"WEASEL" WILLS
Real Name: Wills (first name unrevealed)
Identity/Class: Human technology user
Occupation: Criminal, thief
Group Membership: None
Affiliations: None
Enemies: Iron Man (Tony Stark)
Known Relatives: None
Aliases: Iron Man
Base of Operations: His cave hideout, somewhere in New York state
First Appearance: Tales of Suspense I#65/1 (May, 1965)
Powers/Abilities: Wills was a reasonably skilled thief, able to sneak past Stark Industries security. He briefly wore the Iron Man Mark IV armor, which granted him superhuman strength (Class 25?) and durability, as well as the ability to fly and project repulsor ray blasts.
As when worn by Stark, one of the armor's major weaknesses was its limited power supply, necessitating frequent and inconvenient recharging. Oh yeah...and that pesky and all-too-accessible main power switch located at the waist.
Height: 6'1" (by approximation)
Weight: 185 lbs. (by approximation)
Eyes: Blue
Hair: Brown
History:
(Tales of Suspense I#65) - Three-time loser Weasel
Wills was an otherwise small-time criminal; he thought to make it big by
being the first person to break into Stark Industries and steal military
secrets. Little did he realize that his findings would include the attaché
case of Tony Stark, which had been unwittingly left behind by Stark, with
its protective explosive device left unarmed. Wills donned the Iron Man
armor inside the case and walked off the premises, posing as the real Iron
Man, and none were the wiser.
Wills test rode the armor a little, and then began a crime spree; he used the armor's repulsor rays to tunnel into a cave, which he used as his own "bank," where he was quite literally rolling in money.
Meanwhile, Stark heard of "Iron Man's" crimes, and figured what had happened. He put on his older golden Mark II armor, then contacted Wills on the special Iron Man armor frequency; he told Wills to meet him at his Flushing factory and fight it out, or he would hunt him forever.
Wills showed up at the factory, and the two Iron Men battled each other. While the older armor was apparently stronger and more rigid, the newer armor was faster and packed with more advanced gadgets. Stark managed to hold Wills off, goading him into squandering the armor's energy, while he secretly disabled the factory's power supply. Wills became slower and slower as his energy began to run out, and he found himself unable to recharge. Stark then grabbed Wills and cut the armor's main power switch, leaving him trapped within the immobile armor.
As he removed the armor from the false Iron Man, Stark feared that Wills would then expose his identity; but Wills had become so engrossed in the idea of being Iron Man, that he was convinced he actually was the real Iron Man. Wills raved to the police that the armor was his and that he had designed it, and that's exactly what he believed. So Tony Stark's secret identity was safe again, and everyone lived happily ever after.
Comments: Created by Stan "The Man" Lee and Don Heck
I based Wills' height and weight on Tony Stark's, figuring that Wills had to be about the same size as Stark to fit in the armor.--Ron Fredricks
Alas, Weasel Wills was not summoned by Tony Stark to help fight Ultimo as part of the Iron Legion (Iron Man I#300), composed of all those who had ever worn Iron Man armor. For that matter, neither were Dr. Demonicus, the Omnos, Krang's Atlantean lackeys, or any of the other criminals who usurped his armor at some point (see Clarifications). Wisely, I think, Tony chose only those likely to provide assistance and not attack him.
I fear we'll never be treated to the much anticipated union of the "Rip-Off Raiders"--composed of those who have impersonated heroes for criminal purposes--including Wills, Second Story Sammy (Giant-Man imposter), the Planner (Captain America imposter), and Professor Zaxton's demon duplicate of Thor, all of whom showed up back in the Tales of Suspense, Tales to Astonish, Journey into Mystery days, and then decided to not come back.
I think it was the Iron Manual, or perhaps Iron Man:The
Legend, that identified the various versions of the Iron Man armor.
Reading the story in Tales of Suspense, one would think that Stark was
wearing the original armor, and Wills was wearing the second version.
According to the above source, the Mark I armor was that which Stark
first built in Tales of Suspense I#39. After returning to the USA, he
developed the Mark II armor, using the more advanced technology of his
factory, and changing to the gold color. He made the first red and gold
armor, Mark III, in Tales of Suspense I#48, and I don't remember the
significance off the top of my head, but he made the Mark IV armor in
ToS#54. The next issue after Wills stole the armor, he designed the Mark
V armor.
However, it makes more sense that some of these different versions were
modifications of the previous armor, rather than building a whole new
set. I would think the Mark II armor was just a modification of the Mark
I, and IV may have just been a modification of III. I think the only
significance to the Mark V armor was that the rivets from the face mask
disappeared.
Ah well, moot point...dorcas farcas.
The modifications to the various armors over time could have been more than just visible physical changes, such as advancements in the internal circuitry design for more efficient operation.--Ron Fredricks
Expansion and new images by Ron Fredricks.
Profile by Snood.
CLARIFICATIONS:
Weasel Wills should not be confused with others who have worn the Iron Man armor, including:
images: (without ads)
Tales of Suspense I#65/1, p4, pan5 (main image - Weasel Wills finds Tony Stark's attache case with armor inside)
Tales of Suspense I#65/1, p4, pan8 (headshot - Weasel Wills)
Tales of Suspense I#65/1, p5, pan1 (Weasel Wills first dons Iron Man armor)
Tales of Suspense I#65/1, p11, pan1 (Weasel Wills [in red-and-gold armor] battles Tony Stark [in gold armor])
Tales of Suspense I#65/1, p12, pan10 (Weasel Wills claims that he's Iron Man, as police arrest him)
Appearances:
Tales of Suspense I#65 (May, 1965) - Stan Lee (writer/editor), Don Heck (pencils), Mike Esposito (inks), Sam Rosen (letters)
First posted: 11/23/2002
Last updated: 01/06/2023
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
Non-Marvel
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