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- "You will not have died in vain, my friend. I swear it! The Iron Man swears it!"
- ―Iron Man
| "Iron Man Is Born!" | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Tales of Suspense | |
| Title: | "Iron Man Is Born!" |
| Volume: | 1 |
| Number: | 39 |
| Cover price: | .12 |
| Cover date: | March, 1963 |
| Publisher: | Marvel Comics |
| Credits | |
| Chief: | Stan Lee |
| Writers: | Stan Lee; Larry Lieber |
| Pencilers: | Don Heck |
| Inkers: | Don Heck |
| Cover artists: | Jack Kirby |
| Cover inker: | Don Heck |
| Letterers: | Art Simek |
| Editors: | Stan Lee |
| Navigation | |
| Previous: | Tales of Suspense #38 |
| Next: | Tales of Suspense #40 |
"Iron Man Is Born!"[]
Somewhere within the United States defense perimeter, millionaire industrialist Tony Stark performs a demonstration of his micro-transistor technology to a General of the United States Army. Using a single transistor, he increases the attraction capabilities of a small magnet, increasing its power a thousandfold - strong enough to tear a vault door in half. The military brass is so impressed that they immediately contract his remarkable technology for use in Vietnam. Before taking off for an extended business trip to Southeast Asia, Tony takes a few days to relax on the beaches of the Riviera.
In a small village in Vietnam, a communist warlord named Wong-Chu exercises his power over his captured South Vietnamese prisoners. He makes the offer that if any prisoner can defeat him in a wrestling competition, he will free the entire village. Two men take the warlord up on his offer, but both men fail to defeat him. To celebrate, Wong-Chu decides to plunder the entire town.
On the outskirts of the jungle, Tony Stark arrives with a small contingent of soldiers to field test his micro-transistor technology. With this technology, the Army grunts are able to fire high-caliber weaponry housed within firearms that are no bigger than a flashlight. While pursuing a squad of fleeing enemy soldiers, Tony Stark snags his foot on a trip wire, detonating a nearby land mine. The explosion sends a piece of shrapnel into his chest, where it lodges dangerously close to his heart. The guerilla soldiers recover Stark's unconscious body and bring him back to Wong-Chu's hut.
When he awakens, he listens as Wong-Chu instructs him to use his scientific genius to create a weapon for him that will give him a decisive victory over his opponents. If he agrees, Wong-Chu will have a surgeon remove the shrapnel from his heart before it kills him. Tony knows that Wong-Chu is lying, but pretends to go along and agrees to build a weapon for the warlord. He is locked inside of a small laboratory with little more than a workbench and a pile of scrap metal.
On the second day of Tony's imprisonment, he is joined by another prisoner - an aging yet well-renowned physicist named Professor Yinsen. Tony tells Yinsen that he fully intends on creating a weapon - but one for himself so he can defeat Wong-Chu. Yinsen agrees to help him, realizing that part of the weapon's functionality is to keep the shrapnel in Tony's chest stable so that it does not kill him. The two work laboriously for several days, but before long time becomes a luxury they cannot afford. Tony's condition becomes critical and they must implement their weapon as soon as possible. The weapon is a suit of bulky, steel-grey armor. The chest plate of the armor is to serve as regulator for Tony's injured heart. As Yinsen applies the various components to Tony's body, he notices a flashing red light in the room, indicating that Wong-Chu's men are approaching. Taking a desperate gamble, Yinsen leaves the lab and begins running down the corridor screaming "Death to Wong-Chu!" The armed guards gun him down and Tony overhears the gunfire from the nearby lab.
Tony Stark activates the controls of his rudimentary life support system and takes his first steps as Iron Man. He knows that Professor Yinsen is dead and vows to avenge his life. As Wong-Chu and his men batter down the door, the Iron Man uses his air-pressure jets to fly through the roof to the outside. He overhears Wong-Chu mention that he is going to engage in his favorite sport and follows him to an open area of the village. He challenges Wong-Chu to a wrestling match and easily defeats him by hoisting the warlord's body above his head and spinning him around in circles before finally tossing him unceremoniously into the bushes. Wong-Chu's men begin to open fire on Iron Man, but he reverses the polarity of his magnetized gauntlets, creating a repulsion effect that pushes his enemies' guns from their hands.
Wong-Chu runs up the stairs of one of the taller huts and appropriates a loudspeaker. He begins to issue orders to his men, offering ten thousand yen to any who can destroy Iron Man. Tony uses his armor's radio system to override the loudspeaker and instructs the other warriors to flee or else the Iron Man will kill them all. He tries to get into the building, but the door is locked, so he uses a miniature buzz saw to cut himself a new opening.
Wong-Chu tries to flee to a nearby building, but Iron Man projects a stream of oil in his direction and ignites it. The trail of flame reaches an ammunition dump and it explodes just as Wong-Chu races by it, presumably killing him. Satisfied that the other prisoners are free and that Professor Yinsen's death has been avenged, Iron Man walks off into the night wondering what the future will hold for him now.
