The Early Crimson Dynamo

Iron Man was a true hero (secretly industrialist Tony Stark), but he did inspire some incredible menaces in his time.  One of those was the Crimson Dynamo, who was the Russian counterpart to America's armored Avenger.

Here are the first two men to wear the Crimson Dynamo armor.

Anton Vanko

Anton Vanko debuted in Tales of Suspense #46 (October, 1963), becoming "The Crimson Dynamo!" in a tale by Stan Lee and Don Heck, under a cover by Jack Kirby and Dick Ayers.  Here, under orders from the Soviet Premier, Vanko was sent to the United States to ruin Tony Stark and take care of Iron Man.  Khrushchev was also planning on eliminating Vanko after taking care of Iron Man. 

While in battle with Iron Man, Tony found the frequency that Khrushchv was communicating with his other agents with, and shared the fact that the Soviet Premier was planning on eliminating Anton after he took care of Iron Man.  

Thus, Iron Man convinced Vanko to defect.

Boris Turgenev

Boris Turgenev fell into the role of Crimson Dynamo via manipulations not his own, in Tales Of Suspense #52 (April, 1964) in the "The Crimson Dynamo Strikes Again!" by Stan Lee and Don Heck (with a cover by Jack Kirby and Paul Reinman).  Furious that Vanko defected, Khrushchv sent his agents, the Black Widow and Boris Turgenev to eliminate Vanko, as well as Tony Stark and Iron Man.  Vanko, working at Stark Industries, was set upon by Boris, who took on the armor to ruin Vanko's work for Stark.  

This led to a battle between the new Crimson Dynamo and Iron Man (who had upgraded from his gold to his red and gold armor).  Boris knocked Iron Man unconscious, and he, along with Natasha, were taking Vanko and Iron Man back to Russia.  But, Iron Man revived, and, with the sacrifice of Anton Vanko, defeated Boris, leaving Natasha an agent alone in the United States.

The Crimson Dynamo would return, with improved armor, with other people under the armor, to face off against Iron Man, Black Widow and more, usually in conjunction with the Titanium Man and other Soviet agents!

Celebrating Artist Bob Hall

Celebrating the birthday of artist Bob Hall (October 16, 1944) with a west coast party....a party of the West Coast Avengers, that is.  Due to concerns of the Vision that surfaced during the Secret Wars, he enlisted Hawkeye to form a team of Avengers on the west coast, to be better able to handle emergencies.  Hawkeye enlisted Avengers who were in the area, like Wonder Man, Tigra and Iron Man (though he didn't know to start that it was not the original Iron Man-Tony Stark, but instead James Rhodes), and Mockingbird.  This team of unsure heroes faced menaces like the Blank and Graviton in their initial mini-series.

West Coast Avengers #1 and #2 (September and October, 1984)

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West Coast Avengers #3 and #4 (November and December, 1984)

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Celebrating Artist Bob Layton

Celebrating the birthday of writer/artist Bob Layton (September 25, 1953), with a couple of his earliest Iron Man covers (Iron Man #120 and #121, from March and April, 1979), which also feature the Sub-Mariner!

Celebrating Artist Val Mayerik

Celebrating the birthday of artist Val Mayerik (March 29, 1950) with a couple of his covers featuring Frankenstein's Monster...Frankenstein Monster #18 (September, 1975) and Iron Man #101 (August, 1977).

Iron Man Vs Santa Claus?

To be fair, that really isn't Santa Claus, but a disguised Spymaster that Iron Man is fighting on the cover to Iron Man #254 (March, 1990, cover by Bob Layton)...as Spymaster was directed to fight Iron Man by the Taskmaster.

Still...lumps of coal for the villains for attacking Iron Man and sullying the image of Santa!

Goodbye 2020

Well, 2020 has been a rough and tumble year.  Don't think that Tom DeFalco, Herb Trimpe or Barry Windsor-Smith had any idea what this year was going to be like when they created Iron Man 2020 for the Machine Man #2 (November, 1984) limited series, set in an alternate future of 2020, with a mercenary Arno Stark taking up the Iron Man armor.

 

This evil version of Iron Man continued onward, appearing in Amazing Spider-Man Annual #20 (November, 1986), as well as a stand alone story for an Iron Man 2020 in June, 1994 withe these  (and a recent crossover event this year as well), and all the appearances of Iron Man 2020 were collected in a tradepaperback in 2013 (with the modified Amazing Spider-Man Annual cover).

