Tales of Suspense #55
No One Escapes the Mandarin!
Iron Man has been captured by the Mandarin. His only chance for survival is by continuing to let his foe believe that his alter-ego, Tony Stark, is running loose elsewhere in the castle. When the Mandarin goes looking for Stark, Iron Man is finally able to break free from his bonds now that his onboard generator has recharged his batteries.[1]
Iron Man follows the Mandarin around from above using his silent jet boots. The Mandarin eventually gives up his search for Tony Stark when his scanners detect another American spy satellite. He rushes to the device he uses to cause these satellites to crash. That’s when Iron Man reveals himself just long enough to trash the device and escape. Iron Man flies up into the sky and rights the rocket carrying the satellite into orbit before returning to the Mandarin’s castle for a rematch.
Back in New York City, Happy Hogan is trying his best to keep Stark Industries running smoothly in Tony Stark’s absence. Unfortunately, Happy is in over his head and some of his design approvals turn out to be disasters.
Back in China, Iron Man continues fighting his way through the various traps set by the Mandarin. The villain briefly has the upper hand by using illusions to briefly trick the golden Avenger. Iron Man ultimately uses his built-in sonar to knock out the Mandarin long enough to trash the device pulling down his spy satellites. He then uses the rockets on the captured satellites to flee back to American controlled territory, changing back into Tony Stark before the military arrives to pick him up. Stark is then rushed back to the Pentagon where he is congratulated for getting the satellites back. He then returns to New York where Pepper and Happy are relieved to see that he’s back.
Tony can’t help but notice how attractive Pepper looks and decides to sit close to her on the ride back. Jealous, Happy decides to take a bumpy road back to Stark Industries. However, this backfires when the car gets a flat, leaving Happy with the task of changing the tire while Tony and Pepper leave to gaze at the moon together.[2]
Recurring Characters
Iron Man, Mandarin, Happy Hogan, Pepper Potts
Continuity Notes
While getting free from the Mandarin’s trap, Iron Man recounts how he ended up in that situation to begin with. See last issue.
This story is expanded upon in Iron Man: Enter the Mandarin #6.
Topical References
In this story it is stated that Stark Industries has created a bunch of spy rockets for the US military. This should be considered topical since we’ve long since replaced such primitive surveillance devices with spy satellites.
Happy is depicted answering various phone calls on a number of rotary phones. Not only is the rotary phone obsolete, we has since developed call waiting and multiple lines on one number, the days of needing multiple telephones to run a business is a thing from the past.
Also, it is stated that Stark Industries technological marvels are made possible thanks to transistors… which are commonplace in electronics these days it’s not really that impressive nowadays.
All About Iron Man
A feature that goes over the specifications of Iron Man’s armor.[1][2] Tony Stark demonstrates that he keeps his compressed Iron Man armor hidden in a secret compartment in his attaché case. It also has a compartment for attachments including a miniaturized generator, a power booster, and a small drill. The only piece of armor that isn’t kept in the case is the chest plate which he always wears under his clothing because it helps keep his heart beating.[3]
He puts on his gloves and armored sleeves, which all attach to their housing using magnets. He repeats the same steps with his leg armor and boots. Lastly, there is the flexible equipment belt which contains various compact devices stored in the belt buckle. He also has built-in radio equipment stored in pads attached on each side of his belt. Lastly, he puts on his helmet to protect his face and protect his identity. After plenty of practice, the process takes Tony seconds to change into Iron Man. Once everything is in order, Iron Man activates an onboard generator and he’s ready for action.
Other specifications include a telescopic antenna that is built into the left shoulder, a spotlight built into his chest plate, magnetic repulsors built into the palm of each hand, first aid equipment hidden in the flap of his right boot, a miniature gyroscope in the left boot to with flight via the jet boots. The armor is made out of a meshed iron alloy that allows for maximum durability and flexibility. The armor also boosts Tony’s strength so he can lift heavy equipment. However, his abilities are all limited by the amount of power that is left in the batteries.
