Tales of Suspense #72
Hoorah for the Conquering Hero!
Iron Man has returned to America after his victory against the Titanium Man.[1] However, he is more concerned about the state of Happy Hogan, who was seriously hurt in the battle. When he returns to Stark Industries where he retires to his office. With Pepper Potts now treating Iron Man as a hero and disappointed that Tony Stark is nowhere to be seen. In the privacy of his office, Tony bitterly laments over the sudden change in attitude Pepper has for him and his alter-ego.
Meanwhile, the media is making a big push to have Iron Man’s identity reveals. Watching the news is Countess Stephanie de la Spinoza who is still upset that Tony Stark snubbed her recently and decides to hire someone to help her expose Iron Man’s true identity. She hires the Mad Thinker, whose ability to predict events has foreseen her coming to him for assistance. In fact, he has already sent his Awesome Android to Stark Industries to attack Tony Stark, knowing that this will draw Iron Man out of hiding.
At that moment, Tony Stark is about to leave his office through a secret passage when the Awesome Android comes crashing in through the wall. Needing to get some distance between himself and the android in order to change into Iron Man, Tony races into the secret underground exit.[2] Tony makes it to the exit but the Awesome Android manages to catch up. Meanwhile, back inside the office, Pepper Potts had fainted when the android came rashing in and is now waking up just as security arrives on the scene. Word of Tony’s alleged kidnapping quickly reaches Washington, DC. There, Senator Harrington Byrd decides that Iron Man’s identity needs to be revealed to the public as he is a defense asset to the entire country and orders Tony Stark found immediately.
By this time, Tony Stark has been brought back to the Mad Thinker’s hideout where he learns that the Countess hired him. The Thinker then takes Tony’s briefcase and tries opening it. This triggers the gas bomb that has been rigged into the attaché case. This gives Tony cover to recover it and quickly change into Iron Man. When he begins fighting the Awesome Android, the creature assumes the form and power of Iron Man. The Countess realizes that she has bitten off more than she can chew when the Mad Thinker reveals his intention to destroy Iron Man instead of unmasking him.
Luckily, Iron Man has counter gadgets to all of the Thinker’s traps. However, the battle begins causing one of the villain’s computers to begin overloading. Iron Man then grabs both the Thinker and the Countess and flees the abandoned mansion just moments before it explodes. Iron Man then turns the Mad Thinker over to the police and forces the Countess to walk home. When Tony Stark returns to Stark Industries, Pepper tries to tell him that something is wrong with Happy Hogan, but he dismisses it in another attempt to push her away. He then returns to his office to recharge his chest place as he must see Happy as Iron Man.
Recurring Characters
Iron Man, Mad Thinker, Awesome Android, Pepper Potts, Harrington Byrd, Stephanie de la Spinoza
Continuity Notes
The battle between Iron Man and Titanium Man took place in Tales of Suspense #69-71.
Tony recalls how the Awesome Android was based on designs stolen from Reed Richards. See Fantastic Four #15.
Topical References
The newspaper reporters in this story are depicted using typewriters.
The Countess is watching the news on a black-and-white television.
The Sleeper Shall Wake!
Captain America has just finished telling his fellow Avengers about his wartime adventure at Greymore Castle.[1] When Hawkeye asks about Bucky, Captain America is deeply upset thinking about his former sidekick and leaves the conversation, leaving the Scarlet Witch to explain to Hawkeye that Bucky was killed in action.[2] Retiring for the night, Captain America wishes that Bucky hadn’t died on this mission. As his mind is focused on the war, Steve Rogers falls asleep and dreams about his last encounter with the Red Skull near the end of the war.
At the time, the Red Skull was trying to flee into a bunker with a strongbox filled with important documents. Following his foe, Cap tossed his shield when the Red Skull attempted to use a grenade again him. The Red Skull is caught in the blast and the ceiling of the bunk ends up collapsing on the villain, pinning him to the ground. Although he is trapped, the Red Skull assures Captain America that he will not be defeated as he has succeeded in setting up a trio of robots he call the Sleepers that will awaken on “Der Tag” (the day) many decades in the future and pick up where the Nazis left off. Unfortunately, Captain America was unable to learn more about the Sleepers as the Allied bombing of the area forced him to flee the bunker before he could be buried alive.