No disrespect to any of the creators of these series, but we are all happy to put 2020 in the rear view mirror.

 

Stan Lee Excelsior

What do you say about the legend that was Stan Lee?

A man who worked on Simon and Kirby's Captain America?

Co-creator of Groot, Fin Fang Foom and a whole host of monsters for Timely's monster comics of Strange Tales, Tales To Astonish, Journey Into Mystery and Tales of Suspense?

A man who revolutionized the comic industry in 1961 with the creation of the Fantastic Four for Marvel Comics (with Jack Kirby), that led to other creations like the Hulk, Ant-Man, Dr. Doom, Iron Man, Thor, the Wasp, the Avengers, the X-Men, the Scarlet Witch, Quicksilver, the Inhumans, Black Panther and (with Steve Ditko), Spider-Man, Dr. Strange and all their fearsome foes including the Sinister Six!

A man who was there as Marvel properties found their way live on your television set, with shows like the Incredible Hulk (which had movies with Daredevil and Thor), Spider-Man, and made for TV movies Captain America and Dr. Strange?  Not even mentioning the various animated features (including the Simpsons, which Stan more recently lent his voice to as well).

A man whose cameos in recent Marvel movies are legendary?

We say that Stan Lee shall forever remain, "the man".  Excelsior.

Rest in peace, Stan Lee; December 28, 1922 to November 12, 2018.

Marvel Legends 2016 Wave 3 3 and 3 Quarters

Technically, it is more Marvel Legends 2016 Wave 2 and a half, as half this group we've seen before!

This wave includes Spider-Man foes of the living vampire, Morbius and water elemental, Hydro-Man, as well as a more modern look for the mutant X-Men, Rogue, as well as a later look of Avenger, Quasar...all in glorious 3 and 3/4 plastic, as only Hasbro and Marvel can do!

The fellows we've seen before include Black Panther, original armor Iron Man (both from Wave 1), and Spider-Man in two different costume variants (one from Wave 1 and one from Wave 2 of 2016).  At least you'll be able to find a Spider-Man and a Black Panther figure in the aisles when the Black Panther and Spider-Man movies come out!

Iron Man Vs. Captain America

Iron Man and Captain America have battled many times over the years, but the first was the best.


Tales of Suspense #58 (October, 1964) featured Iron Man "In Mortal Combat With Captain America", with an incredible cover by Jack Kirby, and story by Stan Lee (and interior art by Don Heck and Dick Ayers, with Kirby doing a few Cap figures in the story).



The two heroes were tricked into battle by the Chameleon (a foe who first menaced Spider-Man, back in Amazing Spider-Man #1, getting New Yorkers to mistrust Spider-Man)...and the Chameleon manipulates Iron Man and Cap to battle here!

Everything turned out okay, as starting with Tales of Suspense #59 (November, 1964), Iron Man and Captain America started to share the title, each with single stories in an issue...


...until Tales of Suspense #99 (March, 1968), after which, Cap took over the title with Captain America #100 (April, 1968) and Iron Man went to Iron Man & Sub-Mariner #1 (April, 1968), and then into his solo Iron Man comic in May, 1968.


So, when are we getting the Sub-Mariner movie?

Spider-Man Teams With Iron Man

Back in the day, Spider-Man and Iron Man got along, and they teamed up quite a bit!

Iron Man's earliest adventures with Spider-Man in Marvel Team-Up were quite involved, pulling in people from all over the Marvel Universe, Avengers and more!

Time to take a look back at what Tony Stark and Peter Parker's alter egos did together....

Time Troubles

The first time Spider-Man and Iron Man worked together in MTU was in Marvel Team-Up #9 (May, 1973) with the start of "The Tomorrow War" by writer Gerry Conway, penciller Ross Andru and inker Frank Bolle.

This time, Spider-Man comes to the aid of the Avengers, whose mansion is surrounded by a force field, with Iron Man and Spider-Man trying to break through, but instead, they end up in the 23rd Century, where the duo meet Zarrko, the Tomorrow Man (an old time-traveling foe of Thor's from the future).  The pair search around for their captive friends, finding them....

....held captive by Kang the Conqueror (a time traveling foe of the Avengers!).

More trouble ensues...

...but that is for the next couple of issues (where Iron Man is not as involved, but instead, Spidey gets help from the Human Torch, and then, the Inhumans!).

Human Torch had his own team-ups in MTU, and the Inhumans were without Medusa and Crystal....

