Iron Man: EVIL Incarnate!

In Marvel's phenomenally successful (and constantly tardy) Civil War mega-event, Iron Man is the defacto leader of the sinister forces supporting a government registration of superhumans (seen here palling around with the evil Baron Zemo). Despite Marvel's initial claims of a balanced presentation of the two sides, Iron Man is clearly being set up for a switch to the Dark Side as Civil War lurches into its final act.

However, is Iron Man's villainous turn a wildly uncharacteristic demolition of an otherwise sterling hero...or actually the fruition of seeds of evil planted years ago by creators Stan Lee and Jack Kirby?

Well, I initially thought it was the first option, assuming that Iron Man was being thrown under the bus to play the part of "Scary Right-Wing Caricature" in writer Mark Millar's pseudo-political puppet show. Now, after coming across these shocking panels from Avengers #7 (1964), I realize that Tony Stark (in addition to being an icky millionaire) is a cigarette smoker!

Don't believe me? Check out the panels in question,
both completely original and unaltered:

Yup. There he is. Tony Stark......supporter of Big Tobacco, casual generator of second-hand smoke, and completely oblivious to the staggering irony of smoking while he "recharges his life-giving chest device"!

Now that I know this shocking secret from Marvel's Silver Age past, it's no wonder Tony Stark became the goose-stepping government stooge he is today!

Comments

[Bully]

Captain America smoked too. Captain America #110, page 2 (Steranko art):

http://www.littlestuffedbull.com/temp/capsmokes.jpg

[Mark Engblom]

Ahh...but that's just a pipe, which many superheroes of that time smoked occasionally. But Tony Stark smoked cigarettes....an utter abomination to our health-conscious overlords!

In other words....PURE EVIL!

[Jeff Rients]

Reed Richards smokes a pipe.
The Red Skull smokes cigarettes.
Therefore: Pipe smoking is rad while cigarette smokers are Nazis.

Science doesn't lie, folks.

[Mark Engblom]

I wasn't going to play the science card just yet, but I thank Jeff for stepping to the plate and telling it like it is.

[Bully]

I don't think we wanna be currently using Reed Richards as a paragon a virtue and right.

Generally, though, I'd support this scientific generalization:

Cigarettes=evil agenda
Pipe=down-home sensibility
Cigar=takes no guff

Give me stogie-munchin' Ben Grimm, Nick Fury, or Logan anyday.

[Mark Engblom]

So where does that leave the snuff-chewers like the Rhino and Baron Mordo?

[Bully]

So where does that leave the snuff-chewers like the Rhino and Baron Mordo?

Excellent dancers.

[Mat]

Stan and Jack weren't old Shell Head's lone creators. Don't sell short Stan's brother Larry and Don Heck.

[nick]

ehh iron man is still a hero no matter what

[nick]

eh iron man still a hero no matter what he does