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| Images copyright MARVEL COMICS |
You all know the story about IRON MAN's nose, don't you? Apparently, on a visit to the MARVEL offices one day, STAN LEE was looking at some Iron Man pages of art and said something like "Shouldn't he have a nose?" What he meant was that the headpiece looked too flat-faced, and that there should be some subtle contour to suggest that the Golden Avenger had a nose.
However, he was taken literally, and up went the cry, "Stan says give Iron Man a nose, so that's what we'll do!" And that's how ol' Iron Britches got that awful-looking facial protuberance for however long it lasted. I'm not sure whether this next part of the story is true or not, but, one day, Stan saw Chrome Dome's snitch and asked "What's that awful thing?" Up went the cry, "Stan doesn't like Iron Man's nose - get rid of it!" As Stan says, they probably wished he'd make up his mind, but that ugly snozzle was never what he'd meant in the first place.
When JACK KIRBY drew the iconic cover of issue #80, perhaps he drew the nose himself, perhaps it was added at the inking stage by AL MILGROM, I'm not sure. However, I never liked that nose, so by the use of computer magic, I've removed it, to reflect my own personal preference as regards Iron Man's facial features. So whaddya think, Criv-ites? Do you prefer the Gold and Crimson Gladiator with or without his '70s nostril nonsense? Do tell!
