Iron Man in 1966
I was much better than lukewarm on the Namor vs. Iron Man battle. I’ve always loved Submariner, and the battle between hero and anti-hero is infinitely more interesting than Iron Man facing off against Mandarin.
I’m also continually impressed with the Titanium Man fights. While the “man in a tin” suit villain archetype rarely does anything for me, the suit vs suit battles in Iron Man just works. I think the key here is the proportion of the stakes.
Weaker villain-of-the-month comics tend to have little actual threat, while astronomical challenges require some sort of outside luck or mystical intercession. Titanium Man is just the right level of challenge for Stark.
Massively impressed with Gene Colan’s art here. I’m in awe of his line-work in shaded areas. It’s just completely pristine from top to bottom. I’ve never seen an artist of this era with that degree of artistic control without succumbing to pressure to overdo it. The closest modern analogue I can think of is Jim Lee. Even the herringbone pattern on side characters’ suits are immaculate.
Coming off a lot of the wonky inking in early Thor, I think the art team in Iron Man is fantastically attuned to this series.
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