Tales of Suspense #51
Face-to-Face with the Sinister Scarecrow!
While passing a nearby theater, Iron Man spots someone trying to rob the box office. He chases the crook inside the theater where a performance by an escape artist called the Uncanny Umberto is putting on a performance. Seeing the commotion off stage, Umberto helps trip up the crook so Iron Man can capture him. The incident inspires Umberto to use his skills for crime, figuring he could make more money doing that than entertaining rubes.[1] He is inspired to wear a costume to disguise himself when he comes across a costume shop. His first crime is stealing a scarecrow costume from the shop window. He then breaks into the home of a bird trainer named Thornton and steals his trained crows. Umberto then begins training the crows on how to steal valuables. Reading the newspaper he finds an article about wealthy playboy Tony Stark and decides that Stark will be his first victim.
Meanwhile, Veronica Vogue — a popular celebrity — has arrived at Stark Industries and asks to see Tony stark. Pepper Potts tells her that, unfortunately, Tony is out of the office for the entire week. Insulted over being stood up, Veronica Vogue storms out in a huff. This turns out to have been deception on Pepper’s part because she doesn’t like the snooty Veronica Vogue. When Tony comes out and finds that Veronica isn’t there he is smart enough to figure out that Pepper had something to do with it and is relieved because he was getting bored with Veronica anyway. He then calls up Happy to drive him home for the evening. Tony invites Happy over to play a game of poker but when they arrive they discover that someone has broken in and turned the place upsidedown. They then find the Scarecrow trying to loot Tony’s wall safe.
While Stark runs off to change into Iron Man, Happy tries attacking the burglar. Unfortunately for the former boxer, the Scarecrow has the advantage due to his acrobatic abilities. When Iron Man comes out to confront the Scarecrow, the crook flees as he is unprepared to deal with the hero. Iron Man’s attempt to catch the Scarecrow fails because he is tripped up and then sent on a wild goose chase by the trained crows. While Iron Man is fooled into going outside, the Scarecrow steals plans out of the safe and escapes before Happy can nab him. Returning home, the Scarecrow is impressed by the weapons designs he stole and calls Tony Stark in order to blackmail to get his plans back.
Tony agrees to meet the Scarecrow alone to pay the ransom. However, he hides a device inside his briefcase to give Tony an ace in the hole. When he meets with the Scarecrow at the pier, the villain snatches the briefcase, saying this is only the first payment. However, the Scarecrow knows that remaining in the country with stolen secrets would not be a good idea and flees the country in a speedboat. Putting the plans in the briefcase he stole from Stark, the Scarecrow is about to hand them off to Cuban soldiers when Iron Man arrives and recovers the briefcase using the magnetic device he planted earlier. Iron Man easily overpowers the Cuban soldiers and tosses the Scarecrow overboard. He then sinks the Cuban ship before using the Scarecrow’s speedboat to return to America leaving the Scarecrow to swing to Cuba under his own power.
When Tony Stark returns to his office later that evening, he remembers he has two tickets to a Broadway show. Since Veronica Vogue is a no-show, Pepper offers to go in her place. Tony says that’s a good idea and suggests that Happy take her to see the show, much to Pepper’s chagrin. Meanwhile, the Scarecrow sits on the shores of Cuba, plotting his next scheme and vowing that Iron Man won’t defeat him next time.[2]
Recurring Characters
Iron Man, Scarecrow, Pepper Potts, Happy Hogan, Veronica Vogue
Continuity Notes
“Umberto”, like the Scarecrow, is merely an alias used by this escape artist. His full name is Ebenezer Laughton. His first name was revealed in Captain America #280. His last name was revealed in the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe #9.
Iron Man’s battle with the Scarecrow is expanded upon in Iron Man: Enter the Mandarin #2-3.
Topical References
Tony Stark is referred to as a millionaire in this story. That’s impressive by 1964 standards. Stark’s net worth should be considered a topical reference as it will always change to reflect the wealth of someone who runs a successful technology business.
The Scarecrow is depicted using a rotary phone.
The “revolutionary” designs that the Scarecrow steals are for weapons that run off transistors, now one of the most common components in any piece of electronics.
The Primitive!
The Watcher presents another tale from the distant future. This time he focuses on the Harding Brothers, who were polar opposites of one another. Vance Harding was a practical and hardheaded owner of a used “aero-car” agency. The other is Paul Harding, who explores the universe in the hopes of finding a civilization that is equal to or more intelligent to that of life on Earth.
Unfortunately, each expedition finds life but nothing but tribes of primitives that Paul dismisses as being unable to teach them anything. Each time Paul returns to Earth, Vance suggests that he quit his exploration gig and come work for him. However, Paul refuses to give up hope of finding intelligent life among the stars. Unfortunately, funding is running out and Paul and his crew only have enough money for one last mission.
Paul is once more disappointed when the next planet they visit is home to yet another primitive tribe. When the tribal leader offers them a block of wood as a gift, Paul dismisses it as junk. When he returns home, Paul finally gives up exploration to work for his brother. The Watcher points out that Paul made a grave error in dismissing the gift outright. If he had looked on the other side, he would have discovered that it was a plaque awarding a scientist for the creation of a cobalt-powered anti-matter bomb.
Recurring Characters
The Watcher
