Iron Man: The Iron Age #1
Challenges
Pepper Potts reflects back on her early days at Stark Industries and her relationship with Tony Stark. This was back in the days before she knew that her boss was also the super-hero known as Iron Man.[1] She recalls one day when she went to the airport to pick up her boss. There, she witnessed Iron Man deal with some foreign spies that were trying to flee the country. When the hero bagged the crooks, the people watching from the terminal cheered and Pep couldn’t help but smile. With Tony running late for their meet up, Pepper started hoping he didn’t sneak off with some movie star. However, Stark shows up and apologizes for being late.
When they returned to Stark Industries, Pepper stops past a portrait of Tony’s parents, Howard and Maria Stark.[2] This makes her think back to how things were before they died. Pepper has heard from the old timers that Howard Stark was a force to be reckoned with. However, as the years went on, and when Pepper joined the administrative pool, years of hard driving and hard drinking had greatly diminished the once great drinker.[3] Howard was particularly disappointed in his son Tony, as the younger Stark frittered his time constantly partying with his cousin Morgan. Howard wished his son would apply himself as he was a genius inventor in his own right, but would procrastinate on designs that would take him seconds to whip up on a cocktail napkin.
Howard Stark would eventually get his wish, but in the most tragic way possible, as it took Howard and Maria dying in a car accident. Tony suddenly had full control over the family company. The first thing he did was discover that the car’s break systems were faulty. He then bought the manufacturer and implemented changes to make their vehicles more safe.[4] However, after that, Tony Stark was absent from running the company and the lack of his presence was causing the business to suffer. Pepper watched with great dismay but couldn’t help but try to do something to help.
One day, Tony came down to the administrative pool and asked who revised some figures on a government contract proposal. Pepper admitted it was her and Stark was delighted that she made the changes as she saved the company a great deal of money. Tony then promoted Pepper on the spot, making her his personal assistant and gave her a substantial raise.[5] At first, Pepper was excited about the new job. However, over time, it became apparent that Stark hired her to deal with the business while he and his cousin Morgan went out and partied all the time. Pep tried her best to keep the company going, but Tony’s continued absence was starting to undermine confidence in Stark Industries.
Things started to change when Tony decided to take a trip out to a Stark Industries facility in Southeast Asia to see how operations were out there. This would be the fated trip that saw Tony Stark injured by an enemy trip mine and captured by the despot known as Wong Chu.[6] With shrapnel lodged in his chest inching closer to his heart, Tony was ordered to build weapons for Wong Chu in exchange for life saving medical treatment. Tony ended up working with another captured scientist named Ho Yinsen. The two worked on a suit of battle armor that had a special chest plate that would keep Tony alive by preventing the shrapnel from reaching his heart and give him the means to fight his way to freedom. Yinsen sacrificed his life so that Tony could live and as Iron Man, Tony defeated Wong Chu and fought his way to freedom.[7] With the help of American soldier Jim Rhodes, Tony was able to get through the jungles and make his way back home.[8]
When Tony returned home, Pepper noticed a abrupt change in Stark’s attitude. He became cold and distant with others, even breaking off his engagement to Joanna Nivena.[9] Tony would spend his nights home alone binge drinking.[10]
What nobody knew at the time was that Stark Industries was being targeted for acquisition by the Republic Oil and Gas Company. They had orchestrated the car accident that claimed the lives of Howard and Maria Stark, and with Tony in charge they believe obtaining his family company would be easy to accomplish. President Hugh Jones called a meeting with his two fixers, Jonas Hale and Simon Kreiger. The trio conspired to create more troubles for Stark Industries to make the idea of selling off the company more palatable to Tony Stark. In this regard, Kreiger suggested they hire the Saboteur, a female operative who excels in corporate espionage.
Jones green lit this plan and, while posing as a scientist working at Stark Industries, the Saboteur managed to tamper with a brand new anti-missile gun that was being developed by the company. During a test with live ammunition, the missiles went wild, threatening to damage property and endanger staff. Luckily, Iron Man was able to show up in time and used a broadcast jammer to make the missiles explode in mid-air. When Stark returned later, he was furious that something went wrong, blaming his staff for cutting corners when no such thing was done. When the development team defended their work, Stark grew frustrated and left to get a drink, ordering them to straighten things out on their own.