A Long Time

Spider-Man and Iron Man started a long run of team-ups with Marvel Team-Up #48 (August, 1976), with "A Fine Night For Dying!", by writer Bill Mantlo, penciller Sal Buscema, and inkers Mike Esposito and Dave Hunt.

Spidey had just returned from a battle with the Basilisk with the Thing (and before that, a time travel adventure that started with the Scarlet Witch and Vision, and ended in the alternate futures of Killraven and Deathlok), where Spidey is knocked off his swing by an explosion at Stark Industries, and saved by Iron Man.  While conferring with police detective Jean DeWolff (introduced in this issue), the heroes are the focus of a model plane attack (with bomb!) in her office, with Spidey headed to stop the villain who launched the plane....

...the Wraith (who also debuts in this issue!).

Iron Man and Spidey's battle against the Wraith continues into Marvel Team-Up #49 (September, 1976) with "Madness Is All In The Mind!" by writer Bill Mantlo, penciller Sal Buscema and inkers Mike Esposito and Dave Hunt.

Spidey is taken prisoner by the Wraith, who reveals he has mind-control powers as well, so Spider-Man, Iron Man and Jean DeWolff have troubles battling the villain, but do cause the Wraith to flee.  Back in Jean's office, she shows the heroes a letter from the Wraith, but it appears in the handwriting of her brother Brian, an officer supposedly killed in the line of duty. 

Spidey thinks they may be dealing with the supernatural, a realm out of reach for Spider-Man and Iron Man, but not for a master of the mystic arts like Dr. Strange.... 

Iron Man takes a little back seat in this issue, as Spidey hooks up with Dr. Strange in Marvel Team-Up #50 (October, 1976) as they explore "The Mystery Of The Wraith!" by Bill Mantlo, Sal Buscema, Mike Esposito and Dave Hunt.

Dr. Strange and Spider-Man find out that Brian was not killed in the shootout as everyone thought, and Iron Man does find Phillp DeWolff's fingerprints on the handwritten letter from the Wraith (Phillip being Brian and Jean's father).  After Jean is captured by the Wraith, she discovers that Brian is the Wraith, that he was wounded in the shoot out with a bullet in his brain, and taken by their father, who performed experiments on his son, linking their minds (allowing Phillip control, but Brian having mental powers).  Iron Man arrives trying to stop the Wraith with a special helmet, taking out the Wraith for a time.

Marvel Team-Up #51 (November, 1976) features "The Trial Of The Wraith!" by Bill Mantlo, Sal Buscema and Mike Esposito.

Peter Parker gets assigned to cover the case against the Wraith (both Phillip and Brian DeWolff), but gets in an argument with his boss J. Jonah Jameson, thus being able to leave and attend as Spider-Man, even as expert witnesses on mind control like the X-Men's Professor X and the Avengers' Moondragon are called, and S.H.I.E.L.D. agents unsuccessfully prevent the defendants use of their mind powers.  Phillip reasserts control of the Wraith, at least until Dr. Strange lives up to his surgeon credit, using his mystic powers and medical knowledge to take the bullet from the brain of Brian as Spider-Man and Iron Man fight the menaces that Phillip is causing Brian to make up.  The court finds Phillip guilty, but Brian innocent (and the judges were secretly telepaths and telekinetics as well?)

All the while, the Hulk jumps around in New Mexico (though his team-ups would have to wait an issue, as Spidey worked with Captain America in the next issue, and then went to Marvel Team-Up's first annual to work with the X-Men.....), and the Wraith would appear again in issues of Iron Man, as well as the Amazing Spider-Man, Morbius the Living Vampire and the Punisher.

 Crack That Whip

After their lengthy battle with the Wraith, Spidey and Iron Man might have longed for a simpler time, like in Marvel Team-Up #72 (August, 1978) with a "Crack Of The Whip!" by writer Bill Mantlo, and art by Jim Mooney (and a cover by John Byrne and Bob Layton).

At least it seemed like a simple case, with Spidey trying to stop warehouse thieves, before Maggia enforcer and Iron Man foe, Whiplash, stopped him.  The crooks fled (though Spidey got a tracer on them), and Spidey, along with Jean DeWolff and Iron Man, prepare to go and face off against Whiplash.  Meanwhile, Whiplash arrives at the Maggia's base, where we find out that the Wraith is in control, heading up this Maggia's branch.  The heroes soon show up, with Iron Man fighting Whiplash's whips, and Spidey dealing with the Wraith's mind-projected illusions, until Jean stops her brother, causing Whiplash to turn on the Wraith, and the Wraith to defeat Whiplash.  The Wraith goes off with Jean as the police take Whiplash away.

