Iron Man
Iron Man
Iron Man
Tony Stark
Iron Man
Variant cover of
by Mark Brooks
Publication information
Larry Lieber
Don Heck
Jack Kirby
In-story information
A.I. Army
Department of Defense
Force Works
New Avengers
Illuminati
Mighty Avengers
S.H.I.E.L.D.
Stark Industries
Stark Resilient
Pepper Potts
Spider-Man
Captain America
Genius level intellect
Abilities
Proficient scientist and engineer
o Supersonic flight
o Regenerative life support
Iron Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel
Comics. The character was co-created by writer and editor Stan Lee, developed by
scripter Larry Lieber, and designed by artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby. The character
made his first appearance in Tales of Suspense #39 (cover dated March 1963), and
received his own title in Iron Man #1 (May 1968). Also in 1963, the character founded
the Avengers alongside Thor, Ant-Man, Wasp and the Hulk.
A wealthy American business magnate, playboy, philanthropist, inventor and
ingenious scientist, Anthony Edward Stark suffers a severe chest injury during a
kidnapping. When his captors attempt to force him to build a weapon of mass
destruction, he instead creates a mechanized suit of armor to save his life and escape
captivity. Later, Stark develops his suit, adding weapons and other technological
devices he designed through his company, Stark Industries. He uses the suit and
successive versions to protect the world as Iron Man. Although at first concealing his
true identity, Stark eventually publicly reveals himself to be Iron Man.
Initially, Iron Man was a vehicle for Stan Lee to explore Cold War themes, particularly
the role of American technology and industry in the fight against communism.
Subsequent re-imaginings of Iron Man have transitioned from Cold War motifs to
contemporary matters of the time.[1]
Throughout most of the character's publication history, Iron Man has been a founding
member of the superhero team the Avengers and has been featured in several
incarnations of his own various comic book series. Iron Man has been adapted for
several animated television shows and films. In the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Tony
Stark was portrayed by Robert Downey Jr. in the films Iron Man (2008), The Incredible
Hulk (2008), Iron Man 2 (2010), The Avengers (2012), Iron Man 3 (2013), Avengers:
Age of Ultron (2015), Captain America: Civil War (2016), Spider-Man:
Homecoming (2017), Avengers: Infinity War (2018), and Avengers: Endgame (2019),
while Mick Wingert voiced the character in the animated series What If...? (2021).
Iron Man was ranked 12th on IGN's "Top 100 Comic Book Heroes" in 2011[2] and third in
their list of "The Top 50 Avengers" in 2012.[3]