Iron Man in the 1970s
Iron Man had a very long road in the 1970s. A lot of it was bad, a lot of it was weird, and it only started getting good close to the end of the decade. I think the problem with Iron Man, as a concept, is that it took a few decades to move beyond the clunky technology of the 60s and 70s as well as the kitchy low-budget science fiction that had become the norm. I think that Iron Man could only really shine when computers evolved from massive machines that you had to rent time to use to an affordable and compact device you could own in your home. We were thinking of technology in smaller terms. The world of gigantic machines was making way for the more compact and practical innovations that have shaped technology right up onto the present day. Iron Man’s transition into the world of electronics was a painful birth. The character went from using bulky transistors to printed circuits by the end of the 60s, but it would take an entire decade before he went from a guy wearing a fancy suit of armor to wearing a completely digitally operated war machine. I’m getting ahead of myself as usual, so lets back things up to January 1970 and work our way to December 1979.
Carrying on from the previous decade was artist Archie Goodwin who would continue writing until issue #28. George Tuska carried on with art duties until issue #24 when he was replaced by Johnny Craig. Craig would only draw two issues before Don Heck came back on as regular artist. I’ve already expressed my utter dislike of Heck’s artwork so I won’t repeat myself here. Tuska’s artwork is fine enough, I guess, like many others who take on Iron Man in this early period a lot of the artwork is just so dated. Tuska will go on to the the most recurring artist on the book in this decade. Just when you think he’s being replaced by a more capable artist only for Tuska to return a few issues later. If I didn’t know any better (and I don’t) it’s almost like Tuska was the only artist at the time that wanted anything to do with Iron Man. Which wouldn’t surprise me because a lot of these stories were fucking awful.
Archie Goodwin’s stories, with one exception, are pretty flat. After working to get rid of the shrapnel from Tony Stark’s heart, the character now worries about the synthetic components used to repair his damaged organ getting rejected due to stress. I for one will be happy when we finally enter the days where the constant whining about Tony’s heart no longer becomes so integral to the character. Luckily, the issue of Tony’s heart is forgotten, at least for a little while,
The first two issues of the decade (issue #21-22) concludes with the death of Janice Cord, Tony’s love interest at the time. Adding to the slowly growing list of romantic interests that get hurt, maimed, or fridged due to her association with Tony Stark and Iron Man. Another interesting milestone for these issues is that it is the first time an African-American character suits up as Iron Man. No, it’s not Jim Rhodes, who would go on to become War Machine, but a retired boxer named Eddie March. March is a character that hasn’t gotten much exposure in recent years, but he was a bit of a recurring character during this decade.
Another poignant tale comes with issue #25, which features a showdown between Iron Man and the Sub-Mariner. It is a story where a profit seeking scientist ends up polluting an entire island and the waters surrounding it all for the sake of making money. This makes the entire place toxic. While stories about the Sub-Mariner attacking the surface world for polluting nature has become a common trope for the character, this is one of the earliest stories to do this (outside of Namor’s own title) The story itself is framed around Tony Stark giving a presentation to other business men as a warning that profiteering on pollution could have catastrophic consequences to life on Earth. In it, the business men dismiss his immediate concerns, saying they still have a few years to do something about it and that it’s just too damn expensive to worry about it now when there is money to be made. It’s kind of depressing how this story is still relevant today. I am writing this in July of 2021 after a heatwave with temperatures reaching almost 50 degrees Celsius in some regions. It’s appalling that warnings made 40 years ago have been routinely ignored because it interfered with short term profits for shareholders.
The only other Goodwin story from this period worth mentioning is issue #27 which introduces a new villain named Firebrand. Firebrand will become a prominent Iron Man villain in this decade. That said, his first outing is kind of a dud. The story centers around the construction of a community center in a predominantly black neighborhood. It kind of the typical civil rights story written by a white guy that was common at Marvel at the time. As well intended as the writer may have been, their tackling of a complex issues surrounding race are not the greatest. Still, it couldn’t have been easy to tackle these subjects at all during this period when the Comics Code Authority was at its most strict. Luckily, the comic book censor would start loosening its restrictions over the coming years as they made their slow crawl to irrelevancy. Goodwin’s tenure ended with issue #28, but he would return to the title a few years later, but we’ll get into that a little later.
