Tales of Suspense #68
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeTales of Suspense #68 (August 1965) delivers the closing chapter of the three-part Silver Age reintroduction of Johann Shmidt — the real Red Skull — completing the arc begun in #66 in which Cap finally meets his archenemy face-to-face after decades of absence from comics. The Captain America story resolves Cap's harrowing Nazi brainwashing ordeal, a plotline that later commentators have recognized as a direct narrative ancestor to later 'sleeper agent' Captain America stories. The Iron Man half of the split book marks the debut of Morgan Stark, Tony Stark's scheming cousin, a character significant enough to lend his name — gender-swapped — to Tony's daughter in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Together, the two stories illustrate the mid-1960s Tales of Suspense formula at full steam: serious WWII espionage paired with Silver Age sci-fi adventure, all under one twelve-cent cover.
In "If a Man Be Mad!", Tony Stark faces a crisis of credibility when his cousin Morgan conspires with Count Nefaria to frame him as delusional by staging a fake alien invasion. With Pepper’s loyalty in question and Senator Byrd poised to cancel Stark’s contracts, Iron Man must step in when real aliens appear—turning the tide in Tony’s favor. Written by Al Hartley and illustrated by Don Heck, with inks by Mickey Demeo and letters by Sam Rosen, this 1965 tale sees Stark’s reputation hang in the balance, all under Jack Kirby’s dynamic cover and Frank Giacoia’s bold inks.
In "If a Man Be Mad!", Senator Byrd finds himself caught between suspicion and truth when two real aliens—Gouda and Edam—arrive on Earth, disrupting a conspiracy orchestrated by Tony Stark’s jealous cousin Morgan. With Stark’s reputation on the line and the senator poised to cut funding, the line between madness and reality blurs. Iron Man’s intervention brings the truth into the open, but the fallout leaves both allies and enemies questioning who’s truly in control.
In "The Sentinel and the Spy!", Captain America, under the Red Skull’s sinister influence, is forced to carry out a deadly mission to assassinate Allied leaders. As Nazi commandos strike, a flicker of resistance stirs within him, and he begins to fight the mind control that binds him.
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The issue was on sale May 11, 1965 with a cover date of August 1965, produced under Stan Lee's editorial hand during the peak of Marvel's Silver Age split-book era. The Captain America feature was the work of Stan Lee (script) and Jack Kirby (pencils) with inks by Frank Giacoia — Kirby illustrating solo Cap adventures for the first time since 1941, having returned to the character via the Avengers. The Iron Man feature was scripted by Al Hartley with pencils by Don Heck and inks by Mike Esposito (credited as Mickey Demeo), part of the steady Don Heck run on the iron half of the book during this period. The cover itself was penciled by Kirby and inked by Giacoia, spotlighting Captain America and Bucky.
Trivia · 8 facts
- FIRST APPEARANCE of Morgan Stark (Tony Stark's villainous cousin), created by Al Hartley and Don Heck; Morgan debuts as a gambling-debt-ridden schemer secretly working for Count Nefaria to discredit and destroy Tony Stark.
- Concluding chapter of the three-part Silver Age reintroduction of Johann Shmidt (the real Red Skull), an arc that began in Tales of Suspense #65–66; this issue wraps up Cap's brainwashing ordeal at the hands of the Skull.
- Captain America story titled 'The Sentinel and the Spy!' — script by Stan Lee, pencils by Jack Kirby, inks by Frank Giacoia; Iron Man story titled 'If a Man Be Mad!' — script by Al Hartley, pencils by Don Heck, inks by Mike Esposito.
- Cover penciled by Jack Kirby and inked by Frank Giacoia; on sale May 11, 1965 with an August 1965 cover date.
- The Iron Man story features Count Nefaria (Luchino Nefaria) weaponizing Morgan Stark and a 'visio-projector' to make Tony Stark appear insane in front of Senator Byrd, who is seeking to strip Stark Industries of its defense contracts.
- Real aliens (the Froma — a Marvel in-joke, their names Edam and Gouda being cheeses, 'Froma' riffing on the French word 'fromage') inadvertently vindicate Stark's sanity when Iron Man repels their actual attack.
- The Captain America story was reprinted in Bring on the Bad Guys: Origins of the Marvel Comics Villains (Simon & Schuster, 1976), as well as in Marvel Masterworks: Captain America Vol. 1, Essential Captain America Vol. 1, and the Captain America Omnibus (2011).
- The Morgan Stark character introduced here inspired the name of Tony Stark's daughter Morgan Stark in Avengers: Endgame (2019), though that film version is a wholly different character (Tony's daughter, not his cousin).
Cast · 10 characters
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Reprints
Reprinted in Uncanny Tales #31 (1966), Los Vengadores #55 (1967), Capitão Z (3ª Série) #0 (1967), Fantastic Annual #1969 (1968), The Avengers Annual #3 (1969), Marvel's Greatest Comics #26 (1970), Uncanny Tales #86 (1972), Eclipso #36 (1973), Spider-Man Comics Weekly #99 (1975), Bring on the Bad Guys: Origins of the Marvel Comics Villains #[nn] (1976), Bring on the Bad Guys: Origins of the Marvel Comics Villains #[nn] (1976), Die ruhmreichen Rächer #77 (1978), Stan Lee Presents Captain America #82581-X (1979), Titan Pocket Book #4 (1980), Strange Spécial Origines #148 (1982), Marvel Masterworks #14 (1990), Essential Captain America #1 (2000), Essential Iron Man #1 (2000), Marvel Masterworks: Captain America #1 (2003), The Invincible Iron Man Omnibus #1 (2008), Marvel Masterworks: Captain America #1 (2010), Captain America Omnibus #1 (2011), Marvel Gold. Capitán América #1 (2011), Captain America: Rebirth #1 (2011) + 12 more
Key issues in Tales of Suspense
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