Key Collector Comics
Iron Man
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Creation & Design

Iron Man was created by writer Stan Lee, developed by scripter Larry Lieber, and designed by artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby. The character was conceived as a wealthy industrialist and weapons manufacturer who becomes a superhero after a life-changing experience.

Early Years

Tony Stark's early years were marked by his genius in engineering and technology, but also by his playboy lifestyle and moral ambiguity as a weapons manufacturer. His transformation into Iron Man began after he was captured and forced to build a weapon, leading him to create the first Iron Man suit to escape.

Character Development

Over the years, Iron Man has evolved from a wealthy industrialist to a complex character grappling with personal issues, ethical dilemmas, and the responsibilities of power. His journey has made him a central figure in the Marvel Universe, influencing many storylines and character arcs.

Cultural Reception

Iron Man has been widely acclaimed as one of Marvel's most popular characters, particularly after the success of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which has brought the character to a new generation of fans.

Character Details

Real Name:
Anthony Edward Stark
First Appearance:
Tales of Suspense #39
Aliases:
Tony Stark, Iron Knight, Iron Man 2020
Species:
Human
Gender:
Male
Affiliations:
Avengers, S.H.I.E.L.D., Stark Industries
Abilities:
Genius-level intellect, Expert engineer, Powered armor suit
Equipment:
Iron Man armor, Repulsor rays, Unibeam projector
Weight:
225lbs
Height:
6' 3"
Eye Color:
blue
Hair Color:
brown
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Tales of Suspense #39
Marvel ⋅ 1963
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Tales of Suspense #39
 
Low
$6.2k
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$18.5k
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$44k

Key Facts

1st appearance of Iron Man

Debut of Iron Man's 'Model 1' armor

1st appearance of Wong-Chu, a Viet Cong warlord and Iron Man's first enemy

Tales of Suspense #40
Marvel ⋅ 1963
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Tales of Suspense #40
 
Low
$280
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$1k
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$6.2k

Key Facts

2nd appearance of Iron Man

Debut of Iron Man's 'Model 1' armor, colored gold

Tales of Suspense #41
Marvel ⋅ 1963
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Tales of Suspense #41
 
Low
$200
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$2k

Key Facts

3rd appearance of Iron Man

Tales of Suspense #43
Marvel ⋅ 1963
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Tales of Suspense #43
 
Low
$75
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$300
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$1.4k

Key Facts

1st appearance of Kala Queen of the Underworld

5th appearance of Iron Man

Avengers, The #1
Marvel ⋅ 1963
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Avengers, The #1
 
Low
$1.8k
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$5.7k
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$21k

Key Facts

1st team appearance and origin of the Avengers: Hulk, Iron Man, Wasp, Thor, Ant-Man

Tales of Suspense #45
Marvel ⋅ 1963
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Tales of Suspense #45
 
Low
$110
Mid
$835
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$2.8k

Key Facts

1st appearance of Virginia "Pepper" Potts, later becomes Rescue

1st appearance of Happy Hogan, later becomes Freak

1st appearance of Jack Frost, later becomes Blizzard

Tales of Suspense #48
Marvel ⋅ 1963
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Tales of Suspense #48
 
Low
$120
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$400
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$1.2k

Key Facts

Debut of Iron Man's 'Model II' armor, classic red & gold

Tales of Suspense #49
Marvel ⋅ 1964
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Tales of Suspense #49
 
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$120
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$400
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$1.2k

Key Facts

Crossover featuring the X-Men and Iron Man

Tales of Suspense #55
Marvel ⋅ 1964
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Tales of Suspense #55
 
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$25
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$70
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$270

Key Facts

3rd appearance of Mandarin

Additional content explaining how Iron Man’s armor works - tap cover and swipe to view additional image

Tales of Suspense #58
Marvel ⋅ 1964
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Tales of Suspense #58
 
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$35
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$150
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$550

Key Facts

Classic battle of Captain America vs Iron Man

2nd appearance of Kraven the Hunter

Avengers, The #16
Marvel ⋅ 1965
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Avengers, The #16
 
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$500

Key Facts

Hawkeye joins The Avengers

Scarlet Witch joins The Avengers

Quicksilver joins The Avengers

Iron Man leaves the Avengers

View more (1)

3rd appearance of Kang

Sinister Tales #23
International ⋅ Alan Class ⋅ 1965
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Sinister Tales #23
 
Low
$200
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$800
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$2k

Key Facts

United Kingdom reprint of Tales of Suspense #39, first appearance of Iron Man

Iron Man and Sub-Mariner #1
Marvel ⋅ 1968
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Iron Man and Sub-Mariner #1
 
Low
$80
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$800

Key Facts

Standalone issue bridging Tales of Suspense and Tales to Astonish to Iron Man #1 and Sub-Mariner #1