Issue #29 was written by Mimi Gold, one of the few female writers working super-hero comics at the time, although he tenure on Iron Man would only last one issue. It’s your typical “Hero liberates a Central American country from a dictator” story that was quite common at the time that had become a redundancy in the pages of Iron Man. Issue #30 saw writing duties go to Allyn Brodsky, another relatively unknown writer. Brodsky was a secretary at Marvel and his run on Iron Man was the longest they did before they faded off into obscurity. His first story featured Iron Man going to Japan and saving the country from a monster called Zoga. The creature turned out to be a robot piloted by the samurai themed Monster-Maker who was trying to take over Japan because he didn’t like Americans in his country. The story is highly derivative of the Godzilla films and even name-checks the series.
Issue #31 is another environmentally conscious story taken from a different angle. Tony Stark is trying to justify the operations of a Stark Industries facility on the island of Lakani. It’s your typical bait-and-switch story where the bad guy is a Stark employee trying to embezzle money and using the environmental protests to cover up his crimes. This story is notable at least for the introduction of Kevin O’Brien, who would become a new recurring character in the series.
Brodsky’s most famous contribution to the Iron Man mythos came in issues #33-34, his final two issues on the series. The story introduced a new villain named Spymaster who sought to destroy Stark Industries. Spymaster would go on to become one of the most iconic Iron Man villains, spawning many successors after the original had died. This story also saw the the first plot line that heavily focused on corporate espionage, which will become a more common theme later on in the decade.
Issue #35 had Roy Thomas take over and his first tale expanded on the Zodiac Cartel he introduced in the pages of the Avengers. This story would delve into the origins of the Zodiac’s weapon, the Zodiac Key. This two part story was concluded in Daredevil #73.
Gerry Conway would take over from issue #36, it and issue #37 featured a dull tale about alien colonizers threatening Earth. It is notable for two reasons: The first, is that it brought back Tony Stark’s heart condition which will be used frequently as a limiter to Iron Man’s battles, tipping this old trope from annoying to just downright boring. It also introduced Marianne Rodgers as Tony Stark’s new love interest. She would later revealed to have ESP and would warn Tony frequently of various dangers. Marianne was always portrayed as a needy, shrieking violet. Despite this irritating characteristic, Tony continues to date her and the pair are briefly engaged. George Tuska would return as regular artist in issue #38. While not the greatest, his return is a mercy after months of Don Heck’s ugly chicken scratch.
What follows are a few commonalities in Iron Man stories. The attempted continued to make Tony more socially conscience to the point where he shifts Stark Industries from weapons manufacturing to other non-violent technologies by end of issue #48, but holy shit is it a tough slog from there. This is because Conway introduces a lot of complex plots that never really go anywhere. Starting in issue #39 and 40, Iron Man fights the White Dragon who is part of a mysterious Council of Nine. However, after White Dragon’s death, this group is neither seen nor heard from again.
Issues #41-46 continue this trend by involving a conspiracy by the mysterious Mister Klein. Conway previously introduced this time-traveling villain in the pages of Daredevil and brought him over to Iron Man as well. Other than forcing Daredevil into a partnership with the Black Widow and trying to brand Iron Man as an anarchist, the motivations of Mr. Klein are never fully explained and the character is destroyed in the pages of Daredevil before any sense can be made out of it. Which is too bad for the plot going on in Iron Man as it was not making any sense. Iron Man fought a bunch of really pathetic and forgettable villains during this run including the Slasher and his precognitive partner Demitrius, the seemingly mystical Soulfather who was really a robot, and a robot version of the Night Phantom. The only notable part of this story was the creation of the Guardsman armor that would be worn by Kevin O’Brien.
This plot line is also interesting in that issues #43 and 44 featured second stories. One a reprint from a Tales to Astonish era Giant-Man story, and the other a brand-new Ant-Man story. Not sure why they did this, maybe they were thinking of adding Hank Pym as a recurring character in the book? I couldn’t tell you.
