Tales of Suspense #61
The Death of Tony Stark!
Unable to leave his armor for his own continued survival, Tony Stark has had to pretend that he is away on secret business leaving Iron Man in charge.[1] Suspecting that Iron Man had something to do with Tony’s disappearance both Happy Hogan and Pepper Potts have decided to quit. They then go down to the police station and agree to give the chief everything they know about Iron Man. A reporter overhears this conversation and soon news of Tony Stark’s disappearance is all over the media.
By this time, Tony Stark has returned to his home and continues to work on a way of keeping his heart beating without having to wear his armor 24/7. He wishes he didn’t have to keep a secret identity but he fears that villains would attack Stark Industries non-stop if they knew Tony Stark was Iron Man. That’s when Tony catches the news and learns the public knows that he is “missing”. That’s when Happy tries sneaking into Tony’s house to find out what happened to him. Hearing someone coming in, Tony quickly jumps into bed to cover his costume. Tony says that he has been seriously ill the past while and that’s why Iron Man was covering for him. Happy then relays this information to Pepper who rushes down to see Tony as well. Soon a throng of reporters appears outside Stark’s mansion as well. When Happy and Pepper leave, they are pleased to see that Tony is still alive but are concerned by how guarded he was and suspect that Iron Man must be holding him against his will somehow.
That’s when a flying saucer created by the Mandarin flies across the continents to reach the home of Tony Stark. Channeling energy from one of his rings into the flying ship, it sends a blast of energy that decimates Tony’s home. Luckily, Iron Man is able to get away, but the destruction of the house is in full view of the media who assume Tony Stark was killed in the blast. Hearing the report on the radio deeply upsets Pepper and Happy who return to the scene to confirm the horrible truth. When they see Iron Man on the scene, they accuse him of not doing his job. Pepper then goes back to the police to ask them to look into Iron Man’s involvement in Tony’s death. However, the chief of police tells her that the federal government has taken over the case and there is nothing he can do. Meanwhile, Happy think that the death of Tony Stark eliminates their competition over Pepper’s affections, but Hogan is still upset he lost a friend and employer.
While his friends mourn his alleged death, Iron Man investigates where the attack comes from the Mandarin. At the same time, the Mandarin anticipates Iron Man will come and prepares a reception for his foe. Wearing a disguise, Iron Man takes a commercial flight that will take him near the Mandarin’s fortress and bails out the emergency exit when the time is right. The Mandarin detects the Iron Avenger’s arrival and uses one of his power rings to disorientate his foe. He then unleashes his massive robot named Koto to attack the hero. Confused into thinking Tojo is a human, Iron Man holds back on his attack and is easily overpowered by the robot. The Mandarin then has Iron Man tied to a massive spinning wheel. However, before he destroys his foe, the Mandarin decides to reveal the secret of his past to Iron Man.
Recurring Characters
Iron Man, Mandarin, Happy Hogan, Pepper Potts
Continuity Notes
Tony Stark has had a piece of shrapnel near his heart since Tales of Suspense #39, requiring him to wear Iron Man’s chest plate at all times to keep it from killing him. Since issue #59 his chest plate has not been able to keep a charge long enough on its own requiring Tony to wear his Iron Man armor at all times.
Inaccuracies
When the Mandarin asks one of his minions if everything is ready he responds by saying “ah so, great master!” There is so much wrong with this statement. The Mandarin is Chinese and presumably so is his assistant, as such using the phrase “ah so” wouldn’t work here because it is an American bastardization of the phrase “Ah, so desu ka” which is Japanese. It means “oh, is that so?”, so even the way it is being used here is incorrect.
The Strength of Sumo!
Captain America has come to Vietnam to help rescue a prisoner of war.[1] Clashing with enemy forces, he easily defends himself but ultimately surrenders so he can meet with their general. When they learn that Captain America has come to discuss the release of an American pilot he is taken back to a nearby camp. There he is examined by a low-ranking officer who decides the only way Cap will be able to see their general will be if they defeat their two strongest warriors. Even though it is two against one, Captain America easily trounces the warriors in hand-to-hand combat, winning the right to meet with the enemy general.
Captain America is brought to a nearby temple where he demands to see the general. Instead, they bring out the prisoner a man named Jim Baker. This is followed by a parade procession to announce the entry of General Wo, who turns out to be a massive sumo wrestler. Wo challenges Captain America to a battle. Wo’s superior size and girth appear to have the upper hand against Captain America at first, however, the Star-Spangled Avenger manages to pull himself free from Wo’s grip using leverage. Rushing past the enemy soldiers, Cap then cuts through the ropes keeping Jim tied up.
The pair then run under General Wo as he lifts up a massive statue to throw. He is so furious at this insult, Wo ends up dropping the statue on his head, knocking himself out. The pair then fight past yet another sumo wrestler in order to get to an enemy plane and steal it in order to escape. When Jim thanks Captain America over the save, Cap pretends not to hear him over the roar of the jet engine.
Recurring Characters
Captain America, Sumo
Continuity Notes
This story states that Captain America is dealing with the Viet Cong, suggesting that this story takes place during the Vietnam War. However, per History of the Marvel Universe #2, all present-tense references to the Vietnam War in Marvel stories that take place during the “Modern Age” should now be considered part of the Sin-Cong Conflict, a fictional war created to explain away all the dated Vietnam War references that were prevalent in early Marvel stories.
Topical References
Captain America states that the reason he has come to rescue Jim Baker is that Baker’s brother saved Cap’s life when they both fought during the European theater of World War II. This would have been possible when this story was published in 1965 as World War II happened 20 years earlier. However, this has become impossible as the Sliding Timescale has bumped the modern age forward where it is impossible for a soldier in his prime (as Jim Baker is depicted here) to have a brother who was active during World War II. Modern readers should just ignore any personal connection between Captain America and Jim Baker. One could assume that Cap was simply on a mission to save an American Prisoner of War on the behalf of the US government or SHIELD or some other organization.
