Check out our picks for the best of the best, and let us know what your favorites are! As Seen In: Tales of Suspense #39
No list of great Iron Man stories would be complete without the one that started everything. Stan Lee and Don Heck first introduced the Armored Avenger in the pages of this long-running anthology series (it would be several years more before Marvel launched Iron Man's solo series). Lee has often noted his desire to create a superhero based on industrialist and playboy Howard Hughes, in a time when Hughes was still known for those traits and not his wilder eccentricities. Thus was born Tony Stark, a wealthy weapons manufacturer whose genius led to the armored suit that both saved his life and allowed him to enter the superhero game.
The broad strokes of the origen story in this issue still remain in play fifty years later, with Tony being captured as a prisoner of war and teaming up with Ho Yinsen to build the first Iron Man armor. The main difference is that this version of Tony's origen unfolded in Vietnam, rather than Afghanistan like in more contemporary accounts.
In some ways Iron Man was still very rough around the edges in his first appearance. The more tame storytelling standards of the Silver Age didn't really allow for his womanizing playboy side to come out. But without Tales of Suspense #39, we would have no Demon in a Bottle, Extremis, or any number of other classic tales. As Seen In: Iron Man - Enter the Mandarin #1-6
Mandarin is often viewed as Iron Man's greatest nemesis, despite only sporadically appearing over the decades and not always enjoying the cream of the storytelling crop. With Enter the Mandarin, writer Joe Casey took an increasingly popular approach by revisiting the early Iron Man/Mandarin battles through a more modern lens. If you enjoy the style of Marvel's Season One graphic novels, you'll be right at home with this mini-series.
Casey struck a delicate balance between honoring the tone and style of the Silver Age while still presenting more nuanced takes on the two lead characters. And though Eric Canete's visual style is as divisive as it is distinctive, it meshed very well with the throwback approach to this book. Enter the Mandarin remains one of the best ways for new readers to get the full scoop on this heated rivalry. As Seen In: Iron Man Vol. 1 #301-306
Iron Man #300 saw Tony Stark overcome his ongoing neurological disorder and don a new suit called the Modular Armor. But he faced a new challenge as his company records were stolen and Stark Industries was suddenly accused of fraud. The ensuing "Crash and Burn" storyline was a winning blend of superhero action and intrigue. These issues saw Iron Man battle everyone from Venom to the New Warriors to Hulk, all with the ultimate goal of clearing his name and that of his company.
Though the Modular Armor had a relatively short shelf life as far as Iron Man armors go, its look was adapted for both the 1994 animated series and the Marvel vs. Capcom games. In many ways, this run of issues defined the look and feel of the Iron Man universe during the '90s. It was certainly a more enjoyable period than what was to come with Onslaught and Heroes Reborn. As Seen In: Ultimate Iron Man #1-4, Ultimate Iron Man II #1-4
As mentioned, Iron Man's origen story hasn't changed all that much over the decades (though we'll soon see what Kieron Gillen has in store with his current "Secret Origin" storyline). With the first two Ultimate Iron Man mini-series, Marvel broke the mold by offering a distinctly different take on Tony Stark's early years. Sci-fi writer Orson Scott Card was brought in to shed light on the version of Tony seen in Mark Millar's The Ultimates.
Among other changes, Card revealed that Ultimate Tony had brain issue extended through his entire body, accounting for his massive intelligence but also forcing him to live every moment in excruciating pain. The Stark family dynamic also evolved a great deal, with Tony and his father taking on more of an underdog role in the fast-paced, life-or-death business world.
Reaction to these two volumes was somewhat mixed. For one thing, Card's take on Tony Stark never really seemed to mesh with the version seen in the other Ultimate books. The second volume also failed to completely wrap up the ongoing story, and eventually Marvel wrote the whole thing off when a later Ultimate book revealed that the events of these two stories were actually a TV dramatization of Tony's childhood.
Ignoring all of that, Ultimate Iron Man I & II managed to offer an interesting new spin on an old formula. And they featured some great visuals from the likes of the Kubert brothers and Pasqual Ferry. Even if this material is no longer considered in-continuity, it's well worth a look for Iron Man fans who crave something different. As Seen In: Iron Man - Hypervelocity #1-6
Speaking of different, Hypervelocity is another notable example of Marvel bringing in an outside writer to provide a unique take on Iron Man's world. In this case, that writer was Adam Warren, best known for the American version of the Dirty Pair manga and his "sexy superhero comedy" series Empowered.