Writers were switched in the middle of the Mister Klein storyline, with Robert Kanigher writing issue #44 and Garry Friedrich doing issues #45 and 46. I think this was primarily to clean house and wrap the loose ends left by Gerry Conway’s departure from the title. The saga ends with Simon Gilbert trying to oust Tony from his own company. Kevin O’Briend also — very suddenly — falls in love with Marianne Rodgers and begins hating Tony. This sudden change in personality is said to have been caused by the Guardsman armor messing with his head. The story ends with the hostile take over thwarted but at the cost of Kevin’s life.
Conway comes back with artist Barry Winsor Smith in issue #47. The story is an excuse to re-tell Iron Man’s origins. Smith’s artwork is a welcome change after Don Heck and George Tuska’s less than stellar work. Unfortunately, Barry is only filling in for one issue and Tuska is back on as regular artist in the following issue. Mike Friedrich also starts as writer in issue #48, revealing the true identity of Firebrand, the son of Simon Gilbert.
Friedrich’s first story arc runs from issue #49-51, which involves aliens from the Microverse manipulating the Super-Adaptoid into getting a chemical for them that will help revitalize their radioactive world. This story is not very good, particularly since Marianne’s annoying character traits are ramped up to 11 where she begins acting with hysteria over a vision of Iron Man dying at her hands. It’s stupid and I think this was only done to facilitate her removal from the supporting cast. Marianne is still pretty lucky compared to other love interests in this era of Marvel who usually wounded up fridged.
Issue #52-53 introduces what will become a long running storyline involving a mysterious villain called the Black Lama. This is where things start getting really weird as, later on, in issue #80 the Black Lama is revealed to be the Gerald Ford of another dimension. Between this, and the revelation that Richard Nixon was the leader of the Secret Empire in the pages of Captain America, make for some really weird pre-occupations with sitting Presidents among Marvel writers during this period. I would say these stories were highly political if it weren’t for the fact that they were either juvenile or stupid. You’ll see what I mean as we get into it a little more in-depth in a moment.
Issue #54 is notable for introducing a new character who would become quite iconic to the Marvel Universe as a whole, the bald telepathic martial artist known as Moondragon. Here, she is introduced with the devastatingly stupid name of Madame MacEvil and spends this entire issue goading Sub-Mariner into a fight with Iron Man. Needless to say, these was not a very good start for the character, luckily more competent writers found a use for her elsewhere, namely in the pages of the Avengers.
Then we come upon the iconic Iron Man #55. Here, Mike Friedrich allow oncoming artist Jim Starlin to plot this tale. It’s best known because it introduces other characters who would become icons in their own right, the Blood Brother. No just kidding, I’m talking about Drax the Destroyer and Thanos. This story kind of sets the stage for future stories by Jim Starlin that will properly flesh out these characters and concepts. In this early tale, you can totally see how Thanos was just a blatant rip-off of DC Comics villain Darkseid. Luckily, Starlin would make the character more unique in later stories. Sadly, Starlin’s tenure on Iron Man only lasts one more issue before art duties are handed back to George Tuska, who will continue to hang on as artist until issue #73.
Steve Gerber than takes over as writer for the next three issues and the stories he produces are pure Gerber. Issue #56 is a stupid tale about a crack-pot mystic who stumbles upon arcane power, a trope that is a regular trope of Gerber’s that he will use time and time again in titles like Howard the Duck, Man-Thing, and Sensational She-Hulk. Then you have issues #57-58, which features a story where the Mandarin getting revenge against Iron Man by forming a union and convincing his workers to strike against Stark Industries over their dealings with communist nations. It’s Gerber’s typical far-left leaning ideas however they kind of fizzle and go nowhere when he tries to tell this type of story in a comic whose main character with a wealthy businessman.
Friedrich would return as regular writer on the series starting with issue #58, finishing the plot that Gerber started and continuing on the title until issue #75. We’d still be stuck with George Tuska until issue #72 before getting a brief reprieve when Arvell Jones, who has the distinction of being the first non-white creator on the title. However Jones would stop after issue #77 for more… you guessed it … George fucking Tuska. It wasn’t even an uninterrupted run as issue #76 was a reprint issue due to a missed deadline, a common occurrence at Marvel in the 1970s. This saw a return of the Black Lama who was having super-villains fight to the death for a McGuffin called the Golden Globe of Power, which saw the seeming demise of the Mandarin.
