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Topic: Iron Man’s Nose Post Reply | Post New Topic
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John Byrne

Grumpy Old Guy

Joined: 11 May 2005
Posts: 134097
Posted: 29 April 2019 at 9:45am | IP Logged | 1 post reply

According to LOOPER:

“According to Stan Lee, the reason he gave so many of his characters names with identical first and last initials (e.g., Peter Parker, Bruce Banner, Reed Richards, Matt Murdock) was because he was writing just about every Marvel Comic at the dawn of its Silver Age of superheroes, and the alliteration of the names helped him remember who was who. One of the funnier moments from the history of Iron Man may serve to prove Lee's memory needed the extra help.  

“According to Sean Howe's Marvel Comics: The Untold Story, in 1974 Lee was looking through pages of Iron Man when he asked then Editor-in-Chief Roy Thomas "Shouldn't he have a nose?" Howe says this was an "offhand remark," but regardless it sent "the office scrambling." By Iron Man #68, Iron Man's faceplate was being drawn with its own nose.

“Iron Man's Iron Nose lasted around a year and a half, and it ended with as abrupt a comment from Lee as the one that started it. According to Howe's book, by 1976 Lee was dealing less with the creative side of Marvel than the dollars and cents, but occasionally he still looked through pages. Examining the most recent Iron Man, he reportedly indicated the nose on Iron Man's faceplate and said, "What's this — why is this here?" The unnamed Marvel employee nearby asked him if he didn't want the nose. Lee responded, "Well, it looks kind of strange, doesn't it?" By Iron Man #85, the nose was gone.”

According to reality:

Stan’s comment was based on his feeling George Tuska was drawing Iron Man’s face plate too FLAT. He meant it should look, in profile, as if there was a nose behind it—same as the masks of Spider-Man and the Black Panther—not that the mask itself should have a nose.

Of course, the truth means giving up another Silly (Stupid) Old Stan story.

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DW Zomberg
Byrne Robotics Member


Joined: 12 June 2012
Posts: 444
Posted: 29 April 2019 at 9:52am | IP Logged | 2 post reply

Yes, from the same Sean Howes book that told us Wolverine was your favorite X Men character as well.

Don Z
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Eric Sofer
Byrne Robotics Member


Joined: 31 January 2014
Location: United States
Posts: 4789
Posted: 29 April 2019 at 9:54am | IP Logged | 3 post reply

I found it awfully confounding that Iron Man - especially in the Avengers comics - didn't exactly  have a nose, but more like what seemed to be horizontal slits to breath through. So... maybe he had a nose and he maybe didn't.

It's another mystery we'll never know the answer to. In my opinion, not only does Iron Man NOT need a nose, but he probably doesn't need a mouth either.
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John Byrne

Grumpy Old Guy

Joined: 11 May 2005
Posts: 134097
Posted: 29 April 2019 at 3:16pm | IP Logged | 4 post reply

No mystery. Look for profiles. It was a fully three-dimensional nose, not a “slit”.
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Brian Hague
Byrne Robotics Member


Joined: 14 November 2006
Posts: 8515
Posted: 29 April 2019 at 5:18pm | IP Logged | 5 post reply

One upside to the nose debacle, which I have always heard told as the faceplate being too flat and never as a mercurial whim, was that the Mego figure got a nose. I think it gives him a kind of lovable look...

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Jim Petersman
Byrne Robotics Member


Joined: 26 June 2012
Location: United States
Posts: 665
Posted: 29 April 2019 at 7:35pm | IP Logged | 6 post reply

Looks more like a badly colored Vision minus his cape than Iron Man.

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Brian Hague
Byrne Robotics Member


Joined: 14 November 2006
Posts: 8515
Posted: 30 April 2019 at 3:25am | IP Logged | 7 post reply

The similarity of the "skullcap" portion of the two characters' faces is baked into the mix. The Vision, however, has never had visible irises, an inverted coffee-spout nose, nor a permanent, rectangular grimace. 

Now that you mention it though, the Mego Iron Man does somewhat resemble Dick Dillin's early design for the Red Tornado, absent the widow's peak shaped skullcap...

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Robert Bradley
Byrne Robotics Member


Joined: 20 September 2006
Location: United States
Posts: 4913
Posted: 30 April 2019 at 10:55am | IP Logged | 8 post reply


He was wearing the helmet with the nose when I bought my first issue of Iron Man, but I was quickly introduced to the Gene Colan version from Tales of Suspense and wondered why it was added.

I prefer the artists who drew it expressionless like a helmet as opposed to the ones who gave it hints of facial expression, but I understand how it could help to tell the story or set a mood.
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John Byrne

Grumpy Old Guy

Joined: 11 May 2005
Posts: 134097
Posted: 30 April 2019 at 11:00am | IP Logged | 9 post reply

One of the cool things about Iron Man’s “expressionless” mask is that it can be made to show subtle expressions with the tilt of the head. Tilt forward, a smile! Tilt back, not a happy fella!

Of course, none of this could ever explain why George Tuska had IM kiss a woman!!

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Matt Hawes
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Joined: 16 April 2004
Location: United States
Posts: 16582
Posted: 30 April 2019 at 11:54am | IP Logged | 10 post reply

 Brian Hague wrote:
...One upside to the nose debacle, which I have always heard told as the faceplate being too flat and never as a mercurial whim, was that the Mego figure got a nose. I think it gives him a kind of lovable look...

One man's upside is another man's downside. ;-)

I have never liked the way it made the Mego figure look. Not only does he barely look like Iron Man, it looks to me kind of dorky.

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Brian Hague
Byrne Robotics Member


Joined: 14 November 2006
Posts: 8515
Posted: 30 April 2019 at 1:00pm | IP Logged | 11 post reply

Well, you'd be wrong. Just wrong. Wrong wrong wrong... :-) That face of his has personality! Verve! Zing! Pizzazz! 

So just take your canonically correct Famous Covers Iron Man (which, admittedly, is very cool) and just... just... I don't know what! But stop picking on poor Mego Iron Man!! 

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Matt Hawes
Byrne Robotics Member


Joined: 16 April 2004
Location: United States
Posts: 16582
Posted: 30 April 2019 at 1:26pm | IP Logged | 12 post reply

Yeah, it could have been worse... Mego Iron Mandidn't have to suffer with those bouffant hairdos given to Mego Thor and Mego Conan.

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