My Friend, My Foe, the Freak!

Iron Man is returning to Stark Industries after his battle with the Demolisher. He passes by the launch site for the new Uranus-12 rocket. When the launchpad is damaged from an explosion, Iron Man has to go down and hold up the rocket until all the work crews are evacuated. He then dives to safety when everyone is safe. With his batteries running low putting him at risk of a heart attack. Iron Man then goes inside. There he is greeted by Jasper Sitwell, Stark’s SHIELD liaison tries to introduce Iron Man to his new girlfriend, Whitney Frost. Iron Man pushes past without saying a word, leaving them to think he is snubbing them. Frost muses to herself that she already met Iron Man before in her capacity of the Big M, leader of the Maggia.[1]

Once inside the privacy of his lab, Iron Man plugs his chest plate into a generator. Pulling off his helmet, Tony suddenly feels faint and passes out on the floor. He wakes up hours later and realizes, to his horror, that his current model of armor cannot keep his injured heart beating and he will have to remain plugged into the generator indefinitely. He then calls his secretary and cancels all of his appointments so he can go into seclusion and find a solution to his current problem. However, Tony Stark’s absence leads to a lot of speculation in the media.

When Happy Hogan and Pepper Potts read about it in the paper, they decide to go see if Tony needs any help. Happy, the only one who knows Tony is really Iron Man, fears for Tony’s safety.[2]

By this time, Tony has been working on an upgraded suit of armor but is too weak more than prepare the blueprints. That’s when he is called by Jasper Sitwell who tells him that there are two visitors who refuse to leave without seeing him. At first, Tony orders Jasper to send them away until he overhears Happy talking and tells the SHIELD agent to let Hogan in. Tony explains his predicament to Happy and asks for help building his new suit of armor. With a camera and two-way communication equipment, Tony will guide his friend through the process. Happy reluctantly agrees and heads into the sub-basement of the facility to build the new suit of armor.[3]

After a lot of trail and error, Happy constructs the new armor per Tony’s specifications. However, when it comes time to bombard the suit with cobalt rays to strengthen its armor, Tony’s batteries finally give up putting him in cardiac arrest. Moments later, the cobalt generator overloads, bombarding Happy with energy. He quickly gathered up the completed armor and quickly puts it on Tony. Although this saves Stark’s life, Happy’s exposure to cobalt rays triggers a transformation into the Freak.[4]

The Freak then throws Iron Man into a bank of machines and then smashes his way out of the lab. On its way out of the building, it finds Pepper and takes her hostage. Iron Man wakes up at full power, thanks to his new armor’s ability to generate power from extreme heat or cold. He then follows after the Freak, and arrives at a construction site where the authorities have him trapped. Using his Avengers credentials, Iron Man has the police get some important equipment while he deals with the Freak.[5] Iron Man manages to lure the creature away from Pepper long enough to get her to safety. However, by this time, Pepper has figured out that Happy is the Freak and pleads with Iron Man not to hurt him.

Carrying Pepper to the ground, she is used to bait the Freak into the back of a prisoner transport truck. There, Iron Man restrains the Freak while the police flood the transport with anesthetic until the Freak passes out. With the man-monster down, it is shipped off to Stark Industries. Iron Man promises Pepper that Tony Stark will cure Happy. However, he wonders why those closest to him have to suffer because of his double life.

Recurring Characters

Iron Man, the Freak, Pepper Potts, Jasper Sitwell, Whitney Frost

Continuity Notes

1. As the Big M, Whitney tried to destroy Iron Man in Tales of Suspense #97-99, Iron Man and the Sub-Mariner #1, and Iron Man #1.

2. Some things about Happy and Pepper here:

• The pair got married in Tales of Suspense #91 and left Tony’s employ.

• Pepper mentions Tony’s heart condition. Tony has been injured since Tales of Suspense #39. He kept it a secret until the truth was revealed in issue #84.

• Happy figured out that Tony Stark was Iron Man back in Tales of Suspense #69-71.

3. It’s mentioned that this sub-basement was created so Tony could build duplicates of his armor at a moment’s notice, as seen in Tales of Suspense #85.

4. Mention is made how Happy previously turned into the Freak in Tales of Suspense #74.

5. Iron Man is called one of the original Avengers here. Iron Man help found the group in Avengers #1. At the time of this story, he had gone on a leave of absence starting in issue #16 of that series. He will return to the Avengers again in issue #66.

Topical References

• Tony is depicted as having a rotary phone in his lab.

• Tony upgrades his transistorized armor for printed circuits. These types of electronics are spoken of as if they are brand new, which they were at the time this comic was published. Now they are the most common components found in all electronics.