Cream to Off-White pgs; Universal holder; Unrestored
Jack Kirby cover; Steve Ditko art; origin & 1st app of Iron Man (Tony Stark)
Realizing the growing Marvel audience was composed primarily of hip, and largely left-leaning high-school students and collegians, 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. Thus, Tony Stark was born as an older, hard-drinking, playboy millionaire. 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, whose guerrilla tactics make the American military approach of bigger and badder seem obsolete in the steamy jungles of Southeast Asia. While conducting a test, 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 that also slows the approach of a piece of shrapnel inching inexorably towards his heart. Voila, Iron Man is born, ready to do battle with the forces of Communism and other evils around the globe.