Appearances[]
Featured characters
- Iron Man, Tony Stark (1st appearance)
Supporting characters
Villains
Minor characters
- US Army officer
- US Army soldiers
- USAF General
- Tony Stark's admirers
- Several unnamed beach patrons on the Riviera
- Numerous unnamed Vietnamese villagers
Organizations
Locations
- Stark laboratory
- South Vietnam
- French Riviera
Items
- Iron Man armor MK I
- Lightweight mortars
- AK-47s
- Mini-transistors
- Vietnamese booby trap
Events
Vehicles
Miscellaneous
"The Last Rocket!"[]
| "The Last Rocket!" | |
|---|---|
| Title: | "The Last Rocket!" |
| Writers: | Stan Lee; Larry Lieber [1] |
| pencilers: | Gene Colan |
| Inkers: | Gene Colan |
| Editors: | Stan Lee |
A married couple refuses to leave the planet with everyone else when their sun starts to burn out. After the last rocket ship leaves orbit, there is a giant flash of light and a new sun forms behind the old one. They pledge to start the human race anew as a breed that will love the the planet as they love it. It is then we find that they are Adam and Eve.
Appearances[]
Featured characters
- Adam
- Eve
Supporting characters
Villains
Minor characters
- Unnamed neighbors
Races
Locations
Items
Vehicles
- Evacuation rocket vessels
"Gundar!"[]
| "Gundar!" | |
|---|---|
| Title: | "Gundar!" |
| Writers: | Stan Lee |
| pencilers: | Steve Ditko |
| Inkers: | Steve Ditko |
| Editors: | Stan Lee |
A man is lost at sea in a small boat when he sees an island in the distance. He lands to find the island inhabited by Vikings awaiting the coming of Gundar, "the cruelest, most hated captain of all!"
Centuries ago, Gundar was ambushed by his men, thrown into a boat, and left out to sea. As he stood there, he cursed them with immortality to Odin, never to leave the cursed island they were to find themselves stranded on until is return.
After the Vikings tell the man their story, they begin to vanish one by one believing Odin had forgiven them. The man is then found to be a descendant of Gundar and is soon rescued by ship.
Appearances[]
Featured characters
- Gundar
Supporting characters
- Lars
Villains
Minor characters
- Gundar, the Viking captain (In flashback only)
- Numerous unnamed Vikings
Races
- Norse Gods
Locations
- An unidentified island
Items
Vehicles
- Gundar's Viking ship
Notes & Trivia[]
- Iron Man's next chronological appearance is in Iron Man #144, which continues the story featured in this issue. As Iron Man journeys back to the US Defense Perimeter, he meets downed American helicopter pilot James Rhodes.
- Although it was originally intended that Wong-Chu died at the climax of "Iron Man Is Born!", he actually survived and resurfaced years later in the pages of Iron Man Annual 2000.
- Professor Ho Yinsen is likewise still alive despite the apparent events chronicled in this issue. He appears next in Iron Man Annual 2000.
- Don Heck based Tony Stark's look on the 1930s movie actor Errol Flynn. [2]
- This issue was ranked #29 in 100 Greatest Marvel Comics of All Time list.
- Beginning with issue #40, the Mark I armor is repainted gold. Many resources cite this as the first appearance of the Mark II armor, but it is actually just the Mark I until Tony upgrades it.
- The Mark I armor is re-imagined for the 2008 Iron Man feature film and is the first power armor featured in the movie. In the film, Tony Stark and Professor Yinsen create the armor "in a cave out of a box of scraps" as a means of escaping from the Ten Rings terrorist cell.
- First and only appearance to date of Gundar, Lars and their Viking crew.
- The version of Odin presented in "Gundar" is based on the mythological Odin and is not intended to represent the Odin of classic Marvel Comics superhero fare.
Reprints[]
"Iron Man Is Born!"
- Invincible Iron Man: The Complete Collection DVD-ROM
- Iron Man: Requiem #1
- Marvel Masterworks, Volume 1 #20
- Marvel Masterworks: The Invincible Iron Man #1
- Marvel Milestone Edition: Tales of Suspense #39
- Marvel Tales, Annual #1
- Sons of Origins of Marvel Comics
"The Last Rocket!"
- Marvel Milestone Edition: Tales of Suspense #39
"Gundar!"
- Creatures on the Loose #22
- Marvel Milestone Edition: Tales of Suspense #39
Recommended Reading[]
See also[]
Media
The World of Iron Man
Iron Man miscellaneous
External Links[]
- Tales of Suspense #39 at MDP
- Tales of Suspense #39 at Comics.org
- Tales of Suspense #39 at Comic Vine
- Tales of Suspense #39 at Comicbookdb.com
References[]
- ↑ Uncredited in this issue; Credit list unconfirmed.
- ↑ "The Definitive Iron Man"; Stan Lee; Iron Man (2008) DVD documentary