Iron Man #1
Marvel ⋅ 1968
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Iron Man #1
 
Low
$225
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$2.2k

Key Facts

First ongoing title series featuring Iron Man

Origin of Iron Man

Identity of Big M revealed to be Whitney Frost, later known as Madame Masque, the daughter of Count Nefaria

Iron Man #25
Marvel ⋅ 1970
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Iron Man #25
 
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$50

Key Facts

Battle of Iron Man vs Sub-Mariner

Iron Man Annual #1
Marvel ⋅ 1970
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Iron Man Annual #1
 
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$4
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$12
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$50

Key Facts

Reprinted stories featuring Iron Man and Sub-Mariner crossovers

Iron Man #47
Marvel ⋅ 1972
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Iron Man #47
 
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$150

Key Facts

Origin of Iron Man retold

Iron Man #66
Marvel ⋅ 1974
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Iron Man #66
 
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$55

Key Facts

Cover art featuring Iron Man vs Thor

Super-Villain Team-Up #9
Marvel ⋅ 1976
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Super-Villain Team-Up #9
 
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$2
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$8
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$25

Key Facts

First battle of Iron Man and Doctor Doom

Iron Man #100
Marvel ⋅ 1977
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Iron Man #100
 
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$4
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$12
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$40

Key Facts

Milestone 100th issue

Avengers, The #181
Marvel ⋅ 1979
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Avengers, The #181
 
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$10
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$35
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$110

Key Facts

1st appearance of Scott Lang, later becomes the second Ant-Man

New Avengers roster: Captain America, Iron Man, Beast, Vision, Scarlet Witch, Falcon and Wasp

Iron Man #122
Marvel ⋅ 1979
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Iron Man #122
 
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$2
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$15

Key Facts

"Demon in a Bottle" part 3

Origin of Tony Stark

Iron Man #124
Marvel ⋅ 1979
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Iron Man #124
 
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$2
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$15

Key Facts

"Demon in a Bottle" part 5

Iron Man #128
Marvel ⋅ 1979
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Iron Man #128
 
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$9
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$35
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$100

Key Facts

Iconic cover art by Bob Layton

"Demon in a Bottle" part 9

Iron Man #149
Marvel ⋅ 1981
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Iron Man #149
 
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$2
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$25

Key Facts

'Doomquest' part one - a two-issue series that established Doctor Doom as a major foe of Iron Man and also one who has many formidable similarities to Tony Stark

Iron Man #150
Marvel ⋅ 1981
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Iron Man #150
 
Low
$8
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$20
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$85

Key Facts

Battle of Iron Man vs Doctor Doom

Iconic cover art by John Romita Jr.

Iron Man #225
Marvel ⋅ 1987
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Iron Man #225
 
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$2
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$25

Key Facts

Part one of the Armor Wars story arc that runs through #231

Tony Stark examines the battlesuit technology of a criminal named The Force to discover that it is top secret, Stark circuitry that powers the armor

Rhodes and Stark investigate who stole the tech and discover a villain named Spymaster was the culprit who sold it to Justin Hammer

Stark wears the Silver Centurion armor while battling Stilt Man and the Controller

View more (1)

[December 2020 - Don Cheadle will return as War Machine for an Armor Wars series coming to Disney+]

Iron Man #281
Marvel ⋅ 1992
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Iron Man #281
 
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$1
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$12

Key Facts

Debut of Tony Stark’s ‘War Machine’ armor, a heavy artillery suit

⚠️ Debatable Firsts: Tony dons the armor but continues to refer to himself as Iron Man. James Rhodes does not appear in this armor until Iron Man #284 and later assumes the codename War Machine in West Coast Avengers #94

Iron Man #282
Marvel ⋅ 1992
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Iron Man #282
 
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$10
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$30
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$100

Key Facts

1st cover appearance of the War Machine armor, worn by Tony Stark

⚠ Misconception: cited by many as the first appearance of War Machine. "War Machine" is splashed across the IRON MAN title in reference to the armor’s incredible armaments but the name is not official. The armor, (piloted by Tony Stark in this issue, not James Rhodes) actually debuts in the previous issue, Iron Man #281. In Iron Man #284, James Rhodes suits up in the War Machine armor but does so as Iron Man and does not officially assume the War Machine codename until West Coast Avengers #94, though he is referred to as War Machine in X-Force #21 but as Iron Man in X-Force #20

Iron Man #304
Marvel ⋅ 1994
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Iron Man #304
 
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$2
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$20

Key Facts

Debut of Iron Man's ‘Hulkbuster’ armor, to challenge the Hulk

Includes trading cards

Iron Man #305
Marvel ⋅ 1994
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Iron Man #305
 
