Iron Man

WHO IS IRON MAN?

In the next few weeks, it will be difficult to avoid people talking about Iron Man. The movie, starring Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Terence Howard and Jeff Bridges, is set to become one of the biggest movies of the year.

But Iron Man isn’t exactly one of those superheroes that everybody knows much about. They know the name, and they know the color scheme, but hardly anything else. So here we present an introduction to the character. Meet Tony Stark, better known as Iron Man.

ORIGINS

The idea was simple: a businessman superhero. Stan Lee wanted to explore the character of a playboy industrialist in the vein of Howard Hughes. Hughes, who some might remember as the subject of the Martin Scorsese biopic The Aviator, was an engineering genius who leveraged his knowledge and skill into making, among other things, airplanes, weapons, and movies. He was also known for gallivanting with movie stars and at the end of his life, being completely crazy. This was the crux of the character that Lee wanted to create: a man surrounded by success, but crippled on the inside.

And thus, inside the pages of Tales of Suspense #39, Iron Man was born. The year was 1963, and the threat of the cold war loomed over America. Iron Man, being an industrialist superhero, was also perfect to reflect the tensions of the time. He became an anti-communist character, one that would constantly be fighting the red threat. In the very first story, Tony Stark, billionaire industrialist, was visiting Vietnam to observe the use of some mini-transistors he had created for the army. There, he gets caught in a trap, gets a piece of shrapnel lodged into his chest, gets captured by a Vietnamese warlord, and gets forced to make weapons for the communists. Stark does make a weapon in captivity, but not for the warlord. He creates a suit of armor. He becomes Iron Man.

The origin story has changed settings over the years: the anti-communist beginnings weren’t exactly future proof. As years passed, Iron Man’s origin would shift to the gulf war, or more recently, the war in Afghanistan. The evolution was a necessary one, to be completely honest. Stan Lee later admitted that he regretted giving Iron Man such a clear ideology, one that, when viewed through the spectrum of modern thinking, would seem xenophobic and a bit racist. Still, while a lot of the details have changed, the archetype for the character largely remains the same.

TONY STARK TODAY

A lot has happened to the character since 1963, and we’re not going to go through all of that. We just don’t have enough time to sift through comics continuity. It’s much easier to just point out the general themes that brought him to where he is today.

ALCOHOLISM: Tony Stark is a recovering alcoholic. The most interesting facet of the Iron Man character is that he has a very human failing. His weakness isn’t some alien piece or rock, or some elemental force. Iron Man’s weakness is whiskey. Decades of stories have Tony Stark dealing with his alcoholism, and it’s only recently that he’s kicked the habit. The shadow of alcoholism looms over his character, however, and Stark lives under constant fear that one drink might destroy him.

HEALTH PROBLEMS: The Iron Man armor was originally conceived to just keep Tony Stark alive as a piece of shrapnel dug its way into his heart. The main point is that Stark is really a weak man, and that the armor was his crutch. Iron Man would deal with all sorts of world-ending threats, surviving each horrible attack, but would come home clutching his chest, worrying about his heart.

FUTURIST: Tony Stark is so intelligent that he can more or less figure out in broad strokes the path that the world will take in the next decade or so. He believes that he knows what’s best for the world at large, and this attitude made Iron Man a controversial character in the Marvel Universe. This line of thinking led to a superhero civil war, which caused the death of some pretty prominent heroes, among them, some of Stark’s closest friends. Tony Stark isn’t evil, though. He just can’t see any other way to evade an impending disaster.

TEAM-BUILDING: Tony Stark likes to form teams. He used his vast resources to fund the Avengers, Marvel’s biggest superhero team. The Avengers have a pretty loose roster, but Iron Man is a pretty constant presence. In today’s comics, Tony Stark has initiated a program to form superhero teams in every U.S. state. He likes teams.

WARMONGER: The Iron Man character has roots in war, and Tony Stark is essentially a weapons developer for the United States army. Part of the motivation of Iron Man is making up for whatever suffering Tony Stark has caused in developing weapons of war.

THE ARMOR

The iconic yellow-and-red Iron Man armor wasn’t the first armor that Tony Stark ever wore. The first armor was designed by legendary artist Jack Kirby, and it certainly reflects his artistic leanings. It’s a lot blockier and much simpler, with a generally much stouter look. The armor was also a steely gray, which is honestly a more practical and realistic choice.

