From: [c 8337404] at [cs.newcastle.edu.au] (William Keir)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.comics.info,rec.arts.comics.marvel.universe
Subject: REPORT: Iron Man's Underwear - the facts
Date: 12 Nov 1998 11:47:21 GMT

One of the great unanswered questions, at least since the Seinfeld episode
that posed it, has been "Does Iron Man wear underwear beneath his armour?"
(or, in North America, "Does Iron Man wear underwear beneath his armor?").

The poster is happy to report a confirmed sighting, in an actual issue of
Iron Man's own book, of a panel that will answer this hairy problem.

The year: 1972
The issue # : 48 (Volume 1)
The story: The Fury and the Inferno
The bad guy: Firebrand
The writer: Mike Friedrich
The artist: George Tuska
The inker: Vince Colleta

On page three, panel one, we see a timelapse panel showing Iron Man removing
his armour in four stages, thus:

1) Left sleeve retracting
2) Right sleeve retracting
3) Headpiece being peeled off as if it were made of cloth
4) "Pants" being removed

Obviously the focal point of interest is in part 4. The golden leggings, 
apparently de-energised/de-magnetised/de-i(r)onised, are being stepped out
of as if they were made of cloth - they are down around his knees, all bunched
and bagging. Stark has his back to the viewer and is still wearing his 
chestplate, which is red.

Now either Stark wears white underpants, or his posterior is entirely seamless
and coloured white. Ockham's razor leads us inexorably to conclude the
former hypothesis is more likely, especially given the lack of any other 
evidence of him (Stark, not Ockham) being buttockly challenged.

Perhaps someone who has access to this issue and a scanner (alas, the poster
fulfils only one of these conditions) may care to make available, in the 
interests of scholarship, and for the benefit of the net entire, a scan of
the relevant panel , now they know where to look.

Sincerely

Bill Keir