You find him weak and disoriented. Your job is to get him to his office, a hotel room, or even a restroom, and whatever you do don't call an ambulance. After fifteen minutes, he comes out as if nothing has happened.
No, your boss isn't a heroin addict. He's Tony Stark, the Iron Man. And you're Happy Hogan
Stark's captured in South Vietnam by communist warlord Wong-Chu, and invents the Iron Man armor with the help of professor Yinsen. This is rebooted much later to the Middle East in what I believe is the first full blown rewrite of an origin story, as opposed to giving more details or politely omitting outdated parts.
The original Iron Man concept is that he's powered by magnets boosted by powerful transistors. Stark builds devices on the fly as well as using gadgets built in to the armor. Later he narrows down his toolbox to mostly just repulsors and jet boots, with the occasional unibeam.
Three major costume changes in the first year. He starts with the bulky grey suit, then painted gold, then the sleeker model that is the basis for all later outfits. The last suit has visible eyes, because criminals are as scared of a stern glance as they are bats.
At this point Iron Man is presented as Stark's friend, but he's empowered to boss around Stark's employees. No name of his business yet, just Stark's company or Stark's lab. His US office is in Flushing, NY, next to the World's fair. He has a lab in every continent, but I doubt that we ever see more than Europe or maybe Asia.
Iron Man faces the usual early Marvel villains, though by the end of the year he faces saboteurs of various stripes.
Stark is definitely a player, but the only mention of alcohol is him turning it down.
I don't remember his drinking being an issue until right before they did his alcoholism storyline - something we'll keep an eye on.
(Tales of Suspense 39-48)
Available in Iron Man Epic Collection: The Golden Avenger for Kindle and paperback from Amazon.
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