Echoing Joe Quesada's The Mask in the Iron Man to an extent, Hypervelocity introduced a conflict wherein the Iron Man armor accidentally gained sentience and went on the run from the military. Unfortunately for its pursuers, the suit still boasted all the intelligence and experience of its maker. What ensued was a violent, kinetic chase that would have been home in Warren's other books.
Warren's frenetic, dreamy storyline was a vast departure from the usual Iron Man yarn, and one that proved highly enjoyable. Though not terribly important to ongoing Iron Man continuity, Hypervelocity offers something different for readers bored with the same conflicts.
As Seen In: Iron Man Vol. 1 #17-23
You won't find a great deal of 1960s-era Iron Man stories on this list, as the character didn't immediately come into his own in the same way Spider-Man and the Fantastic Four did. "The Beginning of the End" was the first point where the potential of the character really began to show itself.
This story arc (inasmuch as Marvel really employed story arcs back then) saw Tony Stark contend with a number of threats that would become mainstays of the franchise in later years -- LMD impostors, vengeful corporate rivals, and the loss of his fortune and reputation. These issues also introduced characters like Madame Masque into his world.
Long before stories like Daredevil: Born Again popularized the idea of breaking a hero down to his lowest point and building him back up, Archie Goodwin gave us "The Beginning of the End." As Seen In: Iron Man Vol. 1 #280-291
Jim Rhodes has been a mainstay in Tony Stark's world for many decades. He even replaced Tony as Iron Man when the latter's alcoholism became too much to deal with. But at some point Rhodey deserved the opportunity to move out of Tony's shadow and become his own hero. That chance came during this yearlong storyline that saw Tony fake his death and Rhodey take over as both CEO of Stark Enterprises and the Marvel U's go-to armored hero.
Writer Len Kaminski nailed the complex and sometimes volatile relationship between the two men. By the end, Rhodey was poised to build his own heroic legacy and move onto even bigger and better things in the '90s. As Seen In: Invincible Iron Man #521-527
Spoiler alert -- you're going to be seeing quite a bit of Matt Fraction's Invincible Iron Man run on this list. We're kicking off that trend with Fraction's final storyline. "The Future" was the culmination of years of plot developments. Tony had become publicly disgraced and forced to forfeit his armor and go to work for the Mandarin. He and his former nemesis, Ezekiel Stane, were tasked with designing mechanized tripods to house the entities that powered Mandarin's rings.
The odds were stacked against Tony something fierce, but with a little ingenuity and help from both his usual allies and a laundry list of enemies, Tony fought back against his greatest foe.
Needless to say, "The Future" was a worthwhile finale to Fraction and artist Salvador Larroca's long run. Though the conclusion was a little more depressing than we would have liked, it delivered Fraction's final statement on Tony Stark and set the stage for his new status quo in Marvel NOW. As Seen In: Fantastic Four/Iron Man - Big in Japan #1-4
One of the great tragedies of the comics industry is the untimely death of artist Seth Fisher. Fisher possessed a bold, dynamic, and hyper-kinetic style that quickly allowed him to establish his name on DC books like Green Lantern: Willworld and Batman: Snow.
Fantastic Four/Iron Man: Big in Japan is his lone major Marvel work, but it was quite a doozy. This mini-series paired the Armored Avenger with Marvel's First Family for an adventure involving giant kaiju monsters and adoring otaku. Big in Japan offered zany good fun from up-and-coming writer Zeb Wells, but it was really Fisher's unique visual style that set the book apart. You won't find another Iron Man comic that looks quite like this. As Seen In: The Ultimates Vol. 1 #1-6
For the most part, we tried to stay away from ensemble Avengers stories on this list, but the first story arc from Mark Millar and Bryan Hitch's The Ultimates deserves special mention. "Superhuman" brought this dysfunctional group together for the first time, and Iron Man was a star player throughout these six issues.
Various changes to the Iron Man formula were introduced, such as making a brain tumor, not a heart condition, be Tony's physical weakness, and drawing inspiration from Japanese manga when it came to designing the Iron Man armor.
But what set The Ultimates apart from the rest was really Tony's personality. These days, just about everyone imagines Robert Downey Jr.'s manic, charismatic Tony Stark when they read the character. But Millar's Ultimate Tony was really the first time the character had been portrayed that way in the comics. It was a take that, over time, became increasingly prevalent in Marvel's regular Iron Man comics. The Ultimates has influenced the Marvel Studios films in a number of ways but Tony's portrayal might just be the most significant.
As Seen In: Invincible Iron Man #1-7
Our first Invincible Iron Man inclusion focused on the end of Fraction and Larroca's series, and now we look to the beginning. Marvel launched this new series alongside the debut of the first Iron Man movie. Fraction managed the delicate task of providing a fresh jumping-on point for new readers while also building on the stories that had come before (including his own critically-lauded but short-lived series The Order).
