Tales of Suspense #42
Trapped by the Red Barbarian
A group of Russian spies has apparently succeeded in stealing one of America’s newest atomic bombs. However, when they open the crate containing the weapon they find Iron Man waiting inside. Iron Man quickly rounds them up for the authorities and tells them that these men are operatives of a Russian operative codenamed the Red Barbarian. However, for the time being, the Red Barbarian is out of their reach because he operates from his spy network on Russia.[1]
The following day, Tony Stark gives a demonstration of his new pocket-sized disintegration ray at the Pentagon. Information about the device filters back to the Red Barbarian through the Russian’s spy networks. He is furious that his spies have not been able to steal the plans due to heightened security. That’s when he is visited by the Actor, a Russian spy who is the master of disguise. At first, the Actor almost fools the Barbarian by disguising himself as the leader of their country. When the Actor shows that he can easily disguise himself as Tony Stark, the Red Barbarian sends him to America to steal the plans. So confident in his abilities, the Actor even boasts that he can destroy Iron Man on top of obtaining the designs for the disintegrator weapon.
Smuggling himself into the country, the Actor gets to Washington by disguising himself as a US Senator. There, he and a network of spies attempt to infiltrate the Pentagon while disguised by Tony Stark and a team of military brass. Gaining access to Stark’s office they begin searching for the plans. As the Actor searches for a filing cabinet he finds components to Iron Man’s armor and correctly deduces that Tony Stark is Iron Man. When the plans are eventually found, the Actor leaves with them and orders his men to assassinate the real Tony Stark when he arrives.
When Tony shows up he is shot at by the spies posing as military officials. Luckily, they are all terrible shots and Stark manages to get away and change into Iron Man. Wearing his bulletproof armor, Tony quickly subdues the spies and learns what happened. With the Actor already having a head start, Iron Man decides to beat his foe to Russia by using an experimental US rocket to travel there faster. He arrives just as the Actor is about to take a car back to the Red Barbarian. Iron Man stops him and leaves the spy and his car hanging from a tree.
Then, pretending to be the Actor disguised as Iron Man, Tony visits the Red Barbarian and gives him a phony briefcase that is locked with a tiny explosive. Tony then convinces the Barbarian to wait until the Actor returns once he gets out of his Iron Man disguise and disarms the boss. In reality, Tony is leaving in order to free the Actor. Unaware that Iron Man is setting a trap in motion, the Actor heads back to the Red Barbarian’s hideout in the hopes of winning favor with him by revealing Iron Man’s secret identity. When the real Actor arrives and tries to explain himself, the Red Barbarian accuses him of lying in order to get more all recognition for himself. Before the Actor can reveal Iron Man’s true identity, the Red Barbarian orders the Actor executed. When the spy is dead, the Red Barbarian dismisses his claims as nothing more than fairy tails.
Recurring Characters
Iron Man, Red Barbarian
Continuity Notes
The Red Barbarian is not referred to by his real name in this story. His name is revealed to be Andre Rostov in Winter Soldier #5.
Topical References
This story has a lot of Cold War references: particularly references to Russia being the “Iron Curatin” and communists being referred to as “Reds”. With the exception of the Red Barbarian, who — in a modern context — assumed that name due to a nostalgia for the former Soviet Union than actually being part of it.
One could assume that the Actor’s disguising himself as Nikita Khrushchev could be considered a topical reference, or perhaps not. Given the Red Barbarian’s obvious love for the former Soviet Union, one could assume that the Actor disguised himself as the long-dead leader of the USSR to get a rise out of the Red Barbarian.
