Iron Man #143

Name: Iron Man #143
Brand: Marvel
Availability: InStock

Feb 1981 · Marvel · 0.50 USD

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“Meter On the Sun!”

★ 1st appearance — Sunturion

About this Issue

Iron Man #143 marks the first appearance of Sunturion (Arthur Dearborn), one of the more philosophically complex antagonists of the Michelinie/Layton era — a man who willingly surrendered his humanity to become a living microwave energy being in service of a corporation's clean-energy ambitions, only to find himself morally trapped between the greater good and the lives he inadvertently destroyed. The issue also continues the run's early and serious engagement with energy-crisis anxieties that were very much in the cultural foreground of 1981, grounding a superhero space battle in genuinely contemporary anxieties about fossil-fuel dependency and corporate malfeasance. As the middle chapter of the three-part 'Meter on the Sun!' arc, it showcases the Michelinie/Layton creative partnership at the height of their defining Iron Man tenure — a run that Britannica and CBR alike credit with dramatically reshaping Tony Stark as a character after the landmark 'Demon in a Bottle' storyline. Sunturion proved durable enough to resurface across nearly four decades of Marvel storytelling, including appearances alongside Spider-Man, Daredevil, and the Avengers.

writer, artist, inker Bob Layton · writer David Michelinie · artist John Romita Jr. · colorist Bob Sharen · letterer John Costanza · cover Bob Layton

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VG $2.9 VG $4 VG+ $4.5 Newsstand $9.95 VF · Newsstand $20.98 CGC 9.8 $135 The Invincible Iron Man Vol.1 #143 Marvel Comics 1st appearance of Sunturion $13.99 IRON MAN vol 1 marvel comics group issue #143 newstand $15

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History

The issue was written by David Michelinie and Bob Layton under a plot-then-script method — Michelinie scripted over a full plot co-developed with Layton, who then handled finished inks and the cover illustration. Pencils were provided by John Romita Jr., whose character design for Sunturion was praised by contemporary reviewers for its visual originality. Bob Layton later recalled that in 1981, editorial at Marvel regarded sending Iron Man into outer space as 'a big deal,' which gave the space-armor arc (introduced the previous issue, #142) special weight and shaped the creative choices behind Sunturion's orbital setting. The book was edited by Jim Salicrup under editor-in-chief Jim Shooter, and the letters column 'Printed Circuits' in this issue features a published letter from a then-unknown Fabian Nicieza, who would himself become a significant Marvel writer.

Trivia · 8 facts

First appearance and full origin of Sunturion (Arthur Dearborn), created by writers David Michelinie and Bob Layton and penciler John Romita Jr.
Story title: 'Meter on the Sun!' — Part 2 of 3 in the Star Well arc; Part 1 appeared in Iron Man #142 (January 1981) and the conclusion in #144 (March 1981).
First named appearance of Roxxon's orbital solar-power satellite 'Star Well I,' which functions as a central plot device across the three-issue arc.
Sunturion's origin: Roxxon Energy Corporation, in conjunction with its subsidiary the Brand Corporation, transformed Dearborn into a being of living microwave energy so he could crew Star Well I without the cost of a conventional human crew.
The Space Armor (Model 5) worn by Iron Man throughout the arc — one of the first purpose-built specialty suits in Iron Man history — debuted in the preceding issue #142; Bob Layton designed it under an editorial mandate that a space-going suit should feel like a significant, special achievement.
The letters page 'Printed Circuits' in this issue includes a published letter from Fabian Nicieza, years before he became a prominent Marvel writer.
Penciler credit note: John Romita Jr. provided breakdowns (layouts), while Bob Layton handled finished art over those breakdowns — a co-art workflow standard to this creative team's process.
Sunturion's first appearance was later adapted for the 1990s Iron Man animated series (episode 'Cell of Iron,' with the character voiced by David Warner and Tom Kane) and referenced in Iron Man: Armored Adventures.