Tales of Suspense 47- The Melter



Writer- Stan Lee

Pencils- Steve Ditko

Inking- Don Heck

Lettering- Sam Rosen



Grade- C-



Cover:






Synopsis:

The issue begins with yet another weapons demonstration. Tony is designing some new tanks that are defective. Closer inspection reveals that some of the components in the tanks are defective and have melted.



Tony then inspects some more components at his plant and finds out that they are defective before being knocked out from behind by a mysterious figure
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We then learn a little bit more about our new villain, and our latest addition to Iron Man's Rogues Gallery. His name is Bruno Horgan. He was a weapons manufacturer who was caught using defective equipment by Tony. This caused his firm to lose their defence contracts and, thus, their business. Hence the Melter was really annoyed at Tony and wanted revenge. He accidentally discovered a melting ray which he intends to use against Tony's plants to sabotage him. 

After being knocked out, Tony moves on upstairs to recharge his heart after nearly dying from heart issues again. Once Tony is recharged he sees an alarm going off in his factory and goes to investigate. He finds the Melter and battles him as Iron Man but loses and is forced to escape. 

Tony then retreats into his office and bunkers down in crisis mode. Happy and Pepper are around the office to help him but Tony is refusing help from anyone and everyone. 

Tony is then summoned to a Senate hearing in Washington about whether the growing issues with defective equipment in Tony's company are going to be resolved or not. It is made clear that if Tony does not resolve these issues then he will be out of business after losing his government contracts. 

Tony is summoned back for a new emergency at his Long Island plant as some equipment has been melted. He changes into a new suit of armour made out of aluminium in order to combat the melting ray. He engages the Melter again and, after protecting Happy and Pepper from falling debris, he defeats the Melter who escapes using the sewers. 

Analysis: 
Some of you may be looking at me a bit weirdly for rating this issue above the previous issue. And I get that the Crimson Dynamo story is a classic in many people's eyes. But I'm rating this issue higher because I think that, unlike the previous issue, it achieves what it set out to achieve. This issue is clearly meant to a fun Silver Age story with a fairly straightforward villain and a high level of cornyness. That cornyness is self-aware and it helps the story. The story is, largely, pleasant to read. This does not mean that I don't have my complaints about the story but it does mean that those complaints are more peripheral to the main purpose of the story than my complaints were regarding the previous issue. 

Let me start by discussing Tony in this story. This is, perhaps, the first time since Vietnam when we really see Tony in full-on crisis mode. Even in the previous story he didn't go into this mode. Tony can isolate himself from people when times are tough. He is susceptible to trying to solve every problem on his own without asking for help from friends. This can be seen here where Happy and Pepper are around to help Tony throughout... and Tony just locks himself in his office to solve the problem. Tony is, despite his playboy lifestyle, actually a bit of a loner at times. It's very natural and in-character for him to resolve to what he perceives to be a major crisis by locking himself away and trying to invent a solution. 

It also re-introduces a couple of plot points which were established in previous issues. Firstly, as with the previous issue, this issue shows how fragile Tony's business actually is. A few incidents of sabotage and Tony's business is in real trouble. Moreover, Silver Age Tony has to deal with a high level of scrutiny from politicians and public officials due to the importance of his work to the USA. This develops into a bigger plot point once Senator Byrd appears on the scene and really starts to scrutinise Stark Industries and Tony Stark as a person. 

Secondly, the issue with Tony's heart almost killing him is shoehorned in again in this issue. This plot point becomes very annoying very quickly and it really feels shoehorned in here. It feels like a forced attempt to create pathos for Tony and, for that reason, it completely falls flat as a plot point. 

These past few issues have also all shown a similar trend. In general, in these stories, Tony has faced a new villain, been beaten by them and then invented something to allow him to defeat an opponent. This shows an important plot point about Tony. He is, in my opinion, the greatest inventor in comics. He is also one of the best strategists in comics. He is also a very good tactician, even if he doesn't match someone like Steve Rogers or Bruce Wayne in this regard. I'm bringing this up because, in my opinion, if Tony is given time to prepare for a fight he is an extremely dangerous opponent. He's a good enough inventor to create something to defeat an opponent and he's also shrewd enough to know how to use it. The Iron Man suit is very powerful but Tony's greatest strength in a head-to-head is his flexibility. If he doesn't already have the solution to defeating you, then he will probably invent it if he knows you're coming and has time to prepare for it. 

We also see a bit of corporate CEO Tony here as, after the Melter's attack, he immediately arrives on the scene to bark out orders. It's important to remember that Tony is still the type of guy who runs a successful company and he is definitely harsh enough and tough enough to survive in that world. Tony can be harsh at times to other people and it's important to remember the successful CEO aspect of his character when judging him as a character. 

The Melter is a very simple villain. Tony ruined his career. The Melter wants vengeance. There's not really much more to him as a villain. He is also a somewhat corny villain, although it seems likely that he was intended to be that way by Stan Lee. In general he's a simple villain who suits a fairly simple plot and story. It works but it's not particularly exceptional. 

However, my main issue with the story is that we're meant to believe that Tony is in full-on crisis mode in this story. Yet... does the Melter really warrant that response? He has a cumbersome melting ray that can literally melt one material (iron). He just doesn't seem like he's enough of a threat to warrant it. But this isn't a huge issue for me as I do accept that he is designed to be a corny, lame villain so I get why these character aspects are in the story. And I did appreciate the impact that a full-on crisis had on Tony and what this reveals about his personality and character. 

The Melter is obviously one of the lamer members of Iron Man's rogues gallery but I think he actually works acceptably here as a cheesy supervillain in a cheesy plot. 

Finally, I again appreciate the role which Happy and Pepper play in fleshing out Stark Industries and making it feel alive. The two of them are still stuck in a flirting pattern at the moment, but a few of Pepper's lines really made me laugh in this one. I actually really like Silver Age Pepper, I find her an interesting Silver Age female character which is a rare feeling. I also enjoy them rallying around Stark every time he has a crisis (which seems to happen, like, every day). 

Overall, an enjoyable simple story which nets a suitable grade for that reason.