As I mentioned yesterday, I've gone back to read the very first Iron Man comics and, so far, have devoured everything produced between 1963 and the early 1970's. As my friend Bill would say, "Ah, the classics!"
There are substantial differences -- obviously. The chest plate keeping Vietnam-era Tony alive needs to be recharged on a regular basis or else he dies, which puts a count-down clock on essentially every battle he fights. Also interesting is the fact that, initially, SI's weapons development programs are treated as completely unproblematic, which -- okay, I could probably write an entire essay arguing that Tony's original sin in the MCU is not that he was once a military contractor, but let's table that for now. Suffice it to say that early Comics Tony doesn't start having doubts about making weapons until almost forty issues into volume 1 -- and that shift is likely due to changing political attitudes touched off by the protest culture of '68.
Other differences? 1) Pepper marries Happy for reasons I will cover below; 2) while early Comics Tony is acknowledged to be a genius, he doesn't code as neuro-atypical the way MCU Tony does; 3) Comics Tony maintains a secret identity; and 4) MCU Tony's villains are less melodramatic (which says something given that Thanos is hardly grounded in reality) (heh). Don't get me wrong, though: I've been thoroughly enjoying the "Silver Age silliness." Honestly, if there were a way we could Frankenstein together the more natural writing style and vivid art of the modern era with the towering imagination of the Silver Age, we would, in my opinion, create the best comic book industry ever.
At any rate: the above-described points of divergence are fascinating. But you know what's even more enlightening? The similarities between early Comics Tony and MCU Tony, of which there are quite a few. Some major examples:
Origin Story
Early Comics Tony becomes Iron Man in Vietnam; MCU Tony becomes Iron Man in Afghanistan. Early Comics Tony creates a chest plate of transistors to keep the shrapnel out of his heart; MCU Tony creates a miniature nuclear reactor. But the key dramatic beats in both stories are 100% identical.
Problems with Intimacy/Trust
As I've already discussed elsewhere, MCU Tony is extremely hesitant when it comes to baring his soft underbelly. Basically, in order to get MCU Tony to admit he's not totally fine and dandy, you have to stick with him for years (Pepper, Rhodey or Happy) -- or be a kid living in rural Tennessee who's unlikely to rat you out to the public (Harley). Hell, even those few Trusted Individuals sometimes have trouble extracting the truth from the guy! On the whole, MCU Tony finds it much safer to don his shades and push people away with his sarcasm than to actually be forthright about how he feels. The MCU suggests that this is due mainly to his upbringing.
Early Comics Tony, meanwhile, also has problems with intimacy, but at this point, they seem to stem more from the challenges of maintaining his secret identity and, even more importantly, his concerns about his weak heart. "I can't pursue a courtship knowing my heart could fail at any time!" is something early Comics Tony says so often that it's practically a catchphrase. The heart condition is, in fact, the reason why he doesn't pursue his feelings for Pepper and pushes her and Happy together instead.
Public Perception vs. Private Reality: A Major Ongoing Conflict
I've talked about the contrast between MCU Tony's public presentation and the realities of his mentalscape many, many times. In the MCU, this contrast is something Tony actively cultivates because, again, he doesn't want anyone outside his inner circle to know exactly how broken and fearful he is. But, of course, this leaves him open to the repeated charge that he's simply a self-serving, arrogant asshole -- and it visibly frustrates his colleagues, who, because they lack information regarding Tony's true motivations, just can't wrap their heads around why he does the things he does. (That's why I can't hate on Steve for sometimes misjudging Tony. The disconnect is all Tony's fault, the stubborn idiot.)
And in the early comics? A similar public/private conflict arises from the secret identity. Early Comics Tony is judged an asshole and a coward because he always disappears whenever danger is afoot and leaves it to his "bodyguard" to handle it. I've said before that MCU Tony's openness about his identity as Iron Man leads to problems -- but it turns out keeping that secret leads to problems too. When you're a superhero, it seems you just can't win.
Attempts to Quit
I'm now forty issues into volume 1, and I've seen early Comics Tony try to give up being Iron Man twice -- only to be dragged back in by the weight of his own conscience. In this, MCU Tony and early Comics Tony are veritable twins.
Guilt, Guilt, Guilt
When something goes wrong, early Comics Tony and MCU Tony both feel they are entirely and unambiguously at fault -- even if that assessment is irrational and false to the facts on the ground. It seems both versions of Tony have that streak of hubristic perfectionism that convinces them they can control events if they just work hard enough -- and berates them for their very human failures.
[Edited at oh-dark-thirty to add: Periodic Breakdowns
Totally forgot to include this one, but it's also really important: I've also seen early Comics Tony fly off to seek vengeance on two different occasions after something terrible happens to someone he cares about. And then there's that one set of panels I recall in which early Comics Tony is banging on the wall of his office in despair and his employees outside are all, "Um, what?" The bottom line here is that early Comics Tony and MCU Tony are both messy on the emotional front, though early Comics Tony is more depressive while MCU Tony is more anxious.]
So yes: I'm having fun with my graduate-level course in Tony Studies and plan to inflict more insights upon you all. Hence my new "Iron Man Blogging" feature. Stay tuned for more!
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