The Iron Man Corps
Anthony "Tony" Stark was a genius mechanic and inventor working on secret programs for Stavka, building new weapons to help with the international struggle. While in Indochina (changed to various other locations with later versions to keep up with the times) demonstrating new stealth technology for the rebels, the base is seized by a Franco-British allied warlord, who kidnap Stark, and force him to build missiles and other tech "for the benefit of the great to rule over the weak". He is kept in a room with captured Chinese scientist Ho Yinsen. However, never wanting to surrender to imperialists, the two instead build a complex iron suit from the parts meant for the missiles, armed with various guns, to combat the warlord. As they nearly complete the suit, the warlord catches on to what is happening, and orders his troops to destroy it. While Stark puts on the suit, Yinsen holds them off, which ultimately leads to his death. Stark immediately avenges his death, destroying the complex.
Upon his return to the UASR, he immediately gives the suit to Stavka. Realizing the potential in the suit to be used for military purpose, they replicate the suit en masse, and create a new international division with soldiers wearing these suits. (The division was later placed under SHIELD, a American espionage agency) The intention is for these suited soldiers to help with difficult situations abroad, and to engage in secret operations against the FBU. Stark, as the original, is put in charge, but puts the duties of actually creating an improving the suits to Soviet engineer Anton Vanko, who sometimes dons the suit himself to help Stark, and friend, pilot Jim Rhodes.
Co-creator Stan Lee intended for the Corps to be a satire of the New Left's growing antipathy towards the military adventurism and the increasing focus on weapons development, by literally having entire squadrons of soldiers literally wear their weapons on them. Sure enough, the stories often critiqued the arms race, with the Iron Men getting more improvements, at the expense of their well-being or health. Some members go rogue, and try to sell their suits to capitalists for profit. Others become so dogmatic, they go on rampages over the most subtle divergence from the communist ideology. While early stories were ludicrously anti-capitalist (making them the targets of parody in later years), later writers would the stories to further explore themes of militarism, the role of the army vs. the local militias, the relationship between technology and the armed forces, and especially, socialist support for rebel groups.
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