[RamenRider]

Dammit I shouldn’t have done this. I read a few of the 1968 Iron Man comics and now I want this guy.

There's just something... truly fascinating about these old comics. They are not a billion dollar movie franchise with millions of fans going crazy over every single teaser or trailer; it’s simply a few pages of paper bursting with creativity and fun.

It's not about Thanos or saving the universe, it's about beating up a guy called the "Unicorn".

Of course, they got to Thanos and all that stuff eventually and it wasn't any less amazing, but the sheer simplicity of these stories, and their clever execution sucked me in, I couldn't stop reading.

Also, it was interesting for someone like me who only knows Iron Man from the 2000-ish comics and of course the movies, how early Tony Stark was forced to wear his Iron Man harness at all times, and the rest of his armor, the helmet, gauntlets and boots made of "flexible" metal were carried around in a briefcase. No epic suiting up, more like Clark Kent searching for a telephone booth for a change of clothes.

And the moral dilemma - man that’s something I never got from the movies. Tony Stark needs to keep the Iron Man a secret to protect his technology, it forces everyone around him away, he loves yet hates being Iron Man at the same time as the constant battles slowly worsen his health, and the few remaining close friends are constantly endangered as he attracts danger. Which in turns makes Tony want to abandon Iron Man and the responsibility it carries, before realizing only he can keep its potential of destruction in check.

I know this is an action figure forum but man; it's really great to read some old comics sometimes. In my case, for the first time. It is undoubtedly obvious how all of this escalated into the global phenomenon it is today.