Issue(s): Tales Of Suspense #41 (Iron Man story only)
Cover Date: May 63
Title: "The stronghold of Doctor Strange!"
Credits:
Stan Lee - Plot
Robert Bernstein - Script
Jack Kirby - Penciler
Dick Ayers - Inker

Review/plot:
This issue will always have the foot-note worthy significance of featuring the other, evil, Doctor Strange.

Unlike good Stephen (whose first published appearance would be two months from now), this guy is a technological threat. Between natural gadget-building ability and the fact that he got struck by lightning, which "increased the electrical energy of [his] mind", he's able to take control of Iron Man's armor.

And he's got an island where the evil generals of the world show up to work for him.

Per Michael's comment below, here's a scan of the original unofficial Marvel Index that speculates that some of the guys above are the Red Skull's Exiles; for my tracking purposes i'm not taking this as canon.

Similarly, as Mike Teague points out, here's a guy that looks suspiciously like Baron von Strucker.

Dr. Strange's island is a well protected island, too, able to withstand multiple a-bomb detonations.

Between that and the 200-megaton bomb that Strange exploded in outer space to show that he meant business...

...the world must have been dealing with some serious radioactive fallout. No wonder the X-Men debut this year.

Strange's two weaknesses are his daughter's more sympathetic heart and the fact that he can't seem to help but shout out the solutions to his enemy's problems. "Why yes! A single spark would restore your strength, Iron Man. Why, if only someone were to throw you the batteries from that flashlight right over there, right next to my daughter who doesn't like all this evil business, you'd be able to stand up and defeat me!".

It's not surprising, then, that he forgives his daughter for her rebellion. He does manage to get away.

I can't believe this guy has never been brought back. It's almost inconceivable in a universe that has re-used everyone from the Scarlet Beetle to the guy who almost ran over Henry Pym with a truck one time. There's been a couple of iterations of a Scientist Supreme to contrast with the real Strange's magic status; i can't believe no one was tempted to use the guy with the same name.

Tony Stark has an unnamed girlfriend this issue.

It could be Marion from last issue again, but who's to say. When the talk turns to marriage, Stark quickly describes what a busy guy he is (busy mostly dealing in death, but also liquid bandages)...

...and then tells her he'll see her the next time he's in town.

While Stark is imagining how busy he would be if a girl ever got him to settle down, he recalls a string of recent adventures that, again, the book only bothers to show us in flashback, including that time he threw air stairs at a commie plane.

Quality Rating: C-

Historical Significance Rating: 4 - formative Iron Man story. Evil Doctor Strange.

Chronological Placement Considerations: N/A

References: N/A

Crossover: N/A

Continuity Insert? N

My Reprint: Marvel Masterworks: The Invincible Iron Man vol. 1

There was also a Doc Strange in the 1940s published by Better/Nedor/Standard, but he was more of a Doc Savage type.

There's considerable debate about whether or not some of Doctor Strange's accomplices in this issue are the Exiles- issue 8 of the original Marvel Comics Index claims that they might be.

I don't see any Murder Chairs!

The good: the relationship between the evil Dr Strange and his daughter was touching. Everyone realized that Iron Man was hypnotized into freeing Dr Strange. In the Bronze or Modern Age, everyone would have wanted to throw him in jail in spite of all of his previous good deeds.
The bad: They tried way to hard to make Tony Stark Mr Wonderful and Iron Man an admirable superhero (of course he's a new hero and I suppose they're trying to pump him up). The dialogue is a bit corny. Irona Man is saved by a couple of flashlight betteries? Huh? Some other Silver Age type improbabilities.
I'll give it a 3/5.

I'd vote against them being the Exiles. The original cap story in which they appear makes it clear they havent left their isle since the war ended, as they are in hiding (you know "in exile"). I dont like the idea of them breaking their exile for a one panel cameo.

But i think the girlfriend was intended to be Marion.

I guess at the time they probably thought it would be boring to show Iron Man getting involved in politics and national threats and business matters. Leave the boring stuff to the Michelines and O'Neils of the world. No, Iron Man has to fight robot cavemen sent by aliens and a guy with electric thinking that happens to share the name with Steve Ditko's main sorceror hero!

Silver Age, never stop being weird.

Well, it wouldn't be long until Silver Age Iron Man was filled with Cold War politics.
I loved the zaniness of the early SA Marvel though, when pretty much every character was just fighting random crazy threats, like this.
It got a bit old to see battles with Titanium Man lasting for six months, and Mandarin showing up every third issue. It was nice when Lee left the writing, by that point, to see some change again.

"There's been a couple of iterations of a Scientist Supreme to contrast with the real Strange's magic status; i can't believe no one was tempted to use the guy with the same name."

You've basically just come up with the perfect origin story for the character right there. In an alternate reality where magic is less profound and science even more significant, Stephen Strange becomes the SCIENTIST SUPREME, and eventually uses his knowledge to escape his own world and come to ours (with his daughter). Probably because his world was all full of zombies or mutants or mutant hunting robots or mutant hunting zombies or something, based on how every alternate reality in the Marvel multiverse seems to be utterly terrible.

Then clearly he never shows up again because he either settles down with his daughter and lives a more subdued, secretive life... or because the Doctor Strange of our universe eventually discovers him and uses magic to banish him back to where he came from or something.

The relationship between Evil Doctor Strange and his daughter is very, very close to the one between the Yellow Claw and his daughter Suwan.

There are interesting similarities between Strange's Evil purple costume details, shown in the 3rd and 5th scans above, and the "classic" Stephen Strange's Good blue costume.

I never noticed that Iron Man was left-handed before, but in these scans he appears to be.

There's talk about whether or not the Exiles appear, but look at the villains being led away in the penultimate panel on the last page - who is that at the front of the procession ? It looks rather like Baron Strucker to me !

I've added a scan of him.

Perhaps this Dr Strange is a relative of the other one. A cousin, maybe? I'd imagine someone like Kurt Busiek or Peter David would have revived him.