History[]
Millionaire playboy Tony Stark had it all: good looks, near limitless wealth gained from the ownership of the arms manufacturing corporation his late father had built up, the adoration of beautiful women everywhere he went (this last factor may have been due to the good looks, but the limitless wealth probably didn't hurt either) and near unparalleled scientific genius. Unfortunately, it all fell apart when, while rather stupidly visiting a country the USA was at war with, Tony was critically injured by a bomb blast and then captured by the bandit chief Wong Chu, who demanded that he build weapons for him. With a lethal chunk of shrapnel edging ever further into his heart, and the prospect of being shot not really a better option, Tony reluctantly agreed... but only until he and his fellow prisoner, Professor Ho Yinsen, could cobble together a suit of bulletproof armour (which conveniently doubled as a pacemaker for his injured heart) with which he could defeat Wong Chu's forces and escape (Poor old Yinsen wasn't so lucky).
Returning to the United States, Tony (still dependant on his armoured chest piece for survival) streamlined his suit, tricked it out with an array of incredible devices, and began to live a double life as the crimebusting, Commie-bashing Iron Man. As a cover, Stark initially claimed that Iron Man was his bodyguard, an assertion which people seemed to accept for a surprising number of years despite them never actually being seen together. His previously untroubled conscience having been pricked by almost being killed by what turned out to be weapons his own company had manufactured, Stark also announced that his company would no longer be in the arms business, a decision which alarmed and bewildered his shareholders, his board of directors, his employees, and the US government (who had come to rely on his talent for creating weapons of mass destruction). Stark, however, persevered in turning his genius to less destructive areas of research and development, while Iron Man continued to defend the world, both alone and with other heroes including the Avengers and the Knights of Pendragon.
Powers and abilities[]
Powers
Flight; disruptor blasts; chest mounted Uni-Beam; lots of other stuff, all of it incorporated into his armour.
Abilities
He's probably the smartest man on Earth.
Strength level
Human male who works out.
Weaknesses
Reliance on his armour (though he did eventually get his heart fixed).
Paraphernalia[]
Equipment
Numerous suits of fantastically advanced armour.
Transportation
See 'Equipment'; he usually uses his suit to fly, but in the early days it also incorporated roller skates(!).
Weapons
Where do you want me to start?
Notes[]
Most of Iron Man's adventures in British comics have been American reprints, but he did feature extensively in several UK-originated stories from both Marvel UK and Panini, and was briefly a member of the Knights of Pendragon.
Links[]
- Appearances of Iron Man
- Character Gallery: Iron Man
- Images that feature Iron Man
- Fan-Art Gallery: Iron Man
- Iron Man quotations
Discover and Discuss[]
- Search News for: Iron Man · Anthony Stark · Iron Man