and working in the East, actually inviting the reader to avoid simple condemnation. It might be empathy built on simplistic propaganda, but it's a step.

Much of the art is handled by Don Heck, whom I continue to appreciate. He renders a slick, debonair Tony Stark who suits Stan's stated inspiration, Howard Hughes. A couple of issues feature Steve Ditko art, including one that debuts Stark's first major armor redesign (the red-and-gold that would provide the template for most subsequent models), and those are great too.

BRING ON THE BAD GUYS: Not a ton of classic villains debut here, with a few notable exceptions: the Melter is the stuff of solid B-villainy, with his oddly specific gadget-based melting powers, and would go on to feature in a couple incarnations of the Avengers' opposite number, the Masters of Evil. The Crimson Dynamo embodies the Soviet neuroses noted above, and would go on to be one of Tony's most enduring foes. And then there's the Mandarin, appearing in the final issue of this collection in an oddly abrupt-ending debut for the man who would one day (sometimes) transcend the gross Asian stereotypes and become Iron Man's arch enemy. You know what, I'm also fond of Jack Frost, the ice-flinging corporate saboteur who first appeared in the same month as the mutant Iceman; where that young hero has an almost cuddly snowman-esque appearance, Frost sports a hard, harsh, almost counter-cultural spiky look. I'm into it. The big prize for the loser of this collection is the "dreaded" Mr. Doll, he of the fetishy headgear and the slighty kinky, pain-based alternative to the Puppet Master model of villainy. Apparently he was supposed to be called "Mr. Pain," but the Comics Code Authority put the kibosh on that--but really, the team must not have tried very hard to come up with an alternative. I can't say I blame them; I'd be pretty over it if I got all done with a script or a whole issue and suddenly learned I'd have to alter a central character. But still--stupid name, stupid power, stupid look.

LADYWATCH: You know what? I don't know if this is a popular opinion, but I think Pepper Potts may be the most successful female character in the Marvel Universe so far. At least at first. She's feisty and independent and doesn't take any guff, and at least at first isn't all love-lorn. She's depicted as being protective of Tony in an almost motherly way, and her repartee with Happy Hogan is often delightful. Even after she decides she's secretly in love with Tony, she doesn't become the fluffy, one-note female of a Jane Foster. Sadly, I think Pepper is actually the only named, recurring female character in these issues, so the comic as a whole doesn't get a passing grade here.

SUPERHERO TEAMUP: The X-Men's Angel appears in a ridiculous little story where he gets exposed to radiation and turns evil. He and Tony fight and then Angel's natural goodness reasserts itself and they have a sweet little rapprochement. I wonder if anyone ever mentions this ever again. The rest of the X-Men appear (Prof. X has a brief crisis of conscience over Angel's betrayal, giving him a neat mini-arc), and the Avengers appear briefly as well.

COSMIC ENCOUNTERS: None, really (oh, I think there's the requisite anonymous alien invasion issue), though there is an inexplicable time travel story that exists as an opportunity for Tony to charm Cleopatra.

CONTINUITY NOTES: During this collection, Iron Man becomes a founding member of the Avengers; though that event goes without reference, the Avengers do make a cameo, as mentioned above. Problem: the Hulk is depicted as a member, and Hank Pym is depicted as Giant-Man, and Iron Man is in his Mark-2 armor; it is not possible that all three of these things co-occur. Since Stan Lee was writing all the titles involved, and was certainly the editor of all three, I'd be fascinated to learn the vagaries of scheduling and the order of writing that led to that inconsistency.

[Val Cuellar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ugh, I hated the way they wrote Pepper... ok, it was the 60’s, but to read that nowadays... meh.

[Jeffrey Greek · Rating 2 out of 5]

Let's face it, all early Silver Age comics are pretty dumb. They just are. I still love em, but, c'mon. But early Iron Man? Holy crap. They are really, really, really, really, really dumb. I don't know what it is about the leap to the "Marvel Age" of comics, but, just like with Thor, the quality improves dramatically.

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having always been fairly impartial to Iron Man, it was enjoyable to read these early adventures of the Golden Gladiator.

The stories keep getting better as the billionaire playboy with the broken heart battles a rogue's gallery of fascinating foes - including the Crimson Dynamo, the infamous Mandarin, and even one of the X-Men! A few issues in, his sidekicks Happy Hogan and Pepper Potts are introduced, and this adds a romantic, and often really funny dynamic.

There are some negatives like the misogynist depiction of Pepper, the racially insensitive view of Eastern cultures, and the inescapable fact that Tony Stark built his wealth by selling weapons to the Pentagon. But these stories were written around 1963, during the Cold War, and they definitely weren't trying to solve the problems of the world. So, although it is fun superhero storytelling, there are actually many layers to peel back if readers wanted to analyze the world of Tony Stark through a political lens.