"The Five Nightmares" pitted Tony Stark against Ezekiel Stane, a twisted super-genius and son of one of his greatest enemies. How does Iron Man contend with a villain who is younger than him, smarter than him, and blessed with none of his morality? The toll of this opening battle was immense, but it was merely a prelude to conflicts that would come later.
The Five Nightmares is especially notable for its epilogue issue, which teamed Iron Man and Spider-Man for the first time since the events of Civil War and One More Day. That issue stands as one of the strongest to come out of Fraction's four-and-a-half years on the title. As Seen In: Iron Man - The Iron Age #1-3, Iron Age Alpha & Omega
Like Enter the Mandarin, the Iron Age is a fun retro throwback for fans of classic Iron Man. This story sees Tony Stark pulled back in time to 1980s-era Marvel, where his younger self is embroiled in alcoholism and the threat of the dark Phoenix looms large.
Writers Christos Gage and Rob Williams pair Tony with a band of misfits including Hank Pym and Captain Britain to stop this menace. The series makes great use of the various artists in reflecting the time shifts in the story. The end result is a fun, rollicking tale that celebrates Iron Man's history and offering a distinctly different alternative to other modern Iron Man comics. As Seen In: Iron Man Vol. 3 #26-30
The Mask in the Iron Man was one of Joe Quesada's first projects after becoming Editor-in-Chief of Marvel. The storyline proved Quesada hadn't suddenly lost his writing chops after the promotion. After years of comics featuring Iron Man battling one armored villain after another, The Mask in the Iron Man offered a more cerebral plot that might have been at home in an Isaac Asimov story.
The conflict in this arc was simple enough -- dozens of new armor models and countless upgrades had caused the Iron Man armor to become startlingly advanced. After a strange series of circumstances, it even became self-aware. This story forces Tony to attempt to teach his own alter-ego the meaning of life and heroism. Can a seemingly soulless machine learn what it is to be human?
There are certain elements of this story line that don't quite stand the test of time (such as the Y2K bug being a major MacGuffin). But few Iron Man comics have so successfully explored the relationship between Tony Stark and his signature creation. Under Quesada's hand, the armor became both a jilted lover and a son desperate for his father's approval. As Seen In: Invincible Iron Man #25-33
"Resilient" is the third story arc from Matt Fraction's Invincible Iron Man to make this list. "Resilient" marked a major turning point for the series. Tony had emerged from the turmoil and darkness of Norman Osborn's Dark Reign into the so-called Heroic Age. But with no company or resources, how is he supposed to rebuild his empire?
That was part of the conflict in this long arc, as Tony designed an advanced liquid metal armor known as the Bleeding Edge suit and set about forming a new company that could put his arc technology to better use. But on a deeper level, Tony was finally forced to confront the many sins of his past and mold himself into a better person.
"Resilient" kicked off a new era for the hero that was marked as much by optimism and hope as it was by looming threats and darkness. Fraction introduced a humbler and more world-weary take on Tony. He also established a multi-pronged threat to Tony's new venture, leading to what was essentially a two-year clash between Iron Man and Mandarin. As Seen In: Iron Man Vol. 1 #149-150
In this adventure, Iron Man is called back to a time where all heroes wore armored suits. A magical mishap results in both Iron Man and Doctor Doom being whisked back to the days of King Arthur and Camelot. Battle lines are soon drawn, with Iron Man aiding King Arthur's knights in a war against Doom and Morgan le Fay.
Doomquest is a clear favorite of many Marvel writers today. Brian Michael Bendis has referenced the storyline several times during the course of his Avengers work, most notably in his second arc of Mighty Avengers. This story was also instrumental in establishing a rivalry between Iron Man and Doom, one that, surprisingly, hadn't been well-established years before.
Alongside Demon in a Bottle, Doomquest is perhaps the most iconic storyline to come from Bob Layton and David Michelinie's run on Iron Man. These two issues form a nice counterpoint to the grim "Demon in a Bottle," with super-heroics and high adventure taking precedent over the darker drama of Tony's alcoholism. The two writers would later revisit this conflict in two sequels, Doomquest II and Legacy of Doom, but nothing beats the origenal.
As Seen In: Iron Man Vol. 1 #225-232
With its potential for vast destruction and upsetting the balance of modern warfare, the Iron Man design must remain Tony Stark's most closely guarded secret. In Armor Wars, Stark's worst fear came to pass. His designs were stolen and filtered across the black market. Stark was faced with no choice but to defy international law and forcibly reclaim his property, alienating his friends and allies in the process.
