IRON MAN #157

Cover shows strong gloss and bright inks with sharp corners visible in the photo. There are minor handling marks and slight surface scuffing near the center black cape area, and a small stray mark near the top-right border. No visible creases, tears, or color breaks along the spine in this view, though the book is sealed in a plastic sleeve which slightly obscures fine surface detail. Interior and back cover were not assessed.

Iron Man #157 is a routine Bronze Age entry in Marvel's flagship armored-hero title, cover-dated April 1982. Alan Kupperberg stepped in as writer and penciler for this fill-in issue, sharing scripting duties with regular series writer David Michelinie, with a cover co-credited to Kupperberg and longtime Iron Man inker and co-plotter Bob Layton. Dan Green inked the interiors, Bob Sharen provided colors, and the issue was overseen by editors Jim Salicrup and Jim Shooter, placing it squarely within the well-documented creative machinery of the era's Iron Man run without introducing any new characters, origins, or lasting continuity developments.

The market data reflects a book with steady but modest collector interest rather than active speculation. Certified sales cluster at the top of the grade scale, with a 9.8 census of 53 copies and 22 recorded sales generating a fair market value near the mid-fifty to mid-sixty dollar range, while sales in the 6.5 to 7.5 grade band have traded around eighteen dollars. Lower and mid-grade raw copies see little dedicated sales activity, consistent with a fill-in issue that lacks a first appearance, milestone event, or widely cited classic cover to drive demand beyond series completists.

This issue trades primarily as a piece of a broader Iron Man run rather than as a standalone target, appealing to collectors assembling complete Bronze Age sets or Tony Stark character runs. Lower and mid-grade raw copies are readily available and inexpensive, typically bought as run-fillers, while the CGC 9.8 population remains large enough that top-grade examples do not command scarcity premiums beyond incremental grade-curve pricing. Long-term appreciation for this title is likely to track the overall Iron Man collector base rather than any issue-specific catalyst.