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Cream to Off-White pgs; Universal holder; Unrestored
Origin & 1st app of Iron Man (Tony Stark); Jack Kirby cover; Steve Ditko art; COMIC BOOK IMPACT rating of 10 (CBI)
Realizing the growing Marvel audience was composed primarily of hip, and largely left-leaning, young men, Stan Lee challenged himself to create a hero who would be the embodiment of everything the counterculture was railing against, and still elicit sympathy from readers. As a result, Tony Stark was envisioned as an older, hard-drinking, playboy millionaire, and Iron Man quickly became a cult favorite whose popularity has only grown over the years.

The origin story of Iron Man is one deeply rooted in the Vietnam War era. Tony Stark, a weapons designer, is brought in to help the U.S. government in their efforts to combat the Vietcong. Stark is mortally wounded by a booby trap and taken captive. During his imprisonment, the ingenious Stark constructs a suit of armor that contains an array of gadgets and firepower and also slows the approach of a piece of shrapnel that is inching toward his heart. Stark is reborn and ready to do battle with the forces of Communism and other evils around the globe in his new role as the iconic Iron Man.