Iron Man #22
Iron Man #22 concludes the 'Beginning of the End' arc — widely regarded as one of the finest Iron Man stories of the Silver Age — by delivering one of Marvel's earliest civilian-casualty deaths in superhero combat: Janice Cord, Tony Stark's longtime girlfriend, dies in Iron Man's arms after being caught in the crossfire between Titanium Man, the Crimson Dynamo, and the armored Avenger himself. The tragedy predates the more celebrated death of Gwen Stacy by several years and shares its core emotional architecture — an innocent bystander killed amid a costumed brawl, never knowing her hero's true identity — making it a direct narrative forerunner of that watershed moment. The issue also marks the first time an African-American character, retired boxer Eddie March, wore the Iron Man armor, a milestone that long predates the better-known tenure of James Rhodes. Together, these elements make #22 a quietly pivotal transition point at the precise hinge of the Silver and Bronze Ages.
In "From This Conflict... Death!", Iron Man finds himself locked in a deadly clash with both the Crimson Dynamo and the Titanium Man, as the stakes rise in a battle that promises no survivors. Written by Archie Goodwin and brought to life by George Tuska and Herb Trimpe, this 1970 issue delivers high-octane action with a cover by George Tuska and Mike Esposito.
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Archie Goodwin — who famously landed his Marvel job after Stan Lee handed him Iron Man pages as an impromptu writer's test — had been the series' original writer since its 1968 launch, building an unusually sustained character arc across more than two dozen issues. The issue was plotted as the payoff to a multi-issue Cold War thriller involving Alex Nevsky's third Crimson Dynamo, and George Tuska, who had been Iron Man's primary penciler since issue #5, provided the art (with a single page apparently penciled by Herb Trimpe, per later research by comics historian Nick Caputo). Stan Lee served as editor, and the issue carries a cover-date of February 1970 though it was released on newsstands in November 1969.
Trivia · 8 facts
- Death of Janice Cord: Tony Stark's principal love interest since Iron Man #2 (1968), created by Archie Goodwin and artist Johnny Craig, is killed by a Titanium Man energy blast — dying in Iron Man's arms without ever learning that Iron Man and Tony Stark are the same person.
- First African-American Iron Man: Eddie March, a retired boxer introduced in the preceding issue (#21), becomes the first Black character to wear the Iron Man armor; he is badly injured in the story's opening pages but survives.
- Origin of Alex Nevsky as Crimson Dynamo: This issue provides the in-story origin for the third Crimson Dynamo (Alex Nevsky), and it is also the first time Nevsky's full surname is revealed on the page.
- Triple-armored clash: The story is the only early Iron Man tale to pit three powered-armor combatants — Iron Man, Crimson Dynamo, and Titanium Man — against one another simultaneously in a single issue.
- Creative team: Written by Archie Goodwin, penciled by George Tuska (with page 19 apparently by Herb Trimpe per researcher Nick Caputo), lettered by Jean Simek, and edited by Stan Lee.
- Cover date / release: Cover-dated February 1970; actual on-sale date was November 5, 1969, per Library of Congress periodical records.
- Part of a celebrated arc: Iron Man #17–23, the 'Beginning of the End' storyline, is cited by multiple sources as one of the best Iron Man story runs of the Silver Age.
- Reprinted in: Essential Iron Man Vol. 3 (2008), The Invincible Iron Man Omnibus Vol. 2 (2009; second edition 2024), and the French anthology Strange (Éditions Lug) #22 (October 1971).
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Reprints
Reprinted in Strange #22 (1971), The Avengers #4 (1973), Iron Man #8 (1979), Essential Iron Man #3 (2008), Marvel Masterworks: The Invincible Iron Man #6 (2009), The Invincible Iron Man Omnibus #2 (2009), Marvel. Официальная коллекция комиксов #83 (2016), Iron Man Epic Collection #3 (2019), The Invincible Iron Man Omnibus #2 [Second Edition] (2024), El Invencible Hombre de Hierro #22
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