Tales of Suspense #40
In "Iron Man versus Gargantus!", Tony Stark takes his date Marion to the circus, where chaos erupts when the animals escape—prompting him to suit up as Iron Man in his grey armor, much to the crowd’s alarm. Inspired by Marion’s suggestion, he dons a golden version of his suit and faces off against Gargantus, a towering alien robot, using magnetic force to dismantle the machine. The battle ends with the aliens fleeing in their saucer, and Tony returns to his life—just in time for another date with Marion. Written by Stan Lee and R. Berns, with dynamic art by Jack Kirby and Don Heck, and colored by Stan Goldberg, this 1963 classic showcases Iron Man’s ingenuity and the early charm of his evolving legend.
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Tony takes his newest date, Marion, to the circus. When the wild animals escape, he rounds them up as Iron Man. His grey armor scares the onlookers. Marion suggests that a golden metal might make him look more heroic. A golden Iron Man then battles Gargantus, who turns out to be a mighty robot built by aliens. Iron Man defeats Gargantus by hurling three magnets at him. The magnets float around the robot, ripping its body to pieces. Iron Man then throws the magnets at a flying saucer he just spotted. The aliens flee and, next day, Tony has another date with Marion.
Plot details indexed by the Grand Comics Database (CC BY-SA).