Iron Man
Iron Man
In 1963, Stan Lee had been toying with the idea of a businessman superhero. He
wanted to create the "quintessential capitalist", a character that would go against the
spirit of the times and Marvel's readership. Lee said, "I think I gave myself a dare. It
was the height of the Cold War. The readers, the young readers, if there was one thing
they hated, it was war, it was the military....So I got a hero who represented that to the
hundredth degree. He was a weapons manufacturer, he was providing weapons for the
Army, he was rich, he was an industrialist....I thought it would be fun to take the kind
of character that nobody would like, none of our readers would like, and shove him
down their throats and make them like him....And he became very popular." He set
out to make the new character a wealthy, glamorous ladies' man, but one with a secret
that would plague and torment him as well. Writer Gerry Conway said, "Here you
have this character, who on the outside is invulnerable, I mean, just can't be touched,
but inside is a wounded figure. Stan made it very much an in-your-face wound, you
know, his heart was broken, you know, literally broken. But there's a metaphor going
on there. And that's, I think, what made that character interesting." Lee based this
playboy's looks and personality on Howard Hughes, explaining, "Howard Hughes
was one of the most colorful men of our time. He was an inventor, an adventurer, a
multi-billionaire, a ladies' man and finally a nutcase." "Without being crazy, he was
Howard Hughes," Lee said.
The art was split between Jack Kirby and Don Heck. "He designed the costume,"
Heck said of Kirby, "because he was doing the cover. The covers were always done
first. But I created the look of the characters, like Tony Stark and his secretary Pepper
Potts."
Iron Man first appeared in Tales of Suspense, which featured anthology science
fiction and supernatural stories. The character's original costume was a bulky grey
armoured suit, replaced by a golden version in the second story. It was redesigned as
sleeker, red-and-golden armour in issue #48 (Dec. 1963). In his premiere, Iron Man
was an anti-communist hero, defeating various communist agents. Lee later regretted
this early focus. Throughout the series, technological advancement and national
defence were constant themes for Iron Man, but later issues developed Stark into a
more complex and vulnerable character as they depicted his battle with alcoholism (as
in the "Demon in a Bottle" storyline) and other personal difficulties
From issue #59 (Nov. 1964) to its final issue #99 (March 1968), the backup stories in
Tales of Suspense were replaced by a feature starring the superhero Captain America.
After issue #99, the book's title was changed to Captain America. Bridging the gap
between the last Tales of Suspense and the first solo Iron man comic, was the one-shot
comic Iron Man and Sub-Mariner (April 1968). Iron Man made his solo debut with
The Invincible Iron Man #1 (May 1968).
In order to keep the character contemporary, Writers have updated the war and locale
in which Stark is injured. In the original 1963 story, it was the Vietnam War. During
the 1980s it was an unspecified South East Asian country, then in the 1990s, it was
updated to be the first Gulf War, and again later updated to be the war in Afghanistan.
However, Stark's time with the Asian Nobel Prize-winning scientist Ho Yinsen is
consistent through nearly all incarnations of the Iron Man origin, depicting Stark and
Yinsen building the original armour together.
The original Iron Man title explored Cold War themes, as did other Stan Lee projects
in the early years of Marvel Comics. Where The Fantastic Four and The Incredible
Hulk respectively focused on American domestic and government responses to
Communist threat, Iron Man explored industry's role in the struggle. Stark's real-life
model, Howard Hughes, was a significant defence contractor who helped develop
new weapons technologies. Subsequent re-imaginings of Iron Man have transitioned
from Cold War themes to contemporary concerns, such as corporate crime and
terrorism.
The weapons systems of the suit have changed over the years, but Iron Man's standard
offensive weapons have always been the repulsor rays that are fired from the palms of
his gauntlets. Other weapons built into various incarnations of the armour include: the
uni-beam projector in its chest; pulse bolts (that pick up on kinetic energy along the
way; so the farther they travel, the harder they hit); an electromagnetic pulse
generator; and a defensive energy shield that can be extended up to 360 degrees.
Other capabilities include: generating ultra-freon (i.e., a freeze-beam); creating and
manipulating magnetic fields; emitting sonic blasts; and projecting 3-dimensional
holograms (to create decoys).
The most recent models of Stark's armour, beginning with the Extremis Armour, are
now stored in the hollow portions of Stark's bones, and the personal area networking
implement used to control it is implanted in his forearm, and connected directly to his
central nervous system.
Tony Stark’s Skills
Tony Stark is an inventive genius whose expertise in the fields of mathematics,
physics, chemistry, and computer science almost rivals that of Reed Richards, Hank
Pym and Bruce Banner, and his expertise in electrical engineering and mechanical
engineering surpasses even theirs. He is regarded as one of the most intelligent
characters in the Marvel Universe. He graduated with advanced degrees in physics
and engineering at the age of 21 from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
and further developed his knowledge ranging from artificial intelligence to quantum
mechanics as time progressed. His expertise extends to his ingenuity in dealing with
difficult situations, such as difficult foes and deathtraps, in which he is capable of
using available tools, including his suit, in unorthodox but effective ways. He is well
respected in the business world, able to command people's attention when he speaks
on economic matters, having over the years built up several multi-million dollar
companies from virtually nothing. He is also noted for the loyalty he commands from
and returns to those who work for him, as well as for his business ethics. Thus he
immediately fired an employee who made profitable, but illegal, sales to Doctor
Doom. He also strives to be environmentally responsible in his businesses.
At a time when Stark was unable to use his armour for a period, he received some
combat training from Captain America and has become physically formidable on his
own when the situation demands it. He received further hand-to-hand combat training
from from his chauffeur / bodyguard and ex boxer Harry “Happy” Hogan and James
Rhodes (a United States Air Force Combat Pilot).
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