Geek Syndicate Issue 6 | Page 45

Geek Syndicate
path diverges from the reality of Hughes. The comic hero’s parents are killed in a plane crash, leaving him in charge of the company. Stark journeys to Vietnam as part of an arms deal and is subsequently captured and mortally wounded. In the first run of comics, it is the Vietnamese Wong-Chu who captured Stark, but subsequent re-tellings of Iron Man’s origins update the story to keep it closer to current events. In all the origin stories, his injury has left a piece of shrapnel moving slowly through his chest towards his heart. Only a powerful electromagnet could save his life by generating a field which halted the progression of the lethal shard. In the first telling, it was fellow captive and physicist Ho Yinsen who constructed the chest-plate which kept him alive. Tony even describes his injury in terms of technology. He cannot face death as just a man. Together, they constructed the armoured suit – the Mark I – so they could escape. Yinsen sacrifices himself so Tony can escape (putting his human life before Iron Man’s machine existence). During the escape, Tony meets wounded American Marine fighter pilot, James Rhodes. “Rhodey” would become Tony’s best friend over the course of the comic book. Other characters that pop up in Tony’s evolution include his chauffeur, Happy Hogan and his secretary, Virginia – also known as “Pepper” Potts. Unlike the 2008 movie, Stark originally hides his secret identity from the public: Iron Man is his bodyguard and even his company’s mascot. As Lee wanted the capitalist hero, Stark’s enemies were suitably chosen for Iron Man to fight. He comes up against the Communists: Black Widow, the Crimson Dynamo and the Titanium Man. However, the Chinese Communist the Mandarin becomes his greatest enemy. It wasn’t until the Vietnam War ended that Marvel changed Iron Man’s raison d’etre. The pro-Capitalist stance remained but the anti-Communist angle lessened. Buoyed on by the anti-war movement, Marvel took the bold move of having Stark question his own motives, the very traits that had made him what he was. While keeping his notorious arrogance and swagger, he changed his politics and questioned the morality of being a weapons dealer. Big topics for a comic book. The gamble paid off. He became more popular than ever. While building new suits and developing tech for his Marvel cohorts, his biggest challenge came from the bottom of a bottle. By now, it is 1979. Tony is fighting both his alcoholism as well as rival indus-

Tony Stark show off his latest weapon system. Shortly before his kidnapping.

Image © Marvel, 2008

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