[Krista · Rating 3 out of 5]

A great collection of classic Iron Man comics. A little cheesy at times, but that's the genre and the times they were written in. It's interesting, coming from the MCU side of things first, seeing the comics origin of certain characters I've seen come to life in the movies. Every era has its own particular fears and battles - Communism after emerging from WWII, the atomic and nuclear arms race, and tensions with Russia, for example, in this collection. But the characters remain timeless, and the read still enjoyable. Thank you, Stan Lee, and all those who made these comics possible!

[B.A.G. Studios · Rating 3 out of 5]

I struggle with older comics. It’s difficult for me to find the rhythm. So do take this with a grain of salt, I’m not the definitive opinion by any wildest stretch of the imagination.
But this was fine. I liked this well enough.
There are a few issues in particular which stand out. Crimson Dynamo’s issue (#46) and the Mandarin issue (#50) are the best of the bunch I’d say, with the Jack Frost one (#45) close behind.
Tony feels totally different from the character I know. I’m the plebeian who only knows the movies, this is (I think) the only time I’ve read Iron Man in anything aside from Ultimates. Very different person here. I like it for the time, I’m glad he evolved into something else. Though I like how Howard Stark in the MCU is very much like this version of Tony, that’s a fun homage.
The art is consistent, and obviously ignoring the fairly sizable amount of culturally insensitive material found within (it was 1963, there was a war on, I think “It was a different time” is actually applicable here; that said, while we’re on the subject, even for the time, some of these thought balloons for Pepper are cringe-inducing), overall I do enjoy the quality of the art. Don Heck is actually one of my favorite early marvel artists, and I like Ditko’s style in his work here better for Iron Man than I actually do for his Spider-Man. I’m not sure how inflammatory of an opinion that is, but I’m not actually a huge fan of his Spider-Man while I very much liked his Iron Man. What can I say… I’m weird.
Its era really holds it back in my view. Not its fault, it’s my fault, but I can only call it how I see it — and sometimes my vision ain’t the best.

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

Early episodes introducing the character of Iron Man. We learn that while helping create weaponry for the military, millionaire inventor/playboy Anthony Stark is injured and kidnapped. Shrapnel lodges in his chest and will eventually travel to his heart and kill him. His captors (communists?) tell him to create a weapon for them and they'll save him, but instead he creates an iron chest piece that magnetically stops the shrapnel from moving, as well as an iron suit full of his own weaponry. He uses it to escape, but even after returning home, he is unable to remove the chest piece without risking death. Now armed with his suit, he travels throughout the world and even through time, battling different villains who pose a threat to America and the human population in general.

As is usually the case with earlier comics, they're all very simple and follow an predictable pattern. A villain is introduced and within 13 to 18 pages, Iron Man has conquered them. There aren't many twists and turns, or much character development. Still, a fun history lesson from Stan Lee.

[Glen Engel-Cox · Rating 2 out of 5]

Truth to be told, Iron Man was among my least favorite Marvel superheroes. He always felt gimmicky to me, with some new device or gadget in his iron armor that served as a deus ex machine to whatever latest foe had to throw at him, kind of like Batman’s utility belt of never-ending Bat-Devices. The only storyline I remember liking was a mid-80s section where Tony Stark fell into alcoholism and that ruined his life both as a billionaire industrialist and superhero. Reading these early issues of Iron Man didn’t dispel that impression. Most of these stories are forgettable, even as they establish the character and his world. The things that stand out are why Stark switches from his initial grey armor into a golden suit, the introduction of the very important supporting characters of Happy and Pepper, and the introduction of the Crimson Dynamo and Black Widow. Still, though, likely of interest only to the completist.

[Garrett Emile · Rating 3 out of 5]

Iron man’s first appearances. I think it’s important to check out older stories, the foundations of what we have today. (Such as the MCU) And it’s great collection books like this that make reading easier.

Most of the stories do boil down to Tony stark, a billionaire, inventor, and ladies man, using his tech to fight bad guys.
Being the original comics, Tony stark’s nuance hasn’t really been developed. I enjoyed reading, but I didn’t really feel invested. Although that has more to do with me reading 60 years after it was written, and being the product of a different generation.

On the subject of a different generation, I should mention the racism. I think it’s important to read older stories, and I have made an effort to do so.
So I shouldn’t be surprised when I encounter something from a different time.
But on the other hand, I feel that I have to say something, because holy “racist caricatures” Batman. (Marvel/DC Pun intended)

[Robert W. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I never read Iron Man when I was a kid, being more of a DC fan than a Marvel reader. But I enjoyed Robert Downey Jr.'s portrayal of Iron Man in the movies so much that I wanted to read some of the comics. Enter Marvel Masterworks! This volume contains the first dozen or so complete comic adventures of Iron Man, and to tell the truth, they were fairly bad, being born of the imaginations of the early 1960s, but there was something about the innocence of their badness that was captivating. I enjoyed this book quite a bit, and if I were a younger man, I'd be going on to complete the whole series.

