Issue(s): Tales Of Suspense #91 (Iron Man story only)
Cover Date: Jul 67
Title: "The uncanny challenge of the Crusher!"
Credits:
Stan Lee - Writer
Gene Colan - Penciler
Frank Giacoia - Inker

Review/plot: This one is loopy. At Fidel Castro's orders, a Cuban scientist develops a potion that imbues super-powers, and Castro, being a paranoid communist, forces the scientist to drink it himself in case it is poisoned. The scientist grows to seven feet tall and develops super strength and invulnerability.

Castro tries to kill him because "none may live who are more powerful than" him. Unable to kill him, Castro makes him a deal where if he kills Iron Man he can be the "generalissimo" of the Cuban army. "Crusher" agrees and thinks that once he defeats Iron Man he'll come back and defeat Castro as well. Not sure why he doesn't just go straight for Castro. He shows up at Stark Industries...

...and Iron Man zaps him with a new device he's just completed - a Centrifugal Ray that sends Crush straight to the Earth's core. Then Happy and Pepper show up to announce that they eloped.

Quality Rating: D

Historical Significance Rating: 5 - marriage of Happy Hogan and Pepper Hogan nee Potts

Chronological Placement Considerations: N/A

References: N/A

Crossover: N/A

Continuity Insert? N

My Reprint: Marvel Double Feature #8

I think the Crusher was an attempt to diversify. Not just Rooskies and Chinamen can be commies. Cubans were popular bad guys in the Men's magazines on the 60s.

I also like that his mutation caused him to go bald. You'd imagine that would happen more often. But the name "Crusher". ugh.

Cubans appeared as bad guys in Tales of Suspense 51, although they weren't really Iron Man's antagonists that issue, just there to buy Scarecrow's stolen merchandise.

I never thought much of the Crusher (or even his imitator in Daredevil) but I liked that Happy and Pepper got married.

The art and fight were pretty good but the anti-communist propaganda is totally ridiculous.