Tales of Suspense #97

This January 1968 issue of Tales of Suspense announces a striking new threat with the story "The Coming of… Whiplash!" — and the cover by Gene Colan and Frank Giacoia delivers on that promise in style. The purple-and-gold-clad Whiplash looms large, wielding his whip with both arms outstretched as a battered Iron Man is driven to his knees against a crumbling wall. Stan Lee, Gene Colan, and the rest of the team were clearly firing on all cylinders here, pairing a visually dynamic new villain with Marvel's armored Avenger in a confrontation that leaps right off the cover.