Iron Man #17
Iron Man #17 marks the debut of two of Tony Stark's most enduring antagonists: Madame Masque — Whitney Frost in her gold-masked, scarred-face persona — and the gold-obsessed crime lord Mordecai Midas, both of whom would recur throughout decades of Iron Man stories and beyond. The issue also launches a multi-part arc in which a rogue Life Model Decoy supplants Tony Stark and strips him of his identity, fortune, and even his standing at Avengers Mansion — one of the earliest extended 'identity theft' storylines in mainstream superhero comics. Goodwin's decision to connect Whitney Frost's earlier appearances as the Maggia boss 'Big M' to her new Madame Masque identity gave the character rare continuity depth for the Silver Age, and the emotional complexity seeded here — a villain capable of genuine affection for the hero — would inform some of Iron Man's most celebrated later stories.
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The issue was written by Archie Goodwin, the founding writer of the solo Iron Man series that launched in 1968 after the character graduated out of Tales of Suspense; Goodwin had landed the gig after Stan Lee handed him Iron Man photostats as a writer's test when he arrived at Marvel. George Tuska, who had joined the title with issue #5 and would remain its primary penciler for nearly a decade, drew the interior pages, with EC Comics veteran Johnny Craig on inks — a creative partnership that had been established earlier in the run after Craig's attempt to take over penciling duties proved impractical. The cover carries an unusual production footnote: researcher Nick Caputo documented in 2006, from examination of the original art, that John Romita made alterations to Tuska's cover pencils, repositioning Tony Stark and modifying the Iron Man figure before Craig inked it.
Trivia · 8 facts
- First appearance of Madame Masque (Whitney Frost in her gold-masked identity), one of Iron Man's most significant recurring villains and love interests.
- First appearance of Mordecai Midas, the gold-obsessed crime lord who serves as the arc's primary antagonist.
- Written by Archie Goodwin (the original solo Iron Man series writer) with art by George Tuska (pencils) and Johnny Craig (inks); edited by Stan Lee.
- Story title: 'The Beginning of the End!' — cover-dated September 1969, on sale June 3, 1969.
- Introduces the plot device of a rogue, sentient Tony Stark Life Model Decoy that steals Stark's identity, alters his fingerprints and signature on file, and has him ejected from Avengers Mansion by Edwin Jarvis.
- Whitney Frost's earlier appearances as the Maggia leader 'Big M' (Tales of Suspense #97–98, 1967, created by Stan Lee and Gene Colan) are retconned into her backstory: her plane crash while fleeing a raid on Stark Industries scarred her face, and Midas gave her the gold mask that inspired her new alias.
- Morgan Stark, Tony's cousin, appears as a traitor who sold intelligence on Stark Industries to Midas.
- Reprinted internationally: in Strange #17 (Editions Lug, France, May 1971) and Hit Comics Der Eiserne #204 (BSV-Williams, Germany), as well as later in Hachette's official Marvel collector series in both Russian and German editions.