 Hot Time In Town Tonight

Marvel Team-Up #110 (October, 1981) features "Magma Force" and the debut of a new villain, Magma, by writer David Michelinie, penciller Herb Trimpe and inker Mike Esposito (under a Bob Layton cover).

As Spidey is headed toward the Daily Bugle, he saves a falling window washer, who had been shaken loose from his perch by an earthquake in New York!  When Spidey goes into the Daily Bugle as Peter Parker, he gets an assignment to photograph the news conference that Tony Stark has called about how he plans to deal with New York's new earthquake problem.  This conference is interrupted by an earthquake, with Peter and Tony secretly changing into their alter egos to deal with it.  When Stark's tracking device pinpoints the area that started the trouble, the two heroes go to investigate, and find armed thugs there, under the leadership of Magma, a mining engineer who lost his company and his wife to environmentalists, and was to take revenge with his new armored suit and weapons, but his earthquake threat is stopped by Spider-Man and Iron Man (though Magma escapes, to cause Tony Stark trouble later....and ends up being the first foe that James Rhodes faces when he wears the Iron Man armor for a time!

 New Looks, Old Times

It's new hero meetings with Marvel Team-Up #145 (September, 1984) and the story "Hometown Boy" by writer Tony Isabella, penciller Greg LaRocque and inker Mike Esposito (under a cover by Greg LaRocque and Bob Layton).

Spidey's in his symbiote suit he got during the Secret Wars, James Rhodes is still acting as Iron Man and wearing the armor, and even Whiplash has a new look and name, now calling himself Blacklash.  They all meet at an electronics convention in Cleveland, with the newer Iron Man having trouble dealing with this improved Iron Man foe, but thankfully, Spidey is there to help defeat Blacklash....and the heroes head home, while Blacklash ends up in jail.

James, of course, later gets his own armor and becomes War Machine, after Tony takes back the Iron Man mantle.

Still, Spidey had plenty of team-ups to chronicle, and maybe it's time to look at the tech on those team-ups, and deal with some agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.!

Marvel Legends 2016 2 Packs 3 and 3 Quarters

A few new figures have hit the shelves for Hasbro's new Marvel Legends 3 and 3/4ths line....but this time they've doubled up, as they are two-packs!

This time, it's related heroes, with Shield Wielding Heroes (Vance Astro from the Guardians of the Galaxy and Sam Wilson's version of Captain America), Mechanical Masters (Machine Man and the "Superior" Iron Man), and Defenders of Asgard (Jane Foster's version of Thor and a rougher Thor Odinson).  Variations on classic Avengers...

Marvel Romance Movies

Feeling a little lacking in finding romantic movies as a comic fan?




Well, take a look at the Marvel movies, if they had been marketed as romantic comedies....

Stories of Romance

He's a skinny army recruit from Brooklyn who fills out during training and shields his heart, and she's an English lady fighting for equality in the United States army all against the backdrop of World War II.... 





The story of Steve Rogers and Peggy Carter in Captain America: The First Avenger!

Our Love Story

He's a billionaire industrialist whose time on Earth has wounded him almost beyond repair, and she's his executive secretary, working to keep him going in the real world, dealing with how he doesn't notice her, who proves he still has a heart...





The story of Tony Stark and Pepper Potts in Iron Man!

Love Adventures

He's a scientist with serious rage issues (like big, green, gamma ones), and she's the girl who loves him, with severe daddy issues (mostly, her dad hunts him, and really doesn't want to make him angry....), but she still loves him in spite of his anger.





The story of Bruce Banner and Betty Ross in the Incredible Hulk!

Secret Story Romances

He's the wild and headstrong son of Odin, the ruler of Asgard, who is having a little trouble with his hammer, being far from home, and she's a brilliant scientist working on finding proof of a bridge between worlds when these two kids run into each other (well, to be honest, she runs into him...twice!).

The story of Thor and Jane Foster in Thor!

Teen Age Romance

Last, but not least, he's a skinny nerd, with a nasty bug bite (it's radioactive), secretly in love with his next door neighbor, the prettiest girl in school, with troubles all her own.  Watch them go head over heels in love!




The story of Peter Parker and Mary Jane Watson in Spider-Man!

If you've been lucky enough to find yourself a girl who you were able to convince that the Marvel super-hero movies are really romances....

