Iron Man: The Iron Age #2
Body Guards
Happy Hogan reflects back on his early days working for Tony Stark, before he knew his boss was also Iron Man.[1]
He recalls the first day he came in to the office with Tony. Hogan was first introduced to Tony’s administrative assistant, Pepper Potts. Happy was instantly attracted to her, but Pepper wasn’t interested in a former boxing pug like Hogan. However, she was interested in knowing Hap’s story and how he came to be hired by Tony.
Happy explains how he was out watching a formula one race where Tony was testing out his own race car. In the middle of the race, Stark crashed and his car caught on fire. When nobody was coming to his aid, Happy ran in and risked his life to pull Stark to safety. Grateful for the rescue, Tony then wrote Happy a cheque for a large sum of money. However, Hogan ripped up the cheque saying that he would rather have a steady paying job. Impressed by this, Stark decided to hire Happy to be his chauffeur.
Happy’s first day wasn’t without excitement when the alarm suddenly went off. Going to check it out, Hogan discovered that security had caught a research scientist named George Shapanka trying to steal some top-secret formulas from the company. He was caught on video and busted by Iron Man. When Tony Stark arrives on the scene and advised of the situation, Tony decides not to pursue charges. Instead, he simply fires Shapanka out of respect for his past contributions to the company. Happy couldn’t believe how soft-hearted Stark was and began to worry that such an attitude might be dangerous.[2]
That night, Happy went to his local bar to hang out with his old boxing pals and talk about his new job. It’s there he caught a news report about Iron Man and how his employer Tony Stark had donated his family mansion to become the headquarters for the Avengers.[3] It then cuts to an interview with Stark himself. Due to his association with the Avengers, the interviewer asks Tony if he’s concerned that he might become a target of various super-villains. Tony brushes it off, saying that as long as he has Iron Man around, he’ll always be safe. Hearing this, Hogan isn’t so sure that his boss should be so confident. This is because nobody knows who Iron Man is under his mask and Happy wonders just how much he can be trusted.
Iron Man’s trustworthiness is also the subject of conversation at the Republic Oil & Gas Company. President Hugh Jones has set his sights on purchasing Stark Industries, but has been stymied thanks to Stark revitalizing his sagging company. However, his fixer — a man named Simon Krieger — has come up with a new plan of attack. He believes that Iron Man is the Achelli’s Heel that they’ve been looking for.
That night, Krieger dispatches the Dogs of War to break into Stark Industries. Their presence is detected by Iron Man who confronts them right away. Iron Man easily trounces the mercenaries and demands to know what they came to sabotage. The Dogs’ leader reveals that they didn’t come to do anything of the sort, in fact, they had come to offer Iron Man a proposition. His employer wants to offer Iron Man money, more money than Stark could possibly be giving him, to work for them instead. Iron Man agreed to the meeting, unaware that Happy Hogan had been wandering around the property and overheard this conversation. Hearing Iron Man supposedly agreeing to betray their boss confirms to Happy that Iron Man cannot be trusted. The following morning, after a private government meeting, Happy expresses his concerns over Iron Man to Tony, but doesn’t tell him what he saw the night before. Stark appreciated Happy’s concern but assured him that his trust in Iron Man is without reproach.
Over the next few days, Iron Man was making headlines again by stopping various threats to Stark Industries. It started with George Shapanka, who used his cryogenic technology to become the villain called Jack Frost. This was followed with a clash with armored Russian operative known as the Crimson Dynamo.[4] Later, Iron Man protected the company from the Melter, a villain who utilized a ray that could melt metal.[5] The press was abuzz about Iron Man, wondering who he was. Still, most reports were positive of the hero, all except for newspaper publisher J. Jonah Jameson, who trusted Iron Man about as much as he did Spider-Man.[6] Still, the frequent attacks on Stark Industries had started to concern Senator Harrington Byrd, who had then begun to pressure Stark to do more to protect his company or risk losing all of his government contracts.[7] On the ride home from Washington, Happy expressed his displeasure with how the government has treated Tony, given everything he has done for them. Tony, however, quickly changes the subject to his design for an autonomous vehicle.
