Captain America vs. Iron Man inspired by Tales of Suspense #58. I guess Civil War was inevitable, huh? Original drawing and colors by Adam Koford. Visit his site by clicking here.

Stark’s health, both mental and physical, has long driven the plots of Iron Man. From his very first appearance, his human physical frailty has been key to his character. While Tony Stark is the guy who seems to have everything, he has a flaw dealt to him by fate. And while this flaw has changed over the years (from heart ailments to alcoholism to paralysis, and more), Stark’s physical and mental condition has made him one of the more interesting heroes over the last forty years. Just as his costume, his armor, has been ever changing, so, too, have his fortunes, his status quo. Billionaire, playboy, Tony Stark is envied by almost everyone, but if they really knew him, knew all that he’s gone through and struggled with, they would pity him.

In TOS #39, a boobytrap sends shrapnel into his heart. Slowly the shrapnel lodged there works its way to his heart—and through it. He designs a chest device that works as a powerful magnet to hold the metal piece in place. Stark is force to live for the rest of his life with the huge, heavy metal chest plate.

Heart problems would continue to dog inventor Anthony Stark until he eventually collapsed under the strain of being a super hero and public figure. In TOS #84, he collapsed while testifying before Congress. The whole world found out that he had a bad heart and an iron chest plate. This saved him from having to tell Congress that he was Iron Man, how could he be with such a bad heart. (Happy, now aware of his friend’s secret, then put on the armor and acted like Iron Man while Tony was in the hospital to further "prove" that Tony wasn’t IM.)

Throughout his Tales of Suspense adventures Tony’s heart problems caused him to withdraw from his relationships. As a man living on borrowed time, he felt that it was unfair to be in a relationship with one woman—who could not look forward to marrying him or spending a life together. For years, Stark was an electric charge away from death, never knowing which day might be his last. On top of that, the chest device he wore most certainly precluded intimate contact. Because of his heart he would forgo a relationship with Pepper Potts, and later Janice Cord, just to name a few.

After many heart attacks and close calls, it was a battle with a Life Model Decoy (LMD) of himself that finally took out Tony’s heart in IM #19. Thanks to Hank Pym’s Ultra-Rejuvenator, Stark’s stopped heart was kept functioning until Dr. Jose Santini was able to perform a miraculous heart transplant. More to the point, Dr. Santini rebuilt Stark’s heart with synthetic tissue. Unfortunately, the artificial tissue was very experimental, it replaced Stark’s heart, but under physical stress it might be rejected. Physical stress like being Iron Man you ask? Stop it, you’re getting ahead of me.

Okay, yes, as Iron Man, Tony found himself once again risking his life each time he became Iron Man. Soon, afraid any unusual strain would cause his heart to reject the synthetic tissue that repaired it, Tony began hesitating, not going all out.

After a battle with the new Crimson Dynamo (IM #21), Stark quit being Iron Man, choosing ex-boxer Eddie March as his replacement. But March had his own health problems: a blood clot in his brain almost made his IM tenure fatal. And so Stark had to go back to wearing the armor.

In #37, a battle with the robot Ramrod exhausted Stark to the point of rejecting the heart. With the help of Kevin O’Brien, to whom Tony revealed his secret, Tony was able to wear his old chest piece to save his life—the pacemaker now manipulating the artificial heart. Late in #44, O’Brien, now in the Guardsman garb, would save Tony once more, this time performing a bit of electronic surgery, reconnecting Tony’s pacemaker.

Soon his heart strengthened, and he could take the chest plate off long enough to shower. As he became stronger and more sure of the heart, he opened up his life to Marianne Rodgers. Not only did he share his super hero identity with her, he asked her to share his life with him—they got engaged.