IRON MAN #226

Cover shows sharp corners, strong glossy surface, and vivid color with no visible fading. No spine stress lines or ticks are apparent along the visible spine, and no creases, tears, or stains are seen on the front cover. The book is in a protective sleeve which slightly obscures fine surface detail; interior pages and back cover were not assessed.

Iron Man #226, cover-dated January 1988, is part of the celebrated "Armor Wars" storyline that ran through the David Michelinie and Bob Layton run on the title, with pencils by M.D. Bright. The arc, kicked off in the preceding issue, sent Tony Stark on a campaign to hunt down and neutralize any technology derived from his own armor designs after discovering his patents had been stolen and weaponized by rivals and villains alike. This issue continues that narrative thread, deepening Stark's moral conflict as he escalates his methods, a plot beat frequently cited in retrospectives on the character's most consequential arcs.

Market data for this issue reflects its status as a well-regarded but non-key entry in a story-driven run rather than a first appearance or origin issue. Certified sales show a pronounced value cliff between the mid grades and a pristine 9.8, with prices climbing modestly from grade to grade before spiking sharply at the top of the census, a pattern typical of Copper Age comics where high-grade survivors are scarce relative to modern print runs but overall collector demand remains moderate. Raw copies in low and mid grades trade for token amounts, underscoring that the book's appeal is concentrated among Iron Man completists and Armor Wars story arc collectors rather than speculative key-issue buyers.

This issue is best suited to collectors assembling a full run of the Michelinie-Layton Iron Man era or the Armor Wars storyline specifically, rather than buyers chasing standalone investment-grade keys. Mid- and low-grade raw copies remain inexpensive and plentiful, making them accessible reading copies, while pristine 9.8 slabs command a real premium due to their scarcity on the census relative to demand from high-grade run builders. Expect steady but unspectacular movement across grades, with the bulk of value concentrated at the top of the condition curve.