Two superheroes that have quite a bit in common (except their publishing stables) and who have no real super powers at all. They weren’t bitten by a nuked creature or blighted with some deforming mutation, nor do they come from another planet; they are just men. Intelligent men, who have used their ingenuity to devise methods for gaining abilities beyond the norm, but they remain just men.

There are many iconic comic heroes, but surely the coolest of them all is Batman. Bruce Wayne, the caped detective who has solved countless crimes and created the odd monster that he himself has had to tame. Marvel have their own flawed human, although he has created a carapace to aid him in his battles against evil-doers and criminals. As Iron Man, Tony Stark also seeks to right many wrongs.

Artwork by Frank Wu

These two characters were born in different ages of the comics’ industry, with twenty years separating them. Though not immediately obvious, the similarities become more apparent the closer you look. It’s fair to say that there are limits to what can be done within the superhero genre, but, even so, the parallels between these two characters are astounding at times. Both are multi millionaires or billionaires, depending on the author, with huge industrial empires. This provides them with the independence and funding for their endeavours and gives them the space they need to pursue the life of a superhero, while also providing them with the technology and tools to fight their battles. They both have trusted butlers, who are much more than mere butlers, each providing a sounding board, a conscience and, at times, a voice of reason as well as friendship.

Their entry into the superhero world requires them to have been traumatised in quite horrific ways.

Tony Stark was mortally wounded in Vietnam. While investigating how his technology might aid the American war against communism, he was injured and captured by Communists. With his heart damaged, he was forced to create a metal breastplate to protect and sustain it, and this is the genesis of the armoured weapons-suit packed with gadgets.

Iron Man’s first issue is really quite smart and is an interesting introduction to a new superhero. He first appeared in Tales of Suspense, issue 39, in 1963, which was a mystery anthology, and when Marvel were on the rise with superheroes once again popular after briefly going out of favour. The resurrected Captain America was also published in Tales of Suspense, and this was the period during which when Marvel went from being a small operation to their current position of prominence.

Stark went on to have his own title, Iron Man, which was released in 1968. He pretended that Iron Man was his body guard rather than admitting his secret identity.

For his traumatic origin, Bruce Wayne witnessed the murder of his parents – could anyone ever forget the traumatic image of them lying in the street? It was this which created his drive to fight crime, while the happy accident of a bat flying through his window inspired his own dark image, which would strike fear into criminals ever-after. Batman remains perhaps the most recognisable superhero among the general public.

Batman first appeared in Detective Comics, issue 27, in 1939. This is the longest running American comic title, with currently 842 issues published, and it was originally exactly what its title suggests: a comic anthology of detective stories. It’s also the title from which DC took their name. They were originally called ‘national comics’. The change was appropriate, since without Batman there would have been little likelihood of the comic or the company surviving. The other key to DC’s success, preventing them going the way of so many contemporaries, was Superman in Action Comics.

Batman was given his own title in 1940, while continuing to still dominate the pages of detective comics. The emergence of Batman and Superman is seen as the beginning of ‘The Golden Age Of Comics’ and secured DC as a major player. There was, at one point, a rival to Batman’s success, the Crimson Avenger, who appeared in Detective Comics, issue 20. How different popular culture might have been had he proved enduring rather than the Caped Crusader.

Doubt has been a major factor for Batman. Perhaps this has been exemplified by the comic EGO by Darwyn Cooke, where Wayne is challenged by his alter ego who comes to life in a rather unsettling psychotic psychiatric episode, which produced some truly nasty innuendo and searching questions, such as: exactly why have a boy wonder?

Artwork by Frank Wu

Stark on the other hand has had a very human and recognisable failing. Apart from vanity and falling for the wrong women, something he is much better at doing than the more frigid Wayne, he has one of the most plausible of demons eating at his innards, alcohol. Whereas Wayne has often contended with his own inner battle of morality, Stark has had to fight against alcoholism. Both men overcome their issues and have had a variety of rebirths and re-imaginings throughout their history.

Stark is an industrialist, and his intelligent designs and devices have always been the core of the various Iron man suits. Stark didn’t build up his empire from nothing, his father had built up Stark Industries before him, but both his parents were killed in a car crash when he was twenty-one and he inherited the family business.

Bruce Wayne’s family had amassed a fortune through property and merchant activities, which started in the 17th century, and he went on to develop Wayne Corporation (later Wayne Enterprises), which has a large number of subsidiaries and interests including Wayne Tech which occasionally supplies Batman with useful gadgets.

Golden spoons abound in the superhero world.

Iron Man was created by some of the very best at Marvel. In addition to Stan Lee, Don Heck, Larry Lieber and Jack Kirby were all involved in the comic character’s creation in its earliest days, when superheroes were not as in vogue as they once had been. These men helped to re-establish the genre’s popularity. Only Steve Ditko was missing from what was otherwise the perfect creative team. Despite Batman and Bruce Wayne having been around for some time by this point, Stan the Man claimed that he based the playboy philanthropist Stark upon Howard Hughes.