The whole Black Lama story line wasn’t resolved until issue #80 resulting in two more fillers in issues #78 & 79. Of these stories, issue #78 — written by Bill Mantlo — tries to be reconcile Tony Stark’s involvement in the Vietnam War going from the ultra-patriotic commie smasher of Stan Lee’s early stories to the more socially conscious pacifist of current stories. The Black Lama saga then comes to its really bizarre ending, with the revelation that he is an alt-reality version of Gerald fucking Ford. Not entirely sure what Mike Friedrich was trying to tell. None of it makes any sense.
Over the next twenty issues or so, Iron Man became a revolving door of creative teams with Len Wein/Herb Trimpe (issues #82-83), Roger Slifer/Trimpe (working from Wein’s plots in issues #84-85), Bill Mantlo/George Tuska (#86-87), Archie Goodwin/Tuska (#88-89), and Jim Shooter/Tuska (#90). Gerry Conway was advertised as taking over as lead writer, but Bill Mantlo took over after issue #95.
During this parade of writers, the stories were amazing more coherent than Mike Friedrich’s run. Gone were all the bizarre zen/quasi-mystical foes. However, it seemed like the various writers didn’t really know what kind of supporting cast they wanted for Iron Man during this period. Pepper Potts and Happy Hogan, who just came back to the title were shuffled out. Tony continues to forget about Marianne Rodgers, and then loses interest in Roxanne Gilbert. Tony is also harassed by Michael O’Brien in you’re typical “I blame you for killing my family member” plot that Marvel loves to do. Added to the mix are Abe Klein, one of Tony’s old college professors, and Krissy Longfellow Tony’s new secretary who turns out to be Madame Masque in disguise. There aren’t really many stand-out issues here, since a lot of these were standard Iron Man stories. I suppose the most interesting would be issue #86-87 by Bill Mantlo, which features the return of one of the more ridiculous villains of Stan Lee’s era , Jack Frost.
Issues #95 to 100 slowly tied up most of the running plotlines: Michael O’Brien accepting the truth about his brother’s death, as well as a sub-plot involving Stark tech failures and accusations that Tony Stark was being bribed by foreign governments all ending with the revelation that these were all plots created by the Mandarin who was — surprise! — not dead. He managed to survive getting blown up by transferring his mind into his rings and taking over the body of the first power-hungry dupe to try them on.
Mantlo would continue on the title until issue #112, with Tuska as artist until issue #107 when he was finally replaced (for good this time). From here there was a revolving door of artists including Keith Pollars (issues #107, 110-112), Carmine Infantino (issues #108-109), Herb Trimpe (#113), Keith Giffin (#114) and finally Dan Green (#115). With the exception of Trimpe, most of these artists were much better than Tuska, but were wildly inconsistent.
Bill Mantlo, in my opinion, has always been a very capable writer. Always introducing stories that may not have been very deep, but were at least entertaining. He used his time on Iron Man to tell some sprawling stories. The longest was a six-part story from issues #103-107, which saw Mordecai Midas succeed in taking over Stark International. It featured a plethora of Iron Man supporting cast members coming back to help the hero win back his company. It also gave Mantlo to rope in some of his own creations such as Jack of Hearts, Jean DeWolff and the Wraith for no other reason other than he could. It also takes the opportunity to dip the reader’s toes into Tony Stark’s past which, up until this point, had only been briefly touched upon back in Iron Man #28. However, Tony’s past would not be fleshed out in any great detail until the 1980s.
Issue #108-111 was another multipart epic which involved a war between the Rigellians and the High Evolutionary’s New Men, which also briefly involved Russian super-heroes Darkstar, Vanguard, and the Crimson Dynamo, as well as Kang’s Growing Man and the Punisher robot once owned by Galactus. There is just way too much going on in this story.
Mantlo’s final arc involves another plethora of characters with Iron Man being attacked by the Unicorn, the mystery robot called Arsenal, and lastly the Ani-Men. It’s not bad, just way too much going on all at once.
