Iron Man

With the movie debut of Iron Man this week, I though it would be an excellent time to look at the history of this lesser known Marvel Comics character. I say lesser known because to the world at large there are The Hulk and Spider-man, then The X-Men and the Fantastic Four. After that only fans really know the names.

However while Iron Man may not be as well known as he deserves to be in the mainstream, he is at the center of the Marvel Universe. A founding member of the Avengers, currently Director of Shield, driving force of the Civil War and currently embroiled in Secret Invasion. Iron Man is and always has been at the heart of the action.

Publication History of Iron Man

Iron Man was created by writers Stan Lee and Larry Lieber with artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby. Exactly how much influence each party had in the creation of the character has long been up for debate. His first appearance was in Tales of Suspense #39, cover dated March 1963. At this time Marvel was hitting a creative peak. Stan Lee wanted to create a businessman superhero with a personality based around Howard Hughes.

The story goes that the first issue was outlined by Lee who had Lieber flesh it out while Kirby drew the covers and Heck drew the story. Heck says that the costume design was Kirby's, but the look of many of the characters was his.

From issue 39 of Strange Tales through to issue 99, Iron Man appeared in 13-18 page stories accompanied initially by an anthology story and then by a Captain America story. Iron Man then moved to the pages of Iron Man and the Sub-Mariner in April 1968. Iron Man finally earned his own title, suitably titled The Invincible Iron Man #1 in May of 1978

Iron Man's costume has gone through many re-designs over the years. Initially it was a bulky grey iron suit. However in issue 48 it was reworked to be a sleeker red and gold model that had a more superheoric appearance.
Image via Wikipedia
The Origin of Iron Man

Common themes for the early stories were an anti-communist agenda and an emphasis on national defense. Later in the series run the character of Tony Stark was given more depth and vulnerability as his character battled alcoholism. Over the years writers have seen fit to re-work Iron Man's origin story moving it from the Vietnam War to the first Gulf War and most recently to Afghanistan. The core details have not changed however:

Tony Stark, the son of Howard Stark a wealthy industrialist and head of Stark Industries, is a boy genius entering MIT at the age of 15. After his parents accidental deaths, he inherits the company.

While observing his experimental technologies he is injured and captured by the enemy. His fellow prisoner, Yin Sen, helps him to build an armoured suit that enables him to escape from his captors. The suit also keeps his heart beating.

Stark is now forced to wear the armors chestplate at all times and recharge every day or his heart may stop. He disguises Iron Man as his own bodyguard in order to fight threats to his company, but also crime. To ensure the disguise is effective Stark cultivates the image of a rich playboy.

The anti-communist slant of the early stories gradually softened as opposition to the Vietnam war increased in the United States. Eventually Stark reconsidered the morality of manufacturing weapons. His character remains somewhat arrogant and inclined to let the ends justify the means.

Key Events

Eventually Stark's heart condition is cured with an artificial heart transplant. Stark discovers that S.H.I.E.L.D. has bought a controlling interest in his company to ensure continued weapons development. His rival Justin Hammer then hires supervillains to attack him. The Iron Man armor is even used to murder a diplomat and Stark has to hand the armor over to the authorities. During this time Stark develops an alcohol dependency.

Another rival of Stark's, Obadiah Stane manipulates him into a relapse and he loses control of Stark International, becoming a homeless alcoholic. At this time the Iron Man identity is taken up by James Rhodes. When Stark recovers he starts a new company Circuits Maximus and builds a new armor. When Rhodes goes on a rampage, Stark dons the prototype suit to stop him.

When he discovers that his designs have been used to create other armored suits, Stark begins the Armor Wars, disabling other armored heroes and villains. However one of the people he attacks, is a government operative called Stingray. It turns out that Stingray's suit does not contain any Iron Man technology. Stark "fires" Iron Man, but continues his campaign disabling the armor of the Mandroids and Guardsmen which results in a number of villains escaping. Finally he is faced with an enemy he can't defeat. Firepower. He fakes Iron Man's death, creates a new suit and takes down Firepower, claiming that a new person is in the armor.

In a story called The Crossing, Iron Man is revealed to be a traitor to the Avengers, having been manipulated for years by Kang the Conqueror. Stark kills Marilla the nanny of Crystal and Quicksilver's daughter Luna and Rita DeMara the female Yellowjacket. The Avengers travel back in time and bring a teenaged Tony Stark from an alternate timeline. The older Stark sacrifices ihmself to stop Kang and the young Stark stays in the present day gaining control of his company. The teenaged Stark is killed during the battle with Onslaught.

During Heroes Reborn, an adult Tony Stark returns with a healthy heart to the main Marvel Universe.

In Iron Man vol.3 #55, Stark reveals his identity as Iron Man to the public. He accepts a Presidential appointment as Secretary of Defense but is forced to resign when he is manipulated by the Scarlet Witch into a tirade against the Latverian ambassador at the United Nations. The end result of the Scarlet Witch's breakdown is the destruction of the Avengers mansion and death of several avengers. Stark announces that he will stand down as Iron Man and appoint a new one, but in reality it remains Stark. He starts a New Avengers team based out of Stark Tower.

As a result of the superhero Civil War, Stark ends up as the current Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. Spider-Woman brings him the corpse of a Skrull posing as Elektra and he becomes aware of the upcoming invasion.

Power and Abilities

Most of Iron Man's powers come from his armor which gives him superhuman strength and durability, flight and a wide array of weapons. The armor itself has been upgraded repeatedly over the years but the core weapons remain the repulsor rays fired from the palms of his gauntlets. Stark also has a number of specialized suits for space travel, deep sea diving and a Hulkbuster suit.

Recently Stark injected the Extremis virus into his system and fused his armor to his body. He can now control his armor through direct brain impulses. Extremis has also improved his body's recovery and enables him to be in contact with external communications systems like satellites and cell phones.

In addition to these power, Tony Stark is a genius with an advanced degree in engineering and has had training from Captain America in hand to hand combat.

Iron Man Movie

An Iron Man movie is set for release on May 2nd 2008. The movie directed by Jon Favreau stars Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark, Terrence Howard and James Rhodes and Jeff Bridges as Obadiah Stane.

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