Things were quiet for a few days until the day Iron Man showed up for work in a brand new suit of armor.[8] Happy wasn’t impressed to see Iron Man signing autographs for Stark employees.[9] Happy then tailed Iron Man when he went for his meeting with Simon Krieger. Krieger, unaware that Iron Man is secretly Tony Stark, offers him a lot of money to betray Stark. Iron Man agrees, but warns Krieger against double-crossing him. After Iron Man leaves, Simon begins preparing the next phase of his plan, which involves wearing a life-like mask to pose as Tony Stark himself.
When Iron Man returned to Stark Industries, Happy Hogan decided it was time to confront him. Unsure of what Iron Man discussed with Krieger, Happy warns him against betraying the boss. Iron Man assures Happy that he has no intention of doing any such thing and asks Hogan to trust him. Still, Hogan couldn’t bring himself to do that and when he tried to get Pepper on his side, she scoffed at the idea that Iron Man would betray their boss. Regardless, Hogan refused to let Tony out of his sight and took to standing guard outside his office door. When Pepper later came by to deliver a file, they were both shocked to discover that Tony wasn’t in his office, which was impossible since they saw him go in and he never came out. This is because Tony had changed into Iron Man and flown off to a secret appointment.
That’s when Krieger — disguised as Tony Stark — arrives and asks Happy to drive him to his next appointment. Getting into the car, Happy doesn’t know where their going and assumes that Tony is testing him. Noticing that the automated driving device has been installed in the car, Happy activates it and is surprised when the car converts into an air vehicle and flies high into the air. They soon arrive at a massive helicarrier that is being constructed high above the city.[10] When they land, Happy is so blown away by the scale of this top secret facility he doesn’t notice the phony Tony Stark come up behind him and hit him with a black jack. Happy is then tied up and stashed away so he can’t foil Kreiger’s plans.
Simon, still posing as Tony Stark, enters the main meeting room on this helicarrier where he and the Dogs of War take a delegation of world leaders hostage. Interrupting TV broadcasts, “Tony Stark” tells the world that he is holding these leaders hostage until his massive ransom is met. Pepper Potts watches this development from her desk and is astonished to see her boss doing something so dastardly. That’s when Iron Man appears and tells her that this man is an impostor and that they have walked right into his trap.
Meanwhile, Happy has woken up and freed himself from his bonds. Ambushing one of the Dogs of War on patrol, Hap steals his costume so he can sneak into the council chambers. That’s when Iron Man arrives, smashing in through one of the windows. Iron Man clashes with the Dogs of War, but is quickly incapacitated with emery powder which jams up his armor long enough for his foes to restrain him with metal cables. However, in all the confusion, Happy has gotten close to one of the TV cameras and turns the feed back on. He then ambushes the fake Tony Stark and unmasks him for the live viewing audience. Those watching a relieved that Tony Stark was being impersonated. Also watching is Peter Parker, aka Spider-Man, who is surprised to see that he isn’t the only one who has to deal with impostors.[11]
With his master scheme foiled, Simon Krieger tries to make his escape by blasting the control unit that operates one of the helicarrier’s massive rotors. This causes the entire ship to list sideways. Using a belt mounted jetpack to try and get away, Krieger is snared by Happy who yanks him to the ground, smashing his means of escape. By this time, Iron Man’s internal fans have blown out all of the emery powder and he breaks free from the Dogs of War’s bonds. He then quickly re-wires the control panel allowing the rotor to reactivate and right the ship. While everyone is relieved to still be alive, government officials wonder how Iron Man knew how to repair the helicarrier, since its designs were classified as top secret.
