Tales of Suspense #93
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeTales of Suspense #93 (September 1967) is the issue that first puts MODOK — the Mental Organism Designed Only for Killing — on the page, making it the genesis point for one of Marvel's most distinctive and durable Silver Age villains. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, the character's grotesque concept (a former AIM technician, George Tarleton, mutated into a giant-brained hoverchair-bound weapon) introduced a new kind of Marvel monster: one born of unchecked scientific ambition rather than cosmic accident. The issue also functions as the opening chapter of a two-part Captain America story that deepens the Steve Rogers–Sharon Carter relationship and establishes AIM as a credible ongoing threat within the broader S.H.I.E.L.D. espionage framework Lee was building across the title. As a 'split book' containing both an Iron Man story (pencilled by Gene Colan, featuring the return of Titanium Man) and a Captain America story (drawn by Kirby), it captures Tales of Suspense at the height of its dual-feature format, just seven issues before the anthology transformed into the solo Captain America title.
ComicBooks.com Value
Show all 21 grades ▾
This exact issue on ebay
CGC 6.5 ▾ $93.49–$145 2 listings
Raw — FN/VF ▾ $39.98–$45 2 listings
Raw — FN ▾ $12.99–$90 9 listings
Raw — FINE ▾ $24.72–$64.99 2 listings
Raw — VG+ ▾ $14.95–$73 3 listings
Raw / ungraded ▾ $5.99–$144 41 listings
More listings for this title
Read it digitally
Sell my copy
Have this issue — or a whole collection? Get a fair offer from us, skip the marketplace fees and the hassle.
We Buy Collections ▸History
The issue was written by Stan Lee in his dual role as writer and editor-in-chief, with the Iron Man feature pencilled by Gene Colan (inked by Frank Giacoia) and the Captain America feature pencilled by Jack Kirby (inked by Joe Sinnott); letterer Artie Simek completed both stories. The cover itself was drawn by Gene Colan with inks by Frank Giacoia. The comic carried a 12-cent cover price and a September 1967 cover date, with an actual release date of July 1967. A small but historically interesting footnote: the issue's letters page, 'Mails of Suspense,' published a fan letter from a reader named Walt Simonson — the same person who would later become a celebrated Marvel artist in his own right.
Trivia · 8 facts
- First appearance (cameo) of MODOK (George Tarleton): the character is named and orders action but is not yet seen in full — his full visual and physical debut follows in Tales of Suspense #94.
- MODOK was created by writer/editor Stan Lee and penciller Jack Kirby, debuting in the Captain America back-up story titled 'Into the Jaws of A.I.M.'
- The Iron Man lead story, 'The Golden Gladiator and... the Giant!' / 'Power Vs. Power!', features the return of Titanium Man (Boris Bullski), revived and empowered by the Communist scientist Half-Face (Werner Eisen/Trung Tuan), whose origin is told in this issue.
- The Iron Man story was pencilled by Gene Colan with inks by Frank Giacoia; the Captain America story was pencilled by Jack Kirby with inks by Joe Sinnott — making this one of the rare single issues to feature both Colan and Kirby interiors.
- The Captain America story continues the Agent 13 / Sharon Carter rescue arc, with Captain America infiltrating a secret AIM submarine to save her from the newly ascendant MODOK.
- Both stories were later reprinted in Marvel's reprint title Marvel Double Feature: the Iron Man story in issue #10 (June 1975) and the Captain America story in issue #17 (August 1976).
- The letters page contains a published letter from Walt Simonson, years before he became a prominent Marvel comics artist.
- MODOK went on to become a recurring Captain America foe and later a pan-Marvel villain; the character eventually received his own animated series (Marvel's M.O.D.O.K., 2021, voiced by Patton Oswalt) and made his live-action MCU debut in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023).
Cast · 8 characters
Full credits
Reprints
Reprinted in Capitán América #8 (1969), Eclipso #55 (1975), Marvel Double Feature #10 (1975), Spider-Man Comics Weekly #128 (1975), Spider-Man Comics Weekly #129 (1975), Marvel Double Feature #17 (1976), Essential Captain America #1 (2000), Essential Iron Man #2 (2004), Marvel Masterworks: Captain America #2 (2005), Marvel Masterworks: The Invincible Iron Man #4 (2007), The Invincible Iron Man Omnibus #2 (2009), Captain America Omnibus #1 (2011), Marvel Gold. Capitán América #1 (2011), Marvel Masterworks: Captain America #2 (2012), Captain America Epic Collection #1 (2014), Die offizielle Marvel-Comic-Sammlung #7 (2015), Captain America: The 75th Anniversary Vibranium Collection #[nn] (2016), Iron Man Epic Collection #2 (2017), Marvel. Официальная коллекция комиксов #99 (2017), M.O.D.O.K.: Head Trips #[nn] (2019), Captain America (Penguin Classics Marvel Collection) #[nn] (2022), Captain America (Penguin Classics Marvel Collection) #[nn] (2022), Mighty Marvel Masterworks: Captain America #2 (2023), Captain America Omnibus #1 [Third Edition] (2024) + 2 more
Key issues in Tales of Suspense
Variants (1)
Reviews
Reader reviews
No reader reviews yet.