Tony Stark is a billionaire industrialist, but he is better known to fans as his superhero alter ego Iron Man. He's so famous, in fact, he once headed to a packed comic convention just to escape the madness of Marvel's signature supervillain battles. The only problem is he accidentally went dressed in his full Iron Man armor -- giving the fans in attendance the greatest cosplay ever seen in their lives.
The unexpected story was told by writer Mike Friedrich and artist George Tuska, way back in Iron Man #72. Back in 1968 it was still early days for the Avengers, but the heroes had already become close to rock stars in celebrity. Which is exactly why Tony Stark decides to get dressed in his own Iron Man suit and attend a costume party during San Diego Comic-Con. Leading to an incredibly meta, fourth-wall-breaking dive into comic fan culture... right up until the ACTUAL villains show up to terrorize the costumed fans.
The comic story, "Convention of Fear" is surprisingly accurate to what a real-life convention would be like (or would have been like before SDCC became a gigantic multimedia event). Fans scramble to find first issues and appearances of their favorite characters, as other line up for sketches from well known artists. They even try to rope Tony into going to a panel -- thinking him just another Avenger cosplayer -- before he's confronted with the true weapon wielded by any superhero superfan: brutally honest criticism.
Any fan of superheroes will recognize the truth behind the fans' miffed reactions to slight changes to a character's look, with another cosplayer commenting on Stark's updated helmet, confirming that even at the time Iron Man's metal nose was controversial. As Tony sees more of the show, it appears fans are even cosplaying previously captured villains... until its revealed that things are not as they seem, and unlike real-life conventions, the villains are the real-deal.
When Black Lama turns up all hell breaks loose, and the disguised villains set their sights on Iron Man. Or rather, Iron Men. Putting on the costume of a favorite superhero can make anyone think they could do the impossible, and one Iron Man fan demonstrates that by literally taking on the bad guys to help the actual Avenger in the battle.
Unfortunately for Tony, but as a serious testament to Comic-Con security, the real Iron Man loses his badge in the scuffle. And even for an Avenger who just saved the day, no pass means no admittance, and Iron Man is forced to leave his very FIRST trip in person to San Diego Comic-Con (but certainly not his last).