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$1
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$3
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$12

Key Facts

Classic battle of the Hulk vs Iron Man wearing Hulkbuster armor

Iron Man #55
Marvel ⋅ 2002
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Iron Man #55
 
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$1
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$2
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$4

Key Facts

Iron Man reveals his true identity as Tony Stark to the world while saving a dog from being hit by a car

New Avengers #7
Marvel ⋅ 2005
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New Avengers #7
 
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$3
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$9
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$30

Key Facts

1st team appearance of the Illuminati: Professor X, Doctor Strange, Black Bolt, Iron Man, Namor

Amazing Spider-Man #529
Marvel ⋅ 2006
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Amazing Spider-Man #529
 
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$3
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$9
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$30

Key Facts

Debut of the Iron Spider Suit, engineered by Stark Industries

Amazing Spider-Man #529
3rd Print ⋅ Marvel ⋅ 2006
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Amazing Spider-Man #529
 
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$1
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$5
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$15

Key Facts

Variant third printing cover art by Mike Wieringo

Amazing Spider-Man #529
3rd Print ⋅ Marvel ⋅ 2006
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Amazing Spider-Man #529
 
Low
$1
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$5
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$15

Key Facts

Variant third printing cover art by Mike Wieringo

Civil War #1
Variant ⋅ Marvel ⋅ 2006
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Civil War #1
 
Low
$4
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$10
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$40

Key Facts

Variant cover art by Michael Turner

Aspen Comics exclusive

Iron Man: Hypervelocity #1
Marvel ⋅ 2007
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Iron Man: Hypervelocity #1
 
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$1
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$2
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$3

Key Facts

Debut of Iron Man's 'Hypervelocity' armor which includes among other attributes, a feature that stores the wearer's memory, insight and logic so that it can operate on its own if necessary

1st appearance of Absynthe, capable of hacking Iron Man's armor

Mighty Avengers #1
Marvel ⋅ 2007
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Mighty Avengers #1
 
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$1
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$2
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$4

Key Facts

1st team appearance of the Mighty Avengers: Ares, Black Widow, Iron Man, Ms. Marvel, Sentry, Wasp

Adam: Legend of the Blue Marvel #1
Marvel ⋅ 2009
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Adam: Legend of the Blue Marvel #1
 
Low
$18
Mid
$60
High
$180

Key Facts

1st appearance of Blue Marvel, a powerful black superhero forced into retirement in the 60s due to his race

1st appearance of Anti-Man

17,000 estimated copies ordered by retailers

[February 2019 - speculation a future Marvel project, possibly The Marvels will introduce Blue Marvel]

Invincible Iron Man #10
Variant ⋅ Marvel ⋅ 2009
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Invincible Iron Man #10
 
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$3
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$9
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$30

Key Facts

Variant cover art by Salvador Larroca

Invincible Iron Man #16
1:10 ⋅ Marvel ⋅ 2009
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Invincible Iron Man #16
 
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$1
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$3
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$12

Key Facts

Variant cover art by Salvador Larroca

70th anniversary of Marvel Comics character frame

Vengeance of the Moon Knight #7
1:15 ⋅ Marvel ⋅ 2010
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Vengeance of the Moon Knight #7
 
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$5
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$15
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$50

Key Facts

Variant cover art by Adi Granov

Carnage #1
1:25 ⋅ Marvel ⋅ 2010
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Carnage #1
 
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$3
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$9
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$30

Key Facts

Variant cover art by Art Adams

Iron Man #510
1:50 ⋅ Marvel ⋅ 2012
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Iron Man #510
 
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$2
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$8
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$25

Key Facts

Variant cover art by Mike Choi

Cover art inspired by Captain America Annual #8 (1986)

Iron Man #512
1:500 ⋅ Marvel ⋅ 2012
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Iron Man #512
 
Low
$45
Mid
$120
High
$450

Key Facts

Variant cover art by Larry Stroman

Iron Man #1
Variant ⋅ Marvel ⋅ 2013
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Iron Man #1
 
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$2
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$8
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$25

Key Facts

Variant cover art by Adi Granov

Avengers #2
1:50 ⋅ Marvel ⋅ 2013
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Avengers #2
 
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$4
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$12
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$45

Key Facts

Variant cover art by Esad Ribic

Mighty Avengers #3
Variant ⋅ Marvel ⋅ 2014
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Mighty Avengers #3
 
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$15
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$50
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$150

Key Facts

Variant cover art by Salvador Larroca featuring Eminem

Sold only in the Detroit area

Avengers #32
Marvel ⋅ 2014
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Avengers #32
 
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$1
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$2
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$4

Key Facts

1st cameo appearance of Superior Iron Man

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