[Rocío · Rating 3 out of 5]

Estoy en un punto en el que siento que digo lo mismo en todas las reseñas de los comics de los 60, pero es que todos son más o menos iguales en el sentido de que todos siguen la misma fórmula. Algunos son más entretenidos que otros, pero ninguno es genial.

Lo que me gustó de éste es poder los inicios de Tony Stark, cómo terminó con la armadura, el hecho de que al principio no fue roja y dorada, sino que al principio fue gris, después dorada y recién después roja y dorada.

La trama con los comunistas ya me tiene podrida. Entiendo que estaban en la guerra fría y todo lo que quieran, pero ya cansa. Me gustó que no hicieron de Pepper una boluda, y como pelea con Happy.

[Gregu]

So I've been planning on reading through the older Marvel comic books, and Iron Man origins seems to be as good of a choice to start as any. So, here we go.

First of all, these comics are clearly product of their times. Sexism, and racial insensivity are all accounted for here. On top that, uneven writing and Almighty Transistors (I realize transistors were a fairly new concept back then, but seriously). That and some plotholes.

I know I might be making it sound like I didn't like this volume, but that's not necessarily true. As cheesy the writing gets, it was still enjoyable.

[Mei Ridorsa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Vindria a passar el que passa amb els còmics d'aquella època. Tenen el seu encant, però cada número té la mateixa estructura, els personatges diuen en veu alta tot el que pensen, es reiteren les coses 1000 vegades, etc. A més, la majoria d'històries són: millonari americà bo, comunistes estrangers dolents, sense donar més profunditat a l'assumpte.

Tot i així, val la pena visitar-ho per conèixer els origens d'Iron Man, dels seus villans i també els primers crossovers amb altres equips. Té la seva gràcia.

[Jeff Bleyle · Rating 3 out of 5]

These early Iron Man tales pale a bit in comparison to stories of other Marvel characters from the same era such as Spider-Man and The Fantastic Four. Stan Lee was less directly involved with most of the stories in this volume providing story outlines while handing off the writing to other members of the creative team in the Marvel bullpen. Not surprising that the best episodes here are the ones where Lee is solely credited with the story.

[Frank · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great pop-art of the 60s comics in the awesome marvel style are the highlight of the early Iron Man stories in Tales of Suspense. Kirby, Ditko, Heck, and the gang, were second to none in grabbing a readers attention with their awesome pencil work and flashy inks. The colors were dazzling as well. Stan the Man's scripts were a bit on the corny side (must not forget who the intended audience these were written for) but still fun and adventuresome.

[Daniella Holder · Rating 3 out of 5]

Didn't read ALL of them but got over halfway through before I decided to give it a miss.

This collection is better than most of the other Marvel I've read so far (not that much) but definitely nowhere near the amazingness that was Spider-man. We've got high standards now and they've got to try and step up to them.

Still was fun though, just was so much science and engineering mentioned in each one it was getting a little bit much.

[Your_Average_Magical_Girls_Fan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pure Silver Age era awesomeness. I'll take Iron Man thrashing ancient egyptian forces on roller skates anytime over unnecessarily schizofrenic, violent, faux "dark and edgy" characters. All Hail the Silver Age! P.S. Thanks Steve Ditko for giving us the definitive Iron Man look, between all the things you did for Marvel.

[Glenn Lawrence · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must read for fans of Iron Man. Volume 1 takes us back to the inception of Iron Man and his rapid transformation over those earliest of issues. For some readers, the stories might seem a bit dated, but they provide an excellent foundation for those who would fully appreciate the character in his modern incarnation. Truly, the Golden Age of comics at its best!!!

[Christopher · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great way to get aquatinted with Iron Man comics. This collected books covers the early days of Iron Man and flushes out his world. This collected comic includes; the first appearance of Pepper Pots and Happy Hogan, the fist appearance of Iron Man’s red and yellow costume, as well the first appearance of The Mandarin.

[DOUGLAS J BERRY · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gray, gold ,then red and gold.

Good color artwork. Asians are drawn propaganda style? Introducing happy and pepper. The Mandarin gets a brief introduction. Crimson dynamo appears. The evil Dr strange is odd? The gold spray paint is an odd concept. But a lot of comic book for 12 cents?

[Lori CucVig · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dalle origini fino a conoscere vendicatori, Vedova Nera ed Occhio di Falco. Dall'armatura a "caldaia" a quella ora più conosciuta. Una bella raccolta progressiva. L'identità del nostro Iron Man è ancora celata, ma qualche sentimento si smuove sotto quella piastra toracica. Stavamo per entrare nel vero conflitto emozionale. Vedremo...

[Jdetrick · Rating 2 out of 5]

These older comics are interesting more for their historical value than for the stories. They are not very good, and you can tell that they weren't really comics that had Stan Lee's full attention.

[Reading · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun to watch Iron Man evolve through the first few suits. Fun to see how much of what ended up in the movies is already here in the early 60s. Fun to see Happy being a dope.

Not so fun to see how sexist Pepper Pots is portrayed, and the one note commie villains are really yawn educing.