IRON MAN - The Movie

March 1963 was Iron Man's first debute in Tales of Suspense #39. The cover showed Tony grabbing pieces of his bulky grey armor, with the catch line, "He Lives! He Walks! He Conquers!"

Anthony Stark was born in Long Island, New York. He entered into MIT at the age of 15 and graduated at the top of his class in electrical engineering. At 21 Tony's parents were killed in freak car accident, resulting in Tony inheriting his father's company, Stark Industries. The first thing Stark does is buy out the company that made the faulty brakes on his parents' car and corrects the mechanical problem.

After Tony's father dies, Stark Industries (with Tony at the wheel) continues it's production of military weaponry. This leads to Stark taking a visit to Vietnam for some weapons testing.

Stan Lee was somewhat of a visionary when he chose Vietnam for the setting for the origin of Iron Man. In 1963 few Americans were interested in Vietnam, much less aware of where it was on a map, but before long the Vietnam war would become the most crucial and controversial event of the 1960s.

While testing experimental transistor powered weapons in the jungles of Vietnam (he went to see first hand a test of a device that he has created for the military, a tiny transistor that dramatically increases the power of a small magnet to the point where heavy munitions such as mortars can be carried through the jungle as easily as a flashlight), Stark is injured by an exploding booby trap (the original IEDs) and is captured by a Vietnamese Communist named Wong-Chu.

Wong-Chu finds out that his prisoner is Tony Stark, a "famous Yankee inventor," and he decides that even though doctors determine he only has days to live before "shrapnel reaches his heart," Stark will be put to work in service of the communist insurgency. Stark is pressed into building weapons for Wong Chu, along with a fellow prisoner, the renowned physicist Yin Sen, a famous physicist whom Stark had read about while he was in college.

Instead of building weapons for Wong Chu, Stark and Yin Sen use the workshop to secretly design and construct a suit of powered armor that enhances Stark's strength while giving him some extra capabilities. The suit will not only keep Stark's heart beating (free from the shrapnel), but is primarily used to escape the evil clutches of Wong-Chu. Yin Sen sacrificed himself to buy Stark time to charge the bulky suit of armor... ok, poor Yin Sen basically got himself shot about 150 times by about 12 AK-47s giving Stark time to find an outlet to charge his suit up.

Iron Man escapes, killing Wong Chu and his men in the process. On his way back, Iron Man encounters a wounded American Marine helicopter pilot named Jim Rhodes. Introducing himself as Stark's bodyguard, Iron Man and Rhodes manage to defend themselves against the pursuing North Vietnamese soldiers before making it back to Rhodes' helicopter.

Rhodes allowed Iron Man to drain the helicopter's batteries to recharge his armor. The two then trekked through the jungle together where they stumble upon a hidden enemy rocket base. They steal an enemy helicopter, and also manage to destroy the rocket base, and flew to the nearest American encampment. Before leaving Vietnam for the United States, Stark offered Rhodes a job as a pilot as soon as his military stint was over.

Upon returning to the U.S., Stark continues to improve upon the Iron Man armor, establishing a dual identity as the adventurer and superhero Iron Man. He also greatly expands his father's company, Stark Industries, eventually renaming it Stark International.

Iron Man's Armor: Comic / Movie Comparison

Iron Man Armor: MK I

• Electrically powered.
• Pacemaker keeps Stark's heart functioning.
• Air jets allow boosted jumps.
• Magnetic used for repelling bullets and jamming signals.
• Oil jets to lubricate the armor's joints can also be used to create an oil slick.
• Built in tools including a miniature saw and suction cups.
• The armor also possessed explosive pellets.
• A hand flamer/torch was also used.

Iron Man Armor: Movie MK I

This is the MK I armor that Stark builds in the movie. The resemblance is quite similar to the actual comic depiction. Notice the slants of the eye slots, the three slots for the mouth and the center piece light thingie that is supposed to some how be connected to Tony's heart.

Iron Man Armor: MK I - Action Figure

This is an action figure, encased in plastic to keep all the geeks from touching it, that was displayed at the San Diego Comic Con.

• Gold painting so it wouldn't look so scary
• Improved power systems.
• Electricity could now be run through the armor's surface.
• Internal air supply was added.
• Boot Jets were improved.
• Jet-powered roller skates were added.
• Propeller for use in water provided enhanced mobility.
• The first uni-beam (or monobeam) became functional. It functioned chiefly as a spotlight but could be adapted for a heat ray or a "proton beam".
• The armor's magnetic effects were also boosted. Of note is using a beam that could deflect energy.
• An impact control switch was used to brace the armor.
• Mirrors were used for the first image inducer.
• Diamond-edged digging tools were added
• Loudspeaker, "jet stream" discs, freon tablets, tear gas bombs, even a sledgehammer for use against the Hulk were all added.
• Radar and a fluoroscope were used as sensors.
• Radio communications were enhanced by an antenna and a recorder (note antenna on left shoulder).

Iron Man Red and Gold Armor: MK II

The MK III red and gold Iron Man armor makes it's appearance in Tales of Suspense #48. From here on out, the suit is pretty cosistant with it's red and gold look. However, as years pass, different artists take advantage of their "artistic license" by making slight changes here and there.

• More powerful and efficient in use of battery power.
• Power Pods assist in power usage.
• Improvements to boot jets granted full flight.
• Repulsors and the uni-beam became standard weapon.
• Negative ion beam is added.
• A sonic emitter was also added.
• In addition to radar, the armor also had sonar and an energy detector.

Iron Man Movie Armor: MK III

The MK III red and gold Iron Man armor in the movie might not be exactly like that from the comics, but it should be good enough to satisfy most of the die hard Iron Man fans.

You'll notice some of the more obvious differences between movie armor and comic armor.

• Movie armor has shoulder pads.
• There is more red accented armor parts on the arms and legs. The comic armor only has gold.
• The movie armor has articulating torso pieces: one for the rib cage and scaled lobster armor for the abdominal region. This is acceptable since the wearer of the suit has to articulate properly and a full metal plate chest armor wont allow you to bend over to tie your shoes or take a dump.
• The movie armor has no hip Power Pods, which is a bummer.
• And the movie armor has red shin guards coming all the way up to the knee. This is also needed since the all gold leg armor in the comics can't realistically bend.

Overall, a pretty decent job. Well enough that it shouldn't distract from the movie too much, unlike so many other superhero movies that have been made.

Some really cool still shots from the Iron Man movie.

A more in depth peek at the Iron Man movie, at the San Diego Comic Con.