Iron Man has been a staple of the Marvel Comics since the 1960s, but has oscillated between a central figure in the universe and a background character in the escapades of other Avengers. For fans of the MCU, where Tony Stark was arguably the core character of the initial phases, there are a wealth of Iron Man comics to dig through providing the textual history of the beloved superhero. Fortunately, the new Epic Collection The War of the Supervillains is an admirable collection of mid-’70s Iron Man lore, that even with their culturally insensitive aspects, still stand as enjoyable Iron Man adventures.
Collecting Iron Man #68-91 and Annual #3, this trade is aptly named, as it’s a who’s-who of Iron Man figures confronting each other and our titular hero. Black Lama plays the central figure at the heart of this conflict, resulting in Mandarin clashing with the Yellow Claw, M.O.D.O.K. with the Mad Thinker, and the Blood Brothers, the Controller, and a new Molecule Man all thrown into the mix. Additionally, Tony Stark returns to Vietnam and NYPD Detective Michael O’Brien launches an investigation targeting Tony Stark for the death of his brother, the Guardsman. Understandably, Iron Man is forced to face his past (as well as personal and external demons) to protect those he loves. There’s even a rather fun Man-Thing crossover near the end of the trade.
Mike Friedrich is responsible for most of the writing, and it’s clear he has a strong sense of Tony Stark an imperfect hero, trying to use technology to aid society. By this point, the character had more than a decade of history, and the wealth of personal turmoil Friedrich throws into Stark’s life is laudable, as it provides the foundation for what would become the character’s staple traits in the MCU.
George Tuske and Herb Trimpe do fine line work, with the hyper emotional character style of the day coming through in every panel they compose. It’s a very colorful book, perhaps even more so in this Epic Collection than the initial way they were published for newsstands. The fight scenes are blocky and ridged, but effectively tell the narrative through character action.
It’s fair to note that some of the art and writing is rather racist, especially when viewed through our current cultural lens. As was true of many comics from the ’70s, Asian characters are drawn in an unmistakably prejudiced manner, especially in the portions of the book where Stark returns to Vietnam. As an older reader who understands the environment these books were created, I can manage these characterizations, but younger readers may benefit from a candid conversation before having them dig into these issues by themselves.
The supplemental material is standard Epic Collection fare, with a few sketch pages and covers thrown in at the end. Nothing stellar, but nice additions nonetheless.
These might not be the best Iron Man stories ever told, but they are highly representative of the character we have come to love, giving readers ample action and melodrama as Stark struggles to save the world. The bright, colorful reproduction present in this trade makes this the best way to read these issues from the ’70s, and worth reading by the fireplace this holiday.
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