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Trivia Of Suspense: - Unhappy with colorist Stan Goldberg's lead-grey armor, Lee ordered it changed to gold for Iron Man's second appearance. - Don Heck, Iron Man's original artist, based Stark's look on the 1930's movie actor Errol Flynn. Iron Man's helmet was deliberately designed to resemble a skull. - One of the benefits of having a technology-inspired hero is the convenient excuse for constantly retooling the his look; Iron Man's armor has gone through several design changes, and has incorporated everything from finger lasers to retractable roller skates into his arsenal. See also: Iron Man More of the Greatest Comics Ever Made: - Amazing Fantasy #15 - Fantastic Four #1 - Fantastic Four #48 - Incredible Hulk #181 - Mad #1 - Sandman #1 - Star Wars #1 - Superman #75 - Superman Vs. Spider-Man - Swamp Thing #21 - Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #1 - Watchmen #1 - X-Men #1 - Zap Comix #0 |
 Superheroes have always had plenty of weapons at their disposal in their fight against crime. Green Arrow had his suction-cup arrows. The Green Hornet had a really cool car. The original Sandman has his sleeping-gas gun. And Batman had an entire Batcave full of cars, boats, computers and grappling hooks to give him the edge he needed.But Iron Man was different. With his high-tech suit of armor and vast technological resources, he wasn't a superhero who just happened to use weapons - he was a weapon. And with this joining of man and machine, the creators behind Iron Man produced the most modern hero of his time. His origin story sets the scene nicely. A millionaire industrialist and inventor, Anthony Stark is on a trip to Asia when he accidentally trips a booby trap that sends a piece of shrapnel into his body. He's captured by a warlord who demands that Stark build him a weapon, and he uses Stark's condition to his advantage - the shrapnel working its way to his heart will kill him unless he gets medical attention. Stark complies by creating a fantastic suit of armor, complete with a pacemaker to keep his heart beating while he wears it. He defeats his captors and makes his way back to the U.S., aware of the power he now possesses and, in a way, of the power that now possesses him, since he now requires the chestplate in order to live. Eventually, Stark is able to live without the chestplate, and he divides his time between running a financial empire and playing hero (in a nice touch, Iron Man becomes Stark Industries' official symbol, and Stark lets the public believe that 'Iron Man' is actually a paid employee acting as his bodyguard - a first in superhero history). With the help of his pilot and right-hand man, James Rhodes, he's able to juggle both responsibilities, and still have time left over to invent new hardware and design improvements to his armor. Tony Stark embodies two common archetypes in comics literature: the wealthy playboy who has the means and the time to fight crime, and the scientist whose strange potion or device gives him superhuman abilities. At the same time, he also represents something new - a man whose faith in technology has often been his downfall, but more often than that has been the way in which he's been able to make a difference. And that ambivalence about technology's benefits has been the book's main theme ever since. Certainly, the times in which he was created were times when technology was inevitably seen as good. The environmental movement hadn't yet targeted big industry, humans were just beginning to explore space and "plastics" was four years away from becoming an ironic punchline in a classic movie. It was a time in which no problem couldn't be solved with a little science and some old-fashioned know-how. His early adventures were also an obvious plug for American freedom and ingenuity over the powers of Communism. But times change, and Iron Man has changed with them. The more that society's attitudes toward technology move towards the ambivalent, the more we saw of the 'man' in Iron Man dealing with his double life. In another first in comics history, a major hero ended up with a drinking problem, and he had no choice but to pass on his suit to Rhodes, who reluctantly played hero while Stark sobered up. It was a powerful storyline, and one that brought both Stark and the readers face to face with the question: Who's the bigger hero, the machine or the man inside? Without his suit, Stark is just another man. A very rich man, sure, but still just a man. Can he still be a hero without the tools around him? Is there such a thing as too much technology? With rapid advances in computer technology and the gulf between human intellect and artificial intelligence getting smaller, these questions are today more relevant than ever. And as long as we continue to think about where technology is taking us, Iron Man and the high-tech heroes he inspired will be there to help us out. |