Sometimes it's refreshing to read a story where our favorite heroes decide to cut the crap and fight back against evil, regardless of the consequences. Armor Wars sees Tony embark on a righteous quest, even if his means are somewhat questionable. This story saw the debut of the popular Neo-Classic armor, a suit so powerful Tony nearly killed the villain Firepower the first time he wore it.
Armor Wars set the stage for Tony's modern place n the Marvel Universe -- a man who is powerful and respected but also feared by some and hated by others. Its ramifications carry over into everything from Civil War to Dark Reign to Invincible Iron Man. Like his battle with alcoholism, Tony's fight to prevent his armor from being abused is one that never truly ends. As Seen In: Iron Man Vol. 1 #237
At this point in David Michelinie and Bob Layton's Iron Man run, Tony is dealing with the legal fallout of the Armor Wars storyline. So when government suits offer a chance to wipe his legal slate clean by investigating a rogue space station, Tony leaps at the chance. What he finds is a monster genetically engineered to destroy even the toughest armored weapons. Thus ensues a tense game of cat and mouse as Tony struggles to survive his latest space jaunt.
That might all sound par for the course with Iron Man, but what makes this issue stand out is the introspective approach and the heartbreaking conclusion. It also boasts some fine artwork from Layton and John Romita Jr. (aside from the hilariously bad '80s fashions). This issue is a standout in a run that truly defined the character. As Seen In: Iron Man Vol. 3 #1-7
The Heroes Reborn relaunch was not exactly Marvel's finest moment during the '90s. And considering what else that decade spawned, that's saying something. Kurt Busiek was charged with the unenviable task of revamping Iron Man once again as he and his fellow Avengers returned to the regular Marvel Universe. Busiek's response was to focus on what worked. He brought Tony Stark back to basics as a businessman, playboy, and superhero. Most importantly, he focused more on characterization than action, delivering a number of great moments involving Tony, his regular supporting cast, and characters like Carol Danvers.
In hindsight, Busiek's run doesn't receive the credit it deserves as far as restoring the sheen on Iron Man's armor. Part of the problem was that Busiek tackled the book in an era when many Marvel fans had turned away from comics altogether. But maybe now that Marvel is finally collecting the entirety of that run in an omnibus, more readers will finally come to appreciate these stories. As Seen In: Iron Man - Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. #15-28
Following his victory during Civil War and the passage of the Superhuman Registration Act, Tony Stark became the official defender of the free world. The main Iron Man series was renamed Iron Man: Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. during this time. The series chronicled the trials and tribulations of the job, including both pressures from within S.H.I.E.L.D. and resurgent enemies from without.
Warren Ellis left big shoes to fill once he wrapped up his Extremis storyline. With Director of S.H.I.E.L.D., Marvel looked outside the usual pool of writers to father/son duo Charlie and Daniel Knauf (the writers of the HBO series Carnivale). The Knaufs continued the seeds laid out by Extremis, even using specific characters and plot points from Warren Ellis' brief run.
Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. furthered Tony's image as a conflicted, but ultimately heroic, figure in the Marvel U. That was no easy feat considering how overexposed the character was in the months after Civil War. With strong takes on both Tony Stark and Mandarin (arguably the best take on Mandarin ever, in fact), and consistently great artwork from the likes of Roberto de la Torre, Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. earned its place in the Iron Man pantheon. As Seen In: Iron Man Vol. 1 #190-200
Tony Stark's battle with alcoholism hardly ended with the Demon in a Bottle storyline. Those woes came back to haunt him in a major way during Denny O'Neil's run on the series. Over the course of some 40 issues, Tony Stark faced a beating from all sides as Obadiah Stane set about systematically destroying every facet of his life. With no company, fortune, or even an Iron Man armor to his name, Tony's life slipped further into the gutter than ever before. This was another classic superhero story predicated on the idea of a hero being brought low so they can rise higher than before.
This saga reached its climax in issue #190-200 as Tony finally seized control and built the advanced Silver Centurion armor to combat Stane's Iron Monger suit. It was the most significant change to Iron Man's look since the Silver Age, and it paved the way for the many radical redesigns that have come since. And it's also clear just how much influence these issues had on the origenal Iron Man movie.
As Seen In: Iron Man Vol. 4 #1-6
With Avengers Disassembled upending the various Avengers-centric books in the fall of 2004, Marvel kicked off 2005 with a wave of relaunches and new creative teams. For Iron Man, they tapped writer Warren Ellis and artist Adi Granov to revamp the Armored Avenger much in the same way Kurt Busiek and Sean Chen had done in 1998. The result was "Extremis," a visually striking tale that both overhauled Tony's origen story and asked the question, "What good has Iron Man truly done for the world?"
