IRON MAN #120

Cover shows strong gloss and bright colors with sharp corners and no visible creases or color breaks; a faint vertical bend line is visible near the spine but does not break color. Slight edge wear is visible at the bottom left corner and minor handling wear along the spine. The book is in a protective sleeve with some glare obscuring fine detail; interior and back cover were not assessed.

Iron Man #120 opens the celebrated "Demon in a Bottle" arc, the seven-issue run (#120-128) that redefined Tony Stark's character by directly confronting his alcoholism, a bold storytelling move for mainstream superhero comics of the era. Written by David Michelinie and Bob Layton, with pencils by a young John Romita Jr. and Layton's own inks and cover, the issue also introduces Justin Hammer, the wealthy industrialist and arms dealer who becomes one of Iron Man's most enduring adversaries, orchestrating extended conflicts using other villains as proxies throughout the following decades. Namor the Sub-Mariner appears in a guest capacity, adding cross-title interest for Marvel completists of the period.

The book's market profile reflects a well-known, well-collected Bronze Age key with a large surviving population: census figures near 480 graded copies indicate this was heavily saved by speculators anticipating exactly this kind of long-term demand. Pricing is stable and grade-driven rather than scarcity-driven, with value climbing sharply only at the top of the census where true gem copies are comparatively scarce relative to the overall population. Demand is anchored in the character-first-appearance narrative for Justin Hammer and the historical significance of the