Iron Man #54
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeIron Man #54 (January 1973) is the debut of Heather Douglas, introduced here under the alias Madame MacEvil — the character who would evolve into Moondragon, one of Marvel's most complex and enduring cosmic figures. Her appearance in this issue served as a quiet prologue to the entire 'Thanos War' saga that Jim Starlin would soon ignite next door in Iron Man #55 and carry through Captain Marvel; without this issue planting the seed, the first chapter of that multi-title cosmic epic has no connective tissue. The character's journey from campy super-scientist villain to telepathic, Titan-raised priestess — fully reconceived and renamed in Daredevil #105 — stands as a textbook example of Bronze Age Marvel's willingness to rapidly, radically retool a new character when a more ambitious creative vision emerged. Moondragon went on to serve as a member of the Avengers, Defenders, Infinity Watch, and Guardians of the Galaxy, making this issue the origin point for one of the publisher's most morally layered characters.
ComicBooks.com Value
Show all 19 grades ▾
This exact issue on ebay
CGC 9.6 ▾ $1,500–$1,632 3 listings
CGC 9.4 ▾ $649–$695 2 listings
CGC 9.2 ▾ $325–$375 2 listings
CGC 8 ▾ $125–$195 3 listings
CGC 5.5 ▾ $69.99–$158 2 listings
Raw — VF+ ▾ $144–$166 2 listings
Raw — VERY FINE ▾ $65–$125 2 listings
Raw — FN+ ▾ $38.97–$49.95 2 listings
Raw — FN ▾ $45.99–$115 5 listings
Raw / ungraded ▾ $9.31–$350 26 listings
More listings for this title
Read it digitally
Sell my copy
Have this issue — or a whole collection? Get a fair offer from us, skip the marketplace fees and the hassle.
We Buy Collections ▸History
The issue was scripted by Mike Friedrich and plotted with a story idea from veteran creator Bill Everett — who, as the original co-creator of Namor the Sub-Mariner, had a natural interest in featuring the character; Everett passed away later in 1973, making this one of his final contributions to Marvel. Interior art was pencilled by George Tuska and inked by Vince Colletta, while Gil Kane supplied the cover; Roy Thomas served as editor-in-chief. The character Madame MacEvil debuted here with her origin left deliberately vague, and when Jim Starlin briefly took over the title on the very next issue, he apparently intended to develop her further, but was fired from Iron Man by Stan Lee after a single arc. Starlin's already-completed origin pages for the character were subsequently redirected to Steve Gerber's Daredevil #105, where the Moondragon name and Titan backstory were formally established — according to a note on the Captain Marvel #29 letters page, those pages were drawn approximately a year before they were published.
Trivia · 7 facts
- First appearance of Heather Douglas, debuting as the villain Madame MacEvil — later renamed and reinvented as Moondragon.
- Story title: 'Sub-Mariner: Target for Death!' — Madame MacEvil remotely seizes control of Iron Man's armor and forces him to battle Namor the Sub-Mariner as an experiment.
- Credits: Script by Mike Friedrich, plot idea by Bill Everett, pencils by George Tuska, inks by Vince Colletta, cover by Gil Kane, editor Roy Thomas.
- Madame MacEvil is established in this issue as the daughter of Drax the Destroyer, connecting the character to the Thanos mythology introduced one issue later in Iron Man #55.
- The character's origin is intentionally withheld here; it was formally revealed in Daredevil #105 (November 1973) using pages drawn by Jim Starlin that had originally been prepared for an Iron Man issue — confirmed by a contemporary letters page note in Captain Marvel #29.
- Madame MacEvil formally takes the name Moondragon in Daredevil #105, where her Titan-monastery backstory and telepathic powers are established for the first time.
- Iron Man #54 is collected in Marvel Masterworks: The Invincible Iron Man Vol. 9 (2015, ISBN 978-0785191902), which covers issues #54–67.
Full credits
Reprints
Reprinted in Strange #50 (1974), Essential Iron Man #4 (2010), Marvel Masterworks: The Invincible Iron Man #9 (2015), Iron Man : L'intégrale #1973 (2016), True Believers: Annihilation - Moondragon #1 (2020), Iron Man Epic Collection #5 (2022), The Invincible Iron Man Omnibus #3 (2024), The Invincible Iron Man Omnibus #3 (2024), Άιρον Μαν [Iron Man] #2, L'Invincible Iron Man #9
Key issues in Iron Man
Variants (1)
Reviews
Reader reviews
No reader reviews yet.