Iron Man got a nose in the comics because of MEGO

[drmego]

I was reading Alter Ego (Roy Thomas' comic fan magazine published by
Twomorrows) about George Tuska's work on Iron Man in the 70s.

Regarding the nose put on Iron Man's helmet in the comic from issues
68-85, which the writer and Tuska didn't like nor admit to wanting
in the comic, Roy says that it was a directive from Stan Lee himself,
then publisher of Marvel Comics.

Why would Stan insist on a change to Iron Man's costume that had
been constant since Tales of Suspense # 66 (1965) UNLESS it was
requested by the company that was expanding their Marvel figure
line at the expense of the DC characters?

I think MEGO's production people suggested the nose change
because it makes Iron Man look more human. I think that desire
to make him look more human was why MEGO painted in the eyes,
skin, and teeth. If they had followed the style art used for the
packaging, the eyes and mouth would have been black - and
that would make him look like a robot, not a man in armor.

Just a theory. Maybe there's some old MEGO employee out
there with a good memory - although that's not looking likely.

[megojim]

interesting info. and me thinks spot on!

[rche]

I always thought the IM head was supposed to be used for Doom, so there would be a foil for the FF. It always makes such a rocking custom Doom.

[generic]

I always thought the IM head was supposed to be used for Doom, so there would be a foil for the FF. It always makes such a rocking custom Doom.

I feel the same way

[rche]

IM 68 was published in June of 74, and the Mego IM came out in 1975.
Not sure if there could be any crossover there even given lead time for factories to make the toys. There would have had to have been a Lee/Mego meeting way in advance to decide this.

[MIB41]

Interesting theory. My question though... If Stan Lee had decided to give Iron man a makeover because of the Mego Action figure, wouldn't he had wanted that artwork on the box as well? Mego Ironman came out in '75 while the "Nosey" Ironman issues started in '74. So if Mego was the author of this change, why wouldn't they use existing artwork of Ironman WITH the nose on the box? It has also been documented on the Customego section that Dr Doom was in fact on the drawing board for Mego. But was then scrapped when it was determined to cost too much. Wouldn't it make sense they would try and convert that head to Ironman in a cost savings measure since he already had a nose in the comic? If you look closely at the nose, ear pieces, and mouth, it looks much closer to Doom than Ironman. Plus given the many examples of Mego using whatever they had available to create and package figures, I would tend to think this would be a more likely scenario. My opinion.

[ctc]

Hmmmm....

I thought Iron Man got the nose 'cos Stan thought Tony Stark's nose would be smooshed up in the helmet.

Don C.

[MIB41]

Mystery solved. See article below. Mego played no role in the creation of the nose.

Comic Book Legends Revealed #262 | Comics Should Be Good! @ Comic Book Resources

[Earth 2 Chris]

I don't think John Bonavita was aware that Iron Man ever had a nose in comics when he posited his Dr. Doom theory. I think Mego just copied the most up-to-date look for most characters, like Iron Man and Catwoman. Oddly enough, they didn't follow this with Batman and Robin.

Chris

[AcroRay]

I think Mego just copied the most up-to-date look for most characters, like Iron Man and Catwoman. Oddly enough, they didn't follow this with Batman and Robin.

And that would also depend on the how current the approved reference material Mego received from Marvel or DC happened to be.

[Mikey]

Hmmmm....

I thought Iron Man got the nose 'cos Stan thought Tony Stark's nose would be smooshed up in the helmet.

Don C.

I thought that too

[warlock664]

IM 68 was published in June of 74, and the Mego IM came out in 1975.
Not sure if there could be any crossover there even given lead time for factories to make the toys. There would have had to have been a Lee/Mego meeting way in advance to decide this.

^^
This.

The "Mego-influenced" explanation for the nose is a myth. The same holds true for the old "Super Friends tie-in" theory to justify Mego's original assortment of Batman, Robin, Superman and Aquaman in their WGSH line. How could Super Friends, which debuted in Fall 1973, have influenced Mego's first character assortment, which came in late 1972/early 1973?

[drmego]

I'll go with Jim Shooter's version of the nose since he was
a comic writer around this time and has demonstrated a
better recollection of details than others.

I still don't buy the "Dr. Doom became Iron Man" story.
Doom's face mask is very different from Iron Man - from
the rectangle frames on the eyes to the rivets across the
top to the shape of the mouth.

I believe that Doom was considered as a character, and
that Iron Man could have replaced him in the line-up, but
I doubt a Doom sculpt could have been re-purposed as
an Iron Man sculpt.

By the way, Iron Man #68 did not come out in June 1974.
The month on a comic cover was always 2-3 months ahead
of when they hit the stands.

[drmego]

Superfriends

Actually the simplest explanation is that Superman, Batman, Robin, and
Aquaman were DC's big four since the Superman/Batman hour of the
late sixties. The only one missing was Superboy.

As for the timing - people in the advertising and licensing business
always know about upcoming projects because advertisers have
to be lined up to advertise on the show, although Saturday morning
commercials were produced by the usual suspects of toy companies,
candy makers, and retailers. The actual show being aired was much
less important.

Maybe Marty was completely unaware that Superfriends was coming
to ABC in fall '73. Ten years later, Hasbro would make sure that 30
minute commercials for GI Joe ran 5 days a week.

^^
This.

The "Mego-influenced" explanation for the nose is a myth. The same holds true for the old "Super Friends tie-in" theory to justify Mego's original assortment of Batman, Robin, Superman and Aquaman in their WGSH line. How could Super Friends, which debuted in Fall 1973, have influenced Mego's first character assortment, which came in late 1972/early 1973?

[MIB41]

The truth may NEVER be known... We could always ask Stan Lee himself. That's probably the best source.