During the Silver Age, most superheroes didn't automatically get their own comic book. Most of them had to get their start elsewhere. In Iron Man's case, his humble beginnings were in the anthology comic book Tales of Suspense. Iron Man and his supporting cast, and even some of his rogues' gallery, were first developed there.
It would take around forty issues before Marvel felt comfortable giving Iron Man his own comic book. But naturally, the hero experienced a number of adventures within Tales of Suspense. What changes did Marvel make to the character? How close is that version of Iron Man to the one that eventually existed within his own comic?
10 Iron Man Painted His Armor Gold When His Girlfriend Suggested It
MCU fans are used to Iron Man's quickened path to his most iconic look, where Stark went from his massive gray armor to a slimmed-down version into the classic red-and-gold suit. But long-time comic fans are aware that Stark went through one other change before hitting the colors everyone knows him for.
In Tales of Suspense #40 by Stan Lee and Don Heck, Iron Man's dull gray armor was swapped for a shiny gold finish, based on the advice of Marion, his girlfriend at the time. Iron Man maintained this look for many of his early adventures, both in his solo adventures and with the Avengers.
9 Iron Man's Biggest Enemy Was Communism
When Tony Stark was introduced, the purpose of the character was to create a character that represented everything Marvel's readers hated. It was a challenge Stan Lee gave to himself, where he'd create a suit-wearing business owner who made weapons and turn him into a fan favorite hero.
But since Iron Man represented the height of capitalism during the Cold War, it meant many of his villains had to represent communism. Some of these characters were winners, like long-time villains Crimson Dynamo and the Titanium Man. Others were losers, like the forgotten villain The Actor.
8 He Shared A Comic With Captain America
Many of Marvel's early comics weren't titled after a specific superhero. Thor came out of Tales to Astonish, while Dr. Strange came out of Strange Tales. Even Spider-Man made his first appearance in an anthology series, Amazing Fantasy.
The names of these titles were meant to draw readers in, but it also meant a comic wasn't tied down to being about a specific hero. Iron Man came from Tales of Suspense, but he wasn't the sole star of the comic. For several years, the Iron Avenger shared the book with Captain America, with his adventures covering the front half of the issue while Cap took over the back half.
7 The First Villain To Discover Iron Man's Identity Was A Common Thief
For decades, Iron Man's identity was kept secret from everyone except his closest allies. Government officials and criminals alike wanted to know who was under the armor, but early on the information was revealed to the most unlikely of sources. In Tales of Suspense #65, a common criminal known as Weasel Willis managed to sneak into Stark Industries' base.
There, he found Tony Stark's famed attaché case and broke into it, not only discovering Iron Man's identity, but stealing the armor as well. With Weasel possessing Iron Man's current armor, Stark was forced to go back to his Golden Armor to battle the theif. The two of them remained in battle for so long that Weasel began to believe he actually was Iron Man, forgetting who he stole the armor from.
6 Tales of Suspense Originally Had No Protagonist
In the case of some comics, a more popular hero comes along to steal the attention away, making the book their own. Detective Comics, for instance, had characters like Slam Bradley and Speed Saunders before Batman came and took away all the attention.
But Tales of Suspense was a book ripe for the taking, as it didn't have a rotating list of protagonists to fill the pages. The issue before Iron Man debuted was about a group of kids who discovered a genie, only to learn that every wish they granted made the planet worse off.
5 Iron Man's Early Adventures Were More Pulp Than Superhero
Iron Man is such an early Marvel Universe character that the Marvel Universe wasn't fully-formed when he was introduced. Stan Lee and Don Heck were able to create a captivating origin story for the Armored Avenger, but what being a superhero meant for the Silver Age hadn't been established yet. Supervillains weren't quite as common in the early issues of Iron Man's time in Tales of Suspense.
Instead, many of Iron Man's early issues featured a bunch of pulp adventures. He battled against aliens who sent a giant robot shaped like a caveman, or traveled to the center of the Earth to protect the planet from an underground kingdom. It would be several issues before Iron Man settled into standard superheroics.
4 Iron Man's Classic Armor Made Its Debut In Tales Of Suspense #85
When people think about Iron Man's many upgrades, they think about the Bronze Age for the character. David Michelinie and Bob Layton created the idea of Iron Man having specialized armors for specific situations, like stealth or hydro suits.
Early on, much of Iron Man's upgrades weren't cosmetic, but came down to him saying he'd upgraded his armor without the look changing. Still, by Tales of Suspense #85, by Stan Lee and Gene Colan, the character had his Classic Red-and-Gold look after being forced to upgrade so he could properly take on the Mandarin.
3 Tony Stark's Close Connection With Shield Started In Tales Of Suspense
Much like he did in the MCU, Stark has had a close connection with SHIELD since the beginning. Because Stark was still designing weapons for America, the super-spy organization began showing up more frequently in his adventures.
In Tales of Suspense #95, from Stan Lee and Gene Colan, Iron Man was connected with the SHIELD liaison Jasper Sitwell, who served as a secondary bodyguard for Tony Stark. Stark's connection with SHIELD remained until he stopped building weapons for them in the late '70s. After a failed attempt to take over Stark Industries, Nick Fury and SHIELD pulled out of Stark's affairs.
2 Iron Man's Process Was Extensively Covered In Tales Of Suspense #56
One thing that set Tony Stark apart from other heroes at the time was how all of his powers came from technology. Even human characters like Batman largely relied on their training, but for Stark, the powers were in the armor, so every few issues there were extensive armoring scenes.
The technology was all comic science, with the armor fitting onto Stark like clothing until it was properly polarized and became hard like armor. Stane Lee and Don Heck even created an entire mini-comic showing off the armoring up process in Tales of Suspense #56, explaining exactly how it all worked.
1 Hawkeye Also Made His Debut In Tales Of Suspense
Long before Hawkeye was an Avenger, he was one of Iron Man's most challenging foes. The character made his first appearance in Tales of Suspense #57 by Stan Lee and Don Heck. Though he intended to be a superhero, Hawkeye's actions early on were misconstrued and led people to believe he was actually a villain.
Iron Man made multiple attempts to stop Hawkeye, but each time Hawkeye managed to get away thanks to his variety of powerful arrows. Only in the Silver Age would someone as weak as Hawkeye not only prove a challenge to Iron Man, but leave him running away after he'd successfully melted his armor.