The following day, to alleviate any concerns regarding national security, Tony Stark holds a press conference where he reveals that Iron Man isn’t just a superhero. In fact, Iron Man is a Stark employee who acts as Tony’s personal bodyguard. In order to see the idea that Iron Man is another person, Tony uses a prototype Life Model Decoy to sell the illusion.[12] Watching the press conference from the sidelines, Happy is glad that Iron Man wasn’t a traitor after all. He also finally feels like he is contributing to Stark Industries. Pepper then approached him and commended him for his bravery. When Hap tries to ask her out to dinner, she turns him down, but the smile on her face when he asked convinces Hogan that she is starting to like him.[13]
Meanwhile, an emergency meeting has been called at Republic Oil & Gas. Hugh Jones is now in damage control to obfuscate his company’s involvement in Kreiger’s plot. He has hired someone to eliminate Krieger in jail before he can talk.[14] With their opportunity to buy up Stark Industries foiled for the time being, Jones decides that they will focus on other goals before trying again. The next order of business is to decide what their new logo will be after Republic rebrands itself as the Roxxon Energy Corporation.[15]
Recurring Characters
Iron Man, Happy Hogan, Pepper Potts, Jack Frost, Roxxon (Jonas Hale, Hugh Jones, John Gamelin, Simon Krieger), Crimson Dynamo, Melter, J. Jonah Jameson, Harrington Byrd, SHIELD, Peter Parker, Spymaster
Continuity Notes
Happy wouldn’t learn that Stark and Iron Man were one and the same until Tales of Suspense #70.
Happy Hogan’s employment to Stark and the George Shapanka/Jack Frost incident was originally told in Tales of Suspense #45.
The Avengers started using Stark Manor for their headquarters starting in Avengers #2.
Iron Man fought the Crimson Dynamo in Tales of Suspense #46.
Iron Man went on to fight the Melter for the first time in Tales of Suspense #47.
J. Jonah Jameson has a strong dislike of super-heroes and Spider-Man in particular. This particular hair up his ass has been the case since Amazing Spider-Man #1.
Harrington Byrd goes on to be one of Tony Stark’s harshest critics within the government. Becoming a thorn in Tony’s side from Tales of Suspense #46 through 89.
Tony deemed his original armor (which he has been wearing since Tales of Suspense #39) to be too unwieldy and cumbersome during a battle with Mister Doll. In order to fight his foe more effectively, Tony built his second model of armor. The first suit of red-and-gold armor, it was lighter weight than its predecessor and more energy efficient. See Tales of Suspense #48.
Iron Man signs an issue of Now Magazine, which is published by J. Jonah Jameson starting in Amazing Spider-Man #2. The cover story asks if the Avengers can stop the Hulk. This follows the events of Avengers #2, when the Hulk quit the team when it became clear that the rest of the Avengers didn’t trust him.
This story implies that Tony Stark had a hand in creating the spy agency known as SHIELD. This was the stated case since the agency first appeared in Strange Tales #135. In reality, according to Original Sins #5, SHIELD has actually existed since at least the 1960s. It’s later explained in History of the Marvel Universe #2 that SHIELD was a covert agency to start, and that it was only going public when it appeared in the Modern Age.
At this point in his career, Spider-Man had been previously framed for crimes by the Chameleon, as seen in Amazing Spider-Man #1.
Again, it is implied here that Tony was the inventor of Life Model Decoys. However, Secret Warriors #26 reveals that such technology existed as far back as the Renaissance as they were first invented by Leonardo Da Vinci. One could assume that SHIELD either orchestrated things to make Tony believe he invented the technology, or Stark is in on it. However, as of this writing (January, 2023) this has yet to be clarified.
Happy and Pepper would go on to form a relationship, eventually getting married in Tales of Suspense #89.
Although we only see the shooter’s hand, Kreiger’s killer is the costumed operative known as the Spymaster. Iron Man will encounter this killer directly in Iron Man #33.
Topical References
The computers and TVs in this story are depicted as having CRT displays. This should be considered topical as this is an obsolete technology.
Happy is depicted smoking indoors at Stark Industries. This should be considered topical as indoor smoking in businesses was banned in the state of New York in 2003.
Tony writes Happy a cheque for $50,000. Adjusting for inflation this would be worth close to 90 thousand dollars in 2023 money.
Krieger’s ransom is said to be 100 billion dollars. Adjusting to inflation this would be worth about 179 billion in 2023 money.