10 Weird Moments You Forgot Happened In Iconic Comics

Contrary to how it is depicted in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Iron Man's identity as Tony Stark was unknown in the comics for 39 years. In fact, he was the last main Avenger to have his identity publicly revealed.

Originally, society assumed Iron Man was Tony Stark's bodyguard. (Somehow, nobody noticed that the two are never in the same room.) Only in 2002 was it unveiled that Tony Stark and old Shellhead are one and the same. This story was a big deal as it jeopardised Stark's company, which caused his opponents to weaponise Starktech and so, Stark becomes the Secretary of Defence to combat the problem more efficiently.

Wait a minute? How was Iron Man's identity exposed? Was it revealed by The Mandarin? Did Stark make this revelation in a drunken stupor?

Nope. During a press conference, Stark jumps off a balcony and activates his Iron Man armour in front of dozens of reporters... to save a dog. A group of robbers were driving away from the police and nearly hit a dog so Stark had no choice but to intervene.

Now, I don't want to see a dog getting squished but I feel bad for all of Stark's friends, lovers, employees, and teammates who nearly died throughout the years because Iron Man couldn't expose his identity. How many times has his partner, Pepper Potts been moments from being killed because of Iron Man's enemies? How often has Stark's best friend, Happy Hogan, nearly been murdered by a supervillain? Any time this has happened, Stark has made an excuse to leave and then he runs to another room to activate his Iron Man suit. But when a puppy's life is in peril, he doesn't hesitate for a second, even at the cost of his secret identity.