Pressure began to mount as other businesses started losing confidence in Stark Industries since Tony began taking over. Offers were being rescinded, and even though Tony was working harder than ever, things weren’t going very well. Stark later suffered another blow when he was brought before Congress who decided that they were going to stop contracting out to the company as they have begun to lose confidence in Tony’s ability to run his company. Tony responded by becoming more distant and going out and partying all the time and generally acting like a rich playboy. While Tony’s public image was being tarnished, Iron Man’s was doing the exact opposite as he was ever present facing threats to the company and the world, and forming Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, the Avengers.[11]
Pepper recalls a day shortly after these events where she walked in on Tony and his cousin Morgan. Morgan was trying to convince Tony to sell the family company so they can spend all of their time traveling the world and partying. Feeling the pressure of running a business, Tony told Morgan that he would think about it. After Morgan left, Pepper asked Tony if he was seriously thinking about selling the company. Tony admits that it is an appealing idea, telling her that he’s not suited to running a business. All he has ever wanted to do was the challenge of inventing, telling her how as a boy he also sought adventure in stories about King Arthur. He was inspired by historical figures like Marco Polo, Vasco da Gamma, and the Wright Brothers for their inventive genius. Running a company sidelines his desire to be like these great men and he feels saddled with a great burden.
Not liking what she was hearing, Pepper then asked Tony to come with her. She then took Stark to the home of one of his employees, Chet Anderson. Tony meets Chet and his wife, Marjorie, who are expecting their second child. Invited inside, Tony hears how their comfortable life is all thanks to Chet’s job at Stark Industries. Pepper quietly tells Tony that if he sells off the company, loyal employees like Chet could be laid off as new owners would only be interested in Stark’s patents and seek to downsize all of his facilities putting thousands of people out of work. Something about this really hits home to Tony and he abruptly leaves in the middle of their visit. Taking the bus home, Pepper worried that she pushed her boss too far and that she might soon be out of a job herself.[12]
However, when she showed up for work the next day at 8 am, she was shocked to see Tony in his office hard at work and brokering deals. Since Pepper knew the business better than he did, she soon found herself accompanying him on private business meetings, government contracting, and networking at lavish parties. At first, Pepper was very nervous to be thrust into this position, but over time she gained confidence and experience. In one particular meeting with Senator Harrington Byrd, Tony manages to convince the government official to come down and see a test run of a new stealth fighter plane that his company is developing, no strings attached. Unknown to them at the time was that Simon Kreiger was observing how Stark’s reputation was in repair and decided it was time to employ the Saboteur once more.
With the upcoming demonstration for Senator Byrd on the horizon, Tony had his teams working around the clock to make sure the Stark-1 stealth fighter plane ready for demonstration.[13] With security as tighter then ever before, the Saboteur is unable to sneak into the hanger during working hours. Instead, she suits up and breaks in at night when there is nobody around. However, she’s caught red handed by Iron Man who had been staking out the hanger. The two fought it out until dawn, with Iron Man being able to counteract the Saboteur’s various gadgets and weapons. The battle carries on until Pepper Potts arrives with Senater Byrd and his colleagues. They witness as the Saboteur commandeers a new experimental sea tank. Unfortunately for her, Iron Man is able to exploit its design flaw — the tank’s inability to walk on anything but solid ground. He smashes the tank and disarms the Saboteur. The hero then apologizes for the interruption and tells Harrington that Tony Stark will be right with him to begin the demonstration.
When Tony arrived the SI-1 demonstration went off without a hitch. Byrd is so impressed with everything he even expresses an interest in procuring the undersea tank once all the bugs have been worked out.
When the news reaches the heads at Republic Oil & Gas, Hugh Jones is furious. Between Stark’s successes and Iron Man, their plans to buy out Stark Industries is becoming increasingly difficult. However, Simon Kreiger isn’t beat yet and says that Stark has one weak link that they can exploit: Iron Man.
Recurring Characters
Iron Man, Howard Stark, Maria Stark, Pepper Potts, Ho Yinsen, Wong-Chu, Jim Rhodes, Morgan Stark, Joanna Nivena, Edwin Jarvis, Republic Oil and Natural Gas (Jonas Hale, Hugh Jones, John Gamelin, Simon Kreiger), the Saboteur, Harrington Byrd, Thaddeus Ross, Doctor Strange, Avengers (Hulk, Ant-Man, Wasp), Clint Barton
Continuity Notes
Pepper Potts wouldn’t learn that Tony was secretly Iron Man until Iron Man #66.
Howard and Maria Stark are referred to as Tony’s biological parents in this story. However, it will later be revealed that Tony was adopted by the Starks. His biological mother was Amanda Armstrong while his father was a man known only as Jude, both of whom were SHIELD agents. See Iron Man (vol. 5) #17 and International Iron Man #5-7.