Batman was created by Bob Kane, as credited on most of the Batman comics, although writer Kane admitted later that artist Bill Finger also had a hand in the creation of the style and imagery as well as helping to develop it. Jerry Robinson is also hugely responsible for some of the key support characters such as the Joker, and added greatly to the Batman oeuvre, as did artist Dick Sprang. It was in these early issues that some of the truly memorable villains were created.

Kane made much mention of The Mark of Zorro as a source of inspiration, although initially he drew the Batman with a Domino mask wearing red and black. Finger said he looked to Sherlock Holmes, Doc Savage and The Shadow for influence. The Shadow is undoubtedly an inspiration and this was later recognised when the Shadow made a cameo appearance in the comic and Batman admitted in the pages of Batman, issue 259, that he had indeed used the Shadow as inspiration for his own character.

Bob Kane regretted not having credited Bill Finger in more recent years, although that was a long while coming. Finger died in 1974, with DC having never really given him the credit he deserved. He died an unhappy man in another’s shadow.
Such rows are not unique to DC comics or to the 1930’s. Over twenty years later, with the creation of Spider-Man, two Marvel geniuses Stan Lee and Steve Ditko had a similar dispute. Even today Lee finds it hard to admit that Ditko was more involved in the creation of this character than originally admitted. Ego again, perhaps.

At the moment, Detective Comics, issue 27, is valued at $400,000 (www.comicspriceguide.com) and is the most expensive comic around. Further down the economic rankings we find Batman, issue 1, which is valued at $160,000. The real question is whether one would even be able to find a decent copy of either of these comics; they are both extremely rare. More likely would be Iron Man, issue 1, which is valued at $680 but can be found cheaper. Meanwhile, Tales of Suspense, issue 39, is a respectable $5,575.

Returning to our two central characters and their similarities: both men are fit – Stark at one stage in his comic history has his heart operated on, removing the requirement for the suit to actually help him remain alive. Wayne’s stats read as follows: he is six foot two, weighs 210 pounds, has black hair and blue eyes. Stark on the other hand is only six foot one, weights 185 pounds, and, strangely, also has black hair and blue eyes. Stark though, being a man of the sixties, has a moustache at times, but this comes and goes with the whims of writers and has not been a permanent fixture for some while.

Stark was one of the founding members of the Marvel superhero team, The Avengers, which debuted with number one in 1963. Initially, fellow members were Thor, The Hulk, Ant-Man and Wasp. Financing, the first Avengers’ mansion and assorted gadgetry were all provided by Stark. Captain America was recruited by issue number 4. 402 issues later, Stark himself is part of the end of the Avengers and helps to ‘disassemble’ them as it’s described. The New Avengers by Brian Michael Bendis has received much praise and is indeed a good reincarnation of this classic group with excellent artwork by David Finch. Again, Iron Man has played a significant part.

The Justice Society of America was DC’s superhero team. They debuted in All Star Comics, issue 3, in the winter of 1940, although initially they just swopped stories. Batman was later credited as being a founder, but wasn’t in the first story, and in actual fact only turned up in All Star Comics, issue 7, but then the concept behind The Justice Society was to feature weaker characters who didn’t have their own titles. In 1960, in The Brave and the Bold, issue 28, The Justice League emerged – a modern incarnation of the superhero team, and, on this occasion, Batman was indeed a founder member.

The song ‘Iron Man’ by Black Sabbath was released on their second album, Paranoid, in 1970. Although often associated with the comic book, no connection has ever been confirmed. In saying that, some of the trailers for the upcoming movie have had Black Sabbath accompanying the logo sequence. It is refreshing to know that the Bosnian comic artist Adi Granov, who was the artist on the recent and very popular Warren Ellis-scripted comic, Iron Man Extremis, has been employed to help create the imagery for the movie. The trailers look promising.

Christian Bale, the latest of many incarnations of a live action Batman, certainly has captured the obsessive nature and determination of the character, as well as the gritty self-challenging and moralising aspects. He portrays the right blend of conviction and self-doubt, and is an excellent choice for the young Batman.

Both Batman and Iron Man have had large parts to play in their respective publishers’ ‘events’. Marvel’s Civil War was very divisive and Iron Man proved unpopular as a character, but this only fuelled the sales. Batman has been key in 52, the DC event which has run now for nearly two years. Thankfully, though, Grant Morrison has been at the helm of the regular Batman comic and, since issue 655, has been weaving an interesting net of stories. But with issue 675, a storyline is due to start that will see the end of the character as we know him, no doubt catapulting sales into the stratosphere, and Morrison is definitely going about this in a clever way. Meanwhile, Iron Man is still as strong as ever and Orson Scott Card’s Ultimate Iron Man, now in its second volume, is proving a real hit with readers.

Doubtless the future holds many more surprises for these two iconic characters, which we await with eagerness and anticipation.

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