Thankfully, the title gets some much needed stability with issue #118, having the decade end on a high point. Iron Man finally gets a consistent creative team with David Micheline and Bob Layton working together on plots, and John Romita, Jr. helping Layton on the art duties. Iron Man had never looked this good before. I mean that. Up until issue #118 the series mostly looked like shit because they never found capable artists. Also, you finally have a writing team that are finally able to tell compelling stories that not only juggle Iron Man’s heroics, but also are able to tell convincing stories about the life of a millionaire that owns a highly successful company. There were stories that covered the gamut of hot button issues when it comes to a corporation: Everything from ethics, greed, espionage, as well as the environmental impact a company has. These were all issues that had been touched on in the past, but not with this level of competence.
After “killing off” Count Nefaria and doing away with the dead-end romance with Madame Masque, Micheline and Layton got to work laying the groundwork for some of the best Iron Man stories to be written at the time. The magic of the writing during this period was slowly introducing important supporting case members that would have a lasting role in the future of Tony Stark, after years where most cast members were in an out of the book.
One thing that is quickly dropped and never heard from, at least not for a while, is Tony Stark’s intermittent heart problems. This had already become a trope that was just about as worn out as the organ it was about. Instead of having an Iron Man who is grasping for air and struggling every battle we have an Iron Man who is finally a peak and efficient piece of technology. The writers got rid of the weaknesses that were bogging the character down. However, that didn’t mean that Tony Stark was finally as invincible as his moniker suggested as other problems would begin to become apparent as this run continued.
Issue #117 saw SHIELD trying to gain control of Stark International in order to force it back into munitions manufacturing. It also saw the return of Spymaster, a villain who had been heavily under-utilized. It also brought in a decent love interest for Tony Stark, Bethany Cabe. Unlike past Stark girlfriend who were shrieking violets, fridge magnets, or otherwise annoying or useless, Cabe was a fresh of breath air after all the vapid characterizations of past female supporting characters.
Issue #118 also saw the introduction of Stark’s next (and long running) secretary, Bambi Arbogast. A much older woman with more traditional ideals, she provided some comic relief by tossing shade at Tony for behavior she found inappropriate. More importantly, issue #118 introduced James Rhodes, who would become a major part of the life of Iron Man. Depicted here as Tony Stark’s personal pilot, James is revealed to be a long time friend of Tony Stark dating back to the birth of Iron Man. Plot points that will be expanded upon and drawn from for years afterwards.
Issue #119 buried yet another iconic character to the title hidden in a story where Iron Man and the Sub-Mariner foil your typical “Roxxon Oil tries to murder the planet with pollution” stories that were so common at the time. The story ends with the introduction of Justin Hammer, a ruthless businessman who has been using his resources to hack Iron Man’s armor for nefarious purposes. Hammer is one of the single most important villains in Iron Man’s rogue gallery. He’s not some goofy villain in a stupid costume and some gimmicky super-power. Those are just the guys he employs to do his dirty work. Hammer represents the first time that Iron Man a foe that was the exact opposite of Tony Stark. A ruthless business man that will use his resources to get what he want. Sure, this was tried before with Mordecai Midas, but a fat-fuck in a hover chair obsessed with gold was way over the top. Hammer was grounded in reality and that’s what makes him the perfect villain for Iron Man to fight.
Issue #124, Justin Hammer’s master plan comes to fruition when he manipulates Iron Man into assassinating a diplomat on live television. This forces Tony to have to clear his name without the aid of his Iron Man armor. Even though Tony manages to expose Justin Hammer’s scheme by issue #127, there has been a lot of damage done. All the pressure Tony has been under has been building up into a major drinking problem which comes to a foot in issue #128 in the iconic “Demon in a Bottle” storyline where Tony is forced to confront his problem drinking. While this appears to be neatly wrapped up in about 20 pages, Tony’s problem drinking will become a recurring problem in the years to come and his struggles with alcoholism will become a defining characteristic for the character.
And that’s that about Iron Man in the 1970s. It’s mostly sub-par crap until the end of the decade. This trend will continue through most of the 1980s, but (as usual) that’s a story for another time..