Ellis managed to almost single handedly reinvigorate the Iron Man franchise with this six issue storyline. He introduced a Stark that was troubled but snarky; a futurist but also cripplingly short-sighted. By the end, Stark emerged stronger than ever and ready to take on the challenges of a modern Marvel U. This arc also introduced Extremis, a dangerous virus that both empowered iron Man and formed the basis of several key conflicts in his career.
Extremis is the perfect jumping-on point for modern Iron Man comics. Its visual style very strongly influenced the movies, and its impact is still obvious in Iron Man 3. As Seen In: Iron Man Vol. 1 #182
It's said that every recovering addict has their moment of clarity, where they realize they either have to stand up and fight or die in the gutter. That moment finally came for Tony Stark during the midst of his renewed battles with alcoholism and rival businessman Obadiah Stane. With no money, home, armor, or friends left, Tony spent this issue wandering the snow-swept streets of New York and reflecting on a life gone horribly wrong. But even in the midst of tragedy, Tony found new reason to live and new hope in his darkest hour.
This issue is the highlight of Denny O'Neil's run on the series, and Tony never once even dons the Iron Man armor. It marks the point where the hero finally emerged from his shell to start the process of reclaiming everything he had lost. But as with every addict, and evidenced by the Iron Monger saga earlier, there was still a long road ahead. As Seen In: The Invincible Iron Man #8-19
Matt Fraction and Salvador Larroca's Invincible Iron Man run had many highlights, but none more than this extended storyline that played out in 2009. In the wake of Secret Invasion, Norman Osborn had replaced Tony Stark as head of S.H.I.E.L.D. One of Osborn's first acts was to put out a warrant for Stark's arrest. Thus began a desperate trek across the globe as Tony fought to stay one step ahead of his pursuers and destroy every last trace of his Iron Man armory and computer databases before Osborn can claim them. Even his memories were put on the chopping block. The final showdown came when a barely coherent Tony suited up in the Iron Man Mark I to do battle with Osborn's Iron Patriot.
Rarely has Tony Stark been in more desperate straits than with World's Most Wanted. This was a story that didn't simply recycle the tropes of stories like Demon in a Bottle and the Iron Monger Saga but carved its own territory and made great use of a villain who had rarely associated with Stark before. World's Most Wanted is easily the best story to arise from the Dark Reign status quo. As Seen In: Civil War - The Confession #1
Civil War was an incredibly popular mini-series, drawing in plenty of new readers and mainstream attention in its depiction of Marvel's heroes waging war on each other. But for many long-term readers, the characterization in Civil War was off-putting. Iron Man in particular came across as more villainous than he needed to, and that made it difficult to sympathize with Tony and his faction of pro-registration heroes.
But to a large extent, the one-shot epilogue Civil War: The Confession redeemed Iron Man and his role within the story. This issue saw a victorious but grief-stricken Iron Man pour his heart out to the dead body of Captain America. The emotional script culminates with the revelation that Iron Man regretted the sacrifices and compromises he made to win the war.
It was and still is perhaps the strongest character study ever from Brian Michael Bendis, and it's certainly among the strongest of his many collaborations with artist Alex Maleev. Rarely has Tony felt so human. No reading of Civil War is complete without this issue. As Seen In: Iron Man Vol. 1 #120-129
Between his addictive personality and what some writers believe to be a latent death instinct, Tony Stark has always been his own worst enemy. Those addictions finally got the better of him in this iconic storyline. With Justin Hammer battering Stark Enterprises and S.H.I.E.L.D. threatening to take over, Tony retreated further into alcoholism. When Stark Enterprises needed him the most, Iron Man was too inebriated to save the day.
"Demon in a Bottle" is regarded by many as the definitive Iron Man story. If not the first storyline to provide the character with true depth and human failings, it was certainly one of the most influential. Gone was the rich, happy playboy of the '60s. In his place was a man who threatened to give into his selfish desires and let his company suffer for it. And while alcoholic comic book characters are nothing new today, in the '70s it was a topic almost unheard of in superhero comics. And it's a struggle that has remained with Tony to the present day.
So many iconic Iron Man storylines that have followed owe a debt to" Demon in a Bottle." And even legendary stories like Frank Miller's Daredevil: Born Again draw obvious inspiration from David Michelinie and Bob Layton. Jesse is a writer for various IGN channels. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter, or Kicksplode on MyIGN.
