318 IT’S A GOOD LIFE, IF YOU DON’T WEAKEN
Man. Th e other major female foil to duel with Stark is Madame Masque (née Whitney
Frost), daughter of Count Nefaria and one-time secretary to Stark who was introduced
in Tales of Suspense #98.
Iron Man is supported by a stable of recurring cast members. Included among
these characters are Pepper Potts, Tony Stark’s secretary, and Happy Hogan, Stark’s
chauff er and assistant. Early stories depict Potts as smitten with Stark, and Hogan
equally smitten with Potts, creating a love triangle between the major characters.
Eventually Potts and Hogan marry in Tales of Suspense #91 and leave the book for
some time, though recently both characters played signifi cant roles in Marvel’s Civil
Wa r event and the resulting crossovers and spin-off storylines.
James Rhodes, created by David Michelinie and Bob Layton in 1979, debuted in
Iron Man (Vol. 1) #118 as a pilot and close friend to Stark. Eventually Rhodes took
on the mantle of Iron Man during a period of time when Tony Stark was recuper-
ating from serious injury ( Iron Man [Vol. 1] #170). Ultimately Rhodes was given
his own (much more) heavily armored suit, known as the War Machine armor ( Iron
Man [Vol. 1] #284). Th ough Rhodes has maintained a degree of narrative importance
throughout presence in the Iron Man story, the recent Civil War storyline thrust him
into prominence once more.
Th e ongoing narrative of Iron Man is defi ned in part by several formative storylines.
Perhaps the most widely known story arcs are credited to the creative team of Michelinie
and Layton. “Demon in a Bottle,” where Tony Stark is revealed as an alcoholic, depicts
Stark as he struggles with the consequences of addiction ( Iron Man [Vol. 1] #120–28).
Fan-favorite story arc “Doomquest” features Iron Man and villain Doctor Doom thrown
back through time into King Arthur’s court ( Iron Man [Vol. 1] #149–50). Originally
called “Stark Wars” but popularly re-titled “Armor Wars,” Iron Man (Vol. 1) #225–32
fi nds Tony Stark obsessively chasing down and destroying leaked Stark weaponry,
including that used by the U.S. military. Warren Ellis and Adi Granov’s recent “Ex-
tremis” story arc reconfi gures Tony Stark into a post-human cybernetic organism after
he is injected with a “nanotech virus” that allows his central nervous system to interface
directly with the Iron Man armor ( Iron Man [Vol. 4] #1–6).
Tony Stark and his heroic persona of Iron Man have been featured in several other
media, ranging from animated television shorts in the 1960s to contemporary live-
action fi lm. In the 2008 blockbuster fi lm, Tony Stark was played by Robert Downey,
Jr., to critical acclaim.
Joshua Plencner
IT’S A GOOD LIFE, IF YOU DON’T WEAKEN. First published as issues #4 through #9 of
Seth’s (Gregory Gallant) series Palookaville, It’s A Good Life, if You Don’t Weaken
appeared in graphic novel form in September 1996, published by independent Cana-
dian comics publisher Drawn & Quarterly. It received a fair amount of critical attention
upon release. Seth won two Ignatz Awards in the year following the book’s release; he
received an Outstanding Artist award in the fi rst year the prize was awarded, as well