....well, Mary Jane Watson will explain how lucky you are from this classic John Romita Amazing Spider-Man panel!

Marvel Legends 2016 Wave 1 3 and 3 Quarters

Yes, the folks at Hasbro have changed the name of their 3 and 3/4 sized Marvel figures (making the name the same as their 6 inchers...no, this won't cause  any problems at retail), but you still get the same action figure goodness!

This time around, starting off the new year with a House of M Spider-Man, a Spider-Man Noir version, Captain Marvel (the former Ms. Marvel, Carol Danvers, version), Thor troll villain Ulik, Black Panther, Mark I Iron Man, aquatic Inhuman Triton, and bow-slinging member of the Guardians of the Galaxy....Yondu!

All but House of M Spidey and Black Panther are new, so plenty of new adventures your little guys can get into!

Marvel Super-Heroes Secret Wars

"Can the combined might of Earth's most powerful heroes defeat the ultimate menace?"



That was the question asked on the cover of Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars #1 from May 1984 by Jim Shooter and Michael Zeck in the start of a twelve issue mini-series that would forever change Marvel Comics....

A Gathering

With the first issue (leading out from events of April, 1984's Amazing Spider-Man #251, Avengers #242, Captain America #292, Fantastic Four #264, Incredible Hulk #294, Iron Man #181, The Thing #10 and Uncanny X-Men #180), a representation of Earth's heroes found themselves on a satellite, listening to the Beyonder (an alien with supreme powers that had been observing the Earth for a time, and now brought a group to this place)....in order to form a Battleworld in which the opposing forces of good and evil would meet and determine which was more powerful.

The members of the Fantastic Four were the Thing, the Human Torch and Mr. Fantastic, the members of the Avengers were Captain America, Iron Man (James Rhodes, as Tony Stark had been having problems at the time), Thor, Wasp, Hawkeye, She-Hulk, Captain Marvel (Monica Rambeau, a lady with energy powers who had just recently joined the Avengers), and the X-Men (Professor X, Cyclops, Wolverine, Storm, Nightcrawler, Colossus and Rouge, with Spider-Man and the Hulk as single heroes...all set to battle against villains Dr. Doom, Magneto, Galactus, Dr. Octopus, Enchantress, Kang, the Lizard, Absorbing Man, the Wrecker and his Wrecking Crew (Thunderball, Piledriver, and Bulldozer), Ultron, Klaw and the Molecule Man.

A new hero came of out this with a new Spider-Woman (Julia Carpenter) in Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars #7 (November, 1984), as well as a few new villains (Titania and Volcana from Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars #3, July, 1984).  It also gave Spider-Man his "living suit" (which eventually became Venom, in Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars #8, December, 1984).

The heroes and villains found other cities that the Beyonder had taken and combined to form his Battleworld (where the people they encountered came from), and all the while, Galactus planned to feed...and Dr. Doom schemed to come out on top of everyone.  Won't say how it all ended with Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars #12 in April, 1985, but as we saw all the heroes return (more or less, other than the Thing, who stayed on the Battleworld for a time), but as there was still titles published at Marvel Comics (with changed heroes dealing what happened to themselves during the year long mini-series), the ending wasn't much of a spoiler to regular readers (and then there was another Secret Wars, Secret Wars II from July, 1985 to March, 1986 that brought the Beyonder to Earth, and directly crossed over with the Marvel titles of the time).

The Change

The change brought about by Marvel Super-Heroes Secret Wars involved an armor upgrade for Iron Man, a busted leg and badder attitude for the Hulk, roster changes for the Fantastic Four and the Avengers (as well as an eventual expansion of the Avengers, with Vision adding a west coast team), new costumes for the X-Men (and a new understanding of Magneto for a time), and the alien symbiote that would become Venom to menace Spider-Man (all mostly in their May, 1984 titles like Amazing Spider-Man #252, Avengers #243, Captain America #293, Fantastic Four #265, Incredible Hulk #295, Iron Man #182, The Thing #11 and Uncanny X-Men #181, and taking place between the pages of Thor #341).

But the biggest change of all was the loss of freedom that individual comics had to tell a story all their own, and a firmer editorial control and over-dependance of crossovers to drive sales of comics...taking away some of the innocence of those titles, as well as the ability to follow one comic by itself for any length of time.  This, going back to that battle of good vs. evil, and showing sadly that, in the end, it is greed and power that seems to win out, instead of the creative good.