Plot by Stan Lee – Script by Robert Bernstein – Art by Don Heck – Letters by Artie Simek

Last issue, Tales of Suspense introduced Jack Frost, giving Iron Man his first recurring costumed villain. This issue does it again with the debut of the Crimson Dynamo.

Anton Vanko is the Soviet Union’s leading expert in electricity, which apparently qualifies him to build a giant suit of armor. His mission is to stop Tony Stark’s weapons manufacturing and destroy Iron Man.

It’s an odd combination of the old Tales of Suspense formula and the direction Marvel is moving toward: Cold War anxiety, communist villains, military technology, and now a costumed supervillain in a suit of armor fighting Iron Man.

The issue also gets more use out of the new supporting cast. Happy Hogan and Pepper Potts have already started developing a playful dynamic around Tony, giving the book something beyond Tony Stark fighting whatever threat happens to show up that month.

Don Heck is experimenting with the page layouts, too. Some pages use three long vertical panels, while others break the action into four wide horizontal panels. Combined with the two suits of armor facing each other, it makes the action feel more dynamic than Iron Man simply beating up another group of soldiers in a collection of six to eight square panels.

Tony eventually figures out how to block Dynamo’s power and tricks him into defecting to the United States.

It’s still a Cold War story at heart. But there’s something different happening here.

Tales of Suspense is starting to combine its old anthology-style Red Scare stories with the recurring characters, villains, supporting cast, and superhero action that are becoming the foundation of Marvel.

Marvel in the 60s Entry #87