Because he is living on borrowed time, Tony never commits to any of the glamourous women he date. As for why Happy Hogan never smiles, the writers have no answer. This is followed by a pin-up of Pepper Potts which lists her vital statistics.[4]
Continuity Notes
Per the Iron Manual #1 and All-New Iron Manual #1, this armor is the 3rd suit of armor.
The opening splash page features headshots of nearly every villain Iron Man had fought to date. Each villain has appeared in past issues of Tales of Suspense.
The Black Widow, issue #52.
The Melter, issue #47.
The Mandarin, issue #50.
Scarecrow, issue #51.
Crimson Dynamo, issue #46.
Gargantus, issue #40.
Mr. Doll, issue #48.
Jack Forst, issue #45.
An unidentified character. Really, given Don Heck’s terrible artwork this could be anybody. Unlike everyone else this character isn’t identified because Heck crammed the portrait behind Iron Man so there’s no room for a caption like everyone else. My guess is that it’s supposed to be Doctor Strange from issue #41.
The chest plate keeps shrapnel from piercing his heart. He got it from blindly stumbling into an enemy tripwire in Tales of Suspense #39, remember? Stark remains in this condition until he receives a heart transplant in Iron Man #19.
They make a point to point out how frumpy Pepper originally looked until she recently got a make-over so Tony Stark would pay more attention to her. True enough, when Pepper first appeared in Tales of Suspense #45, she had visible freckles, wore her hair up, and dressed conservatively. Pepper had a make-over in issue #50 which included covering up her freckles, wearing her hair down, and wearing trendy clothing.
Topical References
A number of the technical specifications for Iron Man’s armor featured here should be considered dated and therefore topical to the era in which this story was originally published.
The Sun-Stealer!
The Watcher is observing the Earth from his vantage point on the moon when suddenly, an alien ship appears to make an emergency landing on the moon. An alien named Xakku emerges and asks the Watcher to assist him in repairing his ship.[1] When Xakku asks for help repairing his ship, the Watcher tells him that he is sworn to never interfere in the fates of others.[2] When Xakku confirms that Uatu will not do anything, he then reveals that his ship isn’t actually damaged and this was a test to confirm that a Watcher’s non-interference was true. Xakku then reveals that he has actually come to steal the Earth’s sun because the sun of his own world has burned out and his world has been hit with punishing cold.
Intrigued, the Watcher asks Xakku to explain the entire process his people need to undergo to steal the planet. Xakku goes into detail about the sun stealing device and how his people have sent him on a scouting mission to get the exact coordinates for Earth’s sun to relay back. However, the Watcher is merely stalling for time as Xakku landed his ship on some kind of bog. With his ship now inaccessible, Xakku pleads with the Watcher to help free his ship before his space suit runs out of oxygen. However, all Uatu will do is remind the alien about his oath of non-interference and leaves Xakku to his grim fate.
Recurring Characters
Watcher, Guna
Continuity Notes
Xakku’s race is identified as the Guna from the planet Gunava per the appendix of alien races in Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe #4.
The Watcher’s oath of non-interference came about after they gave an alien race the secret to atomic energy and they used it to fuck themselves up. See Tales of Suspense #53 and/or Original Sin #0.
Science Notes
The surface of the moon is actually comprised of hardened volcanic rock. It’s lack of atmosphere also means any moisture on the moon either evaporates when in direct contact with the sun (temperatures on the moon can reach 127 degrees Celcius) or frozen in the areas of the moon that are covered in perpetual darkness in the craters (the coldest the moon gets is -173 Celcius) So the idea of there being a bog on the moon is actually quite impossible. One could assume that this is some kind of defense the Watcher placed on the moon to protect himself from attack, that’s the kind of passive shit you’d expect from a cosmic peeping tom like Uatu.