Waking up from this dream, Steve doesn’t know what happened to the Red Skull, but he suddenly realizes that the date of Der Tag is coming soon.[3] Having kept the strongbox all of these years,[4] Captain America checks it and finds a scrap of paper that contains the name of Nazi operatives and German towns where each Sleeper robot is being kept.[5]
Sometime later in the town of Gortmund, Bavaria Herr Von Kimmer — the local burgomaster — has called some of the villagers to meet with him at his home. They are shocked when he greets them wearing a Nazi SS uniform as Nazi personalia is now illegal in Germany. He ignores their concerns and orders them to assist in pulling down a massive bolder that has kept the first Sleeper robot hidden since the end of World War II. When the boulder is pulled free the Sleeper robot — a massive humanoid with electrodes for hands — emerges from the cave and begins going on a rampage. The awakening of the Sleeper coincides with Captain America’s arrival in the country. Parachuting into the village, Captain America travels through a nearby forest so as not to get slowed up by the villagers fleeing the area.
Captain America is caught off guard by how large the Sleeper robot is. Worse, his shield has no effect on it whatsoever. As Captain America wonders what he can do about this and the two other Sleepers, Erica Wolfman — the second operative — begins making arrangements in the town of Telbeck to unleash the second Sleeper robot.
Recurring Characters
Captain America, Sleeper Robot, Red Skull (flashback), Erica Wolfman, Avengers (Hawkeye, Quicksilver, Scarlet Witch)
Continuity Notes
Captain America’s adventure at Greymore Castle took place in Tales of Suspense #69-71.
Everyone believes Bucky was killed in a drone explosion circa 1945, per Avengers #4. However, Captain America will learn that Bucky survived and was brainwashed into becoming a Russian assassin called the Winter Soldier. See Captain America (vol. 5) #14.
The Red Skull ended up being put in suspended animation much like Captain America and will be awoken in the modern age in Tales of Suspense #72. This event is expanded upon in greater detail in Captain America #298 as well as Captain America Annual #13.
It’s never explained in this story how Steve kept the strongbox since he was in suspended animation for years. However, Avengers #277 revealed that Captain America had a footlocker full of mementos from his career including a number of war-time possession stored at Fort Dix. Mind you Steve didn’t learn this until many years after this story. That said, it’s possible that Steve had other possessions kept elsewhere that he recovered around the time of this tale.
Because of the Sliding Timescale, the idea that the Red Skull would still have operatives waiting for Der Tag since World War II becomes increasingly impossible without some means of slowing or completely stopping the aging process. While the Nazi’s of the Marvel Universe did have access to such technologies, the Sleepers entry in Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A-Z #10 is somewhat vague. It simply states that the people that wake up the Sleepers are either the Red Skull’s “chosen agents or successors”
Topical References
The Scarlet Witch states that she and her brother were children during World War II. This should be considered a topical reference as both Wanda and Pietro are characters with a normal aging process and it is impossible for them to have been alive during World War II and still be in the young adults in this story. This statement should be ignored.
Hawkeye states that Bucky died 20 years prior to this story. This should be considered a topical reference as well. As the Sliding Timescale pushes the Modern Age of the Marvel Universe forward, the length of time between Bucky’s death and this story will continue to get longer. In 1965 it was 20 years ago, but in 2021 it would be 61 years. In 2025 it will be 65 years, and so on. For more on the math behind this, go here.
The Red Skull specifically states that the Sleepers will be activated in 20 years’ time. This should also become a topical reference as the length of time between this flashback and when the Sleepers are awoken in the Modern Age will get longer and longer.
Again, Von Kimmer and his workers refer to World War II as happening 20 years prior. This is topical for the same reasons laid out above.
