The Avengers Meet Sub-Mariner

This is a reprint of Avengers #3.

Crack in the Armor!

Iron Man (secretly Tony Stark) and Giant-Man (Hank Pym) are sparring together to test out Iron Man’s new suit of armor.[1] Despite Giant-Man’s cockiness, Iron Man easily takes him down using a combination of his miniaturized roller skates and repulson blasts.

With the test run over, they hop into a limo provided by Tony Stark.[2] As they head back to Avengers Mansion, Hank asks Iron Man why they are constantly upgrading their powers.[3] Hank worries that it won’t be enough but Iron Man is confident that the Avengers will always rise up to any challenge that comes their way. Giant-Man isn’t so sure.

When they arrive at the mansion, Hank goes in first because Iron Man will be along in a minute. Before Hank goes inside, Iron Man tells him to find a way to deal with his doubt as the pressure it causes is likely to kill him.[4] After rolling up the privacy windows, Tony Stark removes his Iron Man helmet and pours himself a drink. He then toasts the helmet, saying that there is nothing he or Iron Man can’t handle.[5]

Recurring Characters

Iron Man, Giant-Man, Happy Hogan

Continuity Notes

1. This story happens around the time Tony Stark built his 2nd suit of Iron Man armor in Tales of Suspense #48. Here, Hank says that Iron Man has worn three different suits so far. That’s partially correct. There was the original armor he built in Tales of Suspense #39. The “second” suit he is talking about is just the original armor but painted gold, as we saw in Tales of Suspense #40.

2. At the time of this story, it is not common knowledge that Tony Stark and Iron Man are the same person. As per a flashback in Mighty Avengers #21, Pym will later learn Iron Man’s true identity by accident and keep this knowledge a secret for years to come. Stark’s double life first became public knowledge in Iron Man (vol. 3) #55.

3. Here, Giant-Man mentions how he started his career as Ant-Man before becoming Giant-Man shortly thereafter, see Tales to Astonish #35 and 49 respectively. He makes mention how he might create other identities later as he adjusts his powerbase. This is correct, as he will develop three new identity in the future: Goliath in Avengers #28, Yellowjacket in Avengers #59, and he will take up the identity of the Wasp in Secret Invasion: Requiem #1.

4. Tony’s warning to Hank proves valid as Pym will suffer a mental breakdown leading to him becoming Yellowjacket as seen in Avengers #59-60, the first of many mental health issues that Pym will have over the years.

5. This is a reference to Tony Stark’s struggles with alcohol, which are first explored in Iron Man #128.