The revelation that Howard Stark was an alcoholic was first revealed in Iron Man #313.
Howard and Maria Stark’s fatal car accident was first depicted in Iron Man #288. This story is the first and only time it is revealed that Republic Oil and Gas had a hand in their demise. As of this writing (January, 2023), their involvement has not been exposed, nor have anyone paid for this act of murder. That all said, S.H.I.E.L.D. #5 reveals that Howard Stark was the member of a secret order called the Brotherhood of the Shield. In that story, it was revealed that the Brotherhood had a contingency plan to fake Stark’s death if he needed to disappear from the public eye. The method they had chose was a car accident. As of this writing it is unclear if this was what happened or not.
Pepper getting promoted to the position of Tony’s secretary was first told in Age of Innocence: The Rebirth of Iron Man #1.
One panel shows Tony running through the jungle with another man who is unidentified here. This is Toshi Kanata, who was killed when Tony was captured by Wong Chu, his part in the Iron Man origin was first told in Iron Man #267-268.
This, of course, is the origin of Iron Man as told in Tales of Suspense #39. This story glosses over what happened to Wong Chu and Ho Yinsen. Both men would survive and later become involved with the Sons of Yinsen, see Iron Man Annual 2000. As this is a abridged version of the origin story, many other facts are left out. In addition, Tony’s armor first armor is depicted as always being gold colored in this series. In reality, the original suit was grey and Tony would later paint it gold in Tales of Suspense #40 because its original look frightened people. I would presume this fact was glossed over for better narrative pacing.
Jim Rhodes’ part in the Iron Man origin story wasn’t revealed until Iron Man #144. It should be noted that many past versions of the origin state that it took place during the Vietnam War. This has long since changed and as of History of the Marvel Universe #2, Tony and Jim were involved in the Sin-Cong Conflict, a war that also spilled into neighboring Vietnam.
Tony’s doomed relationship with Joanna Nivena was revealed in Iron Man #244. The two were engaged to be married. When Tony returned from Vietnam and had to come to terms with the fact that he was stuck wearing his chest plate 24/7, he broke off their engagement as he believed that nobody could love him given his unique disability. Tony will eventually undergo experimental heart surgery to repair his damaged heart in Iron Man #19, making it so Tony would not need to constantly wear his chest plate.
Tony has had a history of alcoholism that has dogged him for years. However, the problem wasn’t actually addressed for the first time until Iron Man #120-128.
Here we get a few nods to past Iron Man stories. They include:
We see a scene where Tony is being interviewed by the media before heading off to Egypt to assist with an archeological dig. This would lead Iron Man on an adventure through time where he helped defend the rule of Cleopatra, as seen in Tales of Suspense #44.
A newspaper headline reads that Iron Man saved Stark Industry employees from a wind tunnel that went haywire. This was caused by Kala, queen of the underground nation called the Netherworld in Tales of Suspense #43.
We see Iron Man fighting Doctor Carlo Strange (no relation to Stephen Strange), this happened in Tales of Suspense #41.
Lastly, we see Iron Man, Ant-Man, and the Wasp fighting the Hulk at the circus. This was one of the inciting incidents that led to the formation of the Avengers in Avengers #1.
Sitting at the back of the bus is Clint Barton back in his carney days before becoming Hawkeye in Tales of Suspense #57.
It should be noted that the SI-1 resembles the Blackbird jet used by the X-Men starting in X-Men #104. That particular plane has been specified in the past as a Lockheed SR-71 spy plane. Not sure what the intention here is, but I’d like to think that rather than a real world company building the X-Men’s jet (Lockheed Martin), it was instead Stark Industries. Which would make more sense in the fiction given that the X-Men’s Blackbird always had capabitilies that were beyond what the real life SR-71 could accomplish.
Topical References
The computers and TVs in this story are depicted as CRT models. This should be considered a topical reference as this is an obsolete technology.
Tony states that Pepper’s changes to a government contract proposal saved Stark Industries half a million dollars. Adjusting for inflation this would be worth nearly $900 thousand dollars in 2023 money.
Pepper is depicted as having an issue of TV Guide on her coffee table. The cover depicts actors Carroll O’Connor and Jean Stapleton who played Archie and Edith Bunker on the sitcom All in the Family, which ran 1971 to 1979. This should be considered a topical reference as TV Guide is a real world publication, as well as the dated cover page.
Iron Man is depicted on the front cover of an issue of Time magazine. This should also be considered topical as this is a real world publication.
Tony is depicted driving a Porche sports car in this story. This is another real world product and its depiction here should be considered topical.
