Origin
Dissatisfied with his boss, Tony Stark’s attitude and approach to him, as far as being to busy to arrange for appointments, Donald Birch began to turn to crime, sabotaging a missile testing demo in his persona of the Phantom. Tony was forced to halt several of his businesses whilst Phantom continued to sabotage the facilities owned by Stark putting several of his employees at danger. Eventually as Iron Man, Tony was able to neutralize Phantoms revenge streak as well as unmasking Phantom revealing him as disgruntled employee Donald Birch, then having him arrested.
The Iron Age
Over the years, Birch work for both HYDRA and S.H.I.E.L.D. before deciding he simply didn’t care about humanity. He used the money he had made as an arms dealer to retire, building a fortress underwater. Years later, he would discover that he had cancer. Fueled by spite, he aquired a time machine, and began to search for a way to get revenge.
Birch kidnapped Tony Stark, and disabled his armor. Birch showed him the time machine, and summoned an unstable Dark Phoenix. Birch admitted that he was dying, and looking for a way to take Tony and the rest of humanity with him. He used a machine to aggitate the Phoenix, which destroyed the base, and the entire world. However, Stark escaped through the time platform.
Stark then created a new time machine and returned with a team of heroes, dismantling Birch’s plan and subduing Phoenix. The failure of his plan, combined with the cancer, proved too much, and Birch died of shock.
Creation
Created by Stan Lee, Don Heck, Phantom first appears in Tales of Suspense #63.
Powers and Abilities
No inherent powers, aside from intelligence Phantom uses a specialized blast gun and his expertise in electronics to cause as much damage towards Tony Stark as he can. Phantom’s intimate knowledge of Stark Enterprises buildings, layouts, technology, developments allowed him to be especially effective in hurting Iron Man.
Physical Characteristics
Height: 5’10”
Weight: 173 lbs
Hair: Blond
Eyes: Blue