By Iron Man’s second appearance, however, artist Don Heck changed the armor from a dull gray to a bright gold. The change was probably made to make the character look more appealing, and to reflect the affluence of Tony Stark. It was also probably a thematic choice, Iron Man represent a bright future for America, the scientific triumph of the capitalist ideals. The armor would continue to evolve over the next few issues, until artist Steve Ditko was tapped to create a new design. Ditko is probably most famous for designing the Spider-Man costume, a masterpiece of modernity in comic book art. His modern sensibilities crept into this new armor design: instead of big and bulky, the armor became sleek and positively svelte. This yellow-and-red ensemble would become the basic template for practically every iteration of the armor following it. It’s interesting to note that the movie will reflect the different versions of the armor.

Design aside, the armor’s characteristics pretty much remain the same through every version. Powered flight through jet boots, “repulsor rays” fired from the palm, and some sort of more powerful ray fired from the chest. Aside from those three pieces of technology, Iron Man would have a plethora of gadgets that would be called upon depending on the situation. Radio transmitters, explosive devices, scanners and whatever else Iron Man needs at the time: that’s what the armor gives him.

THE SUPPORTING CAST

PEPPER POTTS (Gwyneth Paltrow) – Virginia “Pepper” Potts was a secretary working for Stark industries who came into Tony Stark’s personal employ after correcting an accounting that Stark made himself. Pepper is sort of a strange contradiction in comics: an early example of a positive portrayal of women in comics, but at the same time, she was often seen fawning over Tony in early issues. Still, in recent years, she’s always been portrayed as intelligent and capable, and one of the few characters that can actually stand up to Tony Stark. The last year has even had her leading her very own super team. The trailers for the film suggest that a romantic angle between Pepper and Tony will be played up.

HAPPY HOGAN (Jon Favreau) – Happy Hogan was a boxer who became Tony Stark’s Chauffeur and personal assistant. He would also become one of Stark’s closest friends and confidantes. In the comics, he has a tendency to become a superhuman monster known as Freak, but there’s no indication that the movie will reflect that particular fact. Favreau, who plays Happy, is also the film’s director.

JAMES RHODES (Terence Howard) – While Iron Man was escaping from the Vietnamese warlord, he also rescued a military helicopter pilot. Ever since then, James Rhodes has become Tony Stark’s right hand man, helping him develop the armor technology. He also later takes up the Iron Man mantle himself when Tony Stark quits, and becomes the more militaristic War Machine when Stark returns.

OBADIAH STANE (Jeff Bridges) – Obadiah Stane is a ruthless businessman and basically Tony Stark’s rival. In the comics, he was a constant thorn in Stark’s side, assailing him with hostile takeovers, mercenary assaults, and even psychological warfare. He drives Stark to alcohol and makes him lose his company. He’s also known for donning a suit of armor himself, one that is said to surpass the Iron Man armor in every way.

RECOMMENDED READING:

Seen the movie? Want more? You could jump straight into Iron Man’s ongoing comic book series, but that might be a little confusing for comics initiates. Here are a few books that start you off on a pretty clean slate.

THE INVINCIBLE IRON MAN OMNIBUS HARDCOVER

In time for the film, Marvel is releasing a humongous hardcover collection of Iron Man stories. It collects an astonishing 46 issues of the comics where the first few years of Iron Man stories were told. If you really want to get to know this character, there’s just no better choice.

CIVIL WAR TRADE PAPERBACK

The big question for Marvel’s recent mega-event Civil War was “whose side are you on?” On one side, you had Captain America leading a band of rebel superheroes, who refused to give up their secret identities to the government. On the other hand, you had Iron Man and his registered superheroes, who believed that there needed to be more accountability in their profession. This book really brought Iron Man back to a prominent place in the Marvel Universe.

IRON MAN: ENTER THE MANDARIN TRADE PAPERBACK

Iron Man is a movie just begging for a sequel, and if a sequel’s ever made, it will probably feature the classic Iron Man villain The Mandarin. This recently completed miniseries tells the tale of their first encounter, and it’s a great way to get introduced to the world of Iron Man.