The Iron Patriot is a patriotism -themed exoskeleton used by several fictional characters appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics .
124-746: The concept of the Iron Patriot, which is meant to evoke Iron Man and Captain America , first appeared in Dark Avengers #1 (March 2009) and was created by Brian Michael Bendis and Mike Deodato . Norman Osborn donned the original Iron Patriot armor during the Dark Reign storyline to exert his authority as "commander" of H.A.M.M.E.R. and the Dark Avengers while using Oscorp 's resources. Unsurprisingly, Osborn's activities as
248-492: A futurist . Marvel restarted Iron Man's comic book run with Invincible Iron Man in 2008, written by Matt Fraction and drawn by Salvador Larroca . This series launched around the same time as the film Iron Man premiered, and the Marvel Cinematic Universe developed while this run was in publication. The Iron Man series reverted to the original numbering in 2011, when the overall 500th issue
372-542: A Bottle " (1979), " Armor Wars " (1987–1988), " Extremis " (2005), and " Iron Man 2020 " (2020). He is also a leading character in the company-wide stories Civil War (2006–2007), Dark Reign (2008–2009), and Civil War II (2016). Additional superhero characters have emerged from Iron Man's supporting cast, including James Rhodes as War Machine and Riri Williams as Ironheart , as well as reformed villains, Natasha Romanova as Black Widow and Clint Barton as Hawkeye . Iron Man's list of enemies includes his archenemy ,
496-455: A March 1963 cover date . Though the Iron Man armor was gray in its first appearance, Marvel changed it to gold because of issues with printing. Lee initially delegated the writing duties to other creators at Marvel, but he felt their work was substandard; as with his other characters, Lee reclaimed control of Iron Man so he could write the stories himself. Once Marvel's distributor allowed
620-417: A broader trend by Marvel Comics to substitute its main characters with a diverse cast of original characters in the 2010s, Iron Man was temporarily replaced by Ironheart , a teenaged African-American girl who reverse-engineered the Iron Man armor, in 2016. At the same time, the series Infamous Iron Man began publication with Dr. Doom as Iron Man. The series Tony Stark: Iron Man premiered in 2018 with
744-478: A businessman, Iron Man stories often invoke themes of economic competition , seeing him face characters who try to develop better versions of the Iron Man armor. Many of Iron Man's challenges involve corrupt business rivals and corporate espionage . Technology and its influence on society are common themes in Iron Man stories, and various writers have portrayed him as a technological marvel since his earliest appearances. The character's use of technology, both as
868-463: A car crash. Developing equipment for the U.S. military, he travels to a war zone to conduct a weapons test when he triggers a booby trap. His heart is critically injured by shrapnel, and he is captured by the communist Wong-Chu , who demands Stark build him a weapon. Stark instead builds a suit of armor that sustains his heart, becoming Iron Man. The war zone Stark visited was changed retroactively multiple times by different writers to correspond with
992-588: A clean slate for new story arcs in a traditional superhero setting. The character was relaunched again in 2022 with Invincible Iron Man , written by Gerry Duggan and illustrated by Juan Frigeri . A new volume was launched in October 2024, written by Spencer Ackerman and illustrated by Julius Ohta . Anthony Edward "Tony" Stark was born in Long Island, New York . As a child, he inherited his family's business, Stark Industries when his parents were killed in
1116-628: A founding member of the New Avengers . Iron Man volume four began in 2005, with Warren Ellis as the writer and Adi Granov as the artist. Its first story arc, " Extremis ", saw Iron Man upgrade his body directly through the Extremis virus, giving him direct control over a biological armor. The volume's first 14 issues carried the Iron Man title, while issues #15–32 (2007–2008) were titled Iron Man: Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. Iron Man led
1240-525: A full-length dedicated series in 1968. Marvel combined the final issues of Tales of Suspense and the Sub-Mariner 's Tales to Astonish into a one-shot special, Iron Man and Sub-Mariner . Iron Man then began its run under writer Archie Goodwin . Goodwin reintroduced political themes slowly over the following years, with a focus on domestic issues like racial conflict and environmentalism rather than geopolitics. George Tuska started drawing
1364-641: A hologram of Zola projected from the chest. He then took over the "Marauders" and got them to gather people for his experiments. Once they found the Marauder's camp Cap held off the marauders and Zola's new monster Seigsoldat-X while the Falcon freed the Prisoners. Together with the freed prisoners they tore apart Seigsoldat-X until all that remained was the Arnim Zola AI whereupon, Captain America collapsed
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#17327763837761488-578: A motorcycle. Captain America is also shown to have fast healing while nowhere near as powerful as Wolverine and Sabretooth's, in "Blade vs the Ultimates" a remembrance by Cap shows scientists saying he can heal gunshots and knife wounds in hours. Cap himself in Ultimates volume 1 says he should be able to heal broken bones in about a day or two. During the Secret Wars storyline, a variation of
1612-607: A new reversed personality. A new Invincible Iron Man run written by Brian Michael Bendis and drawn by David Marquez began in 2015. A simultaneous Iron Man series, International Iron Man , ran for seven issues in 2016 under Marvel's All-New, All-Different Marvel branding, also by Bendis. This series was meant to ensure Iron Man's status as a major character as All-New, All-Different developed. A second Civil War event in 2016 portrayed Iron Man as an advocate of free will against Captain Marvel 's determinism . As part of
1736-486: A number of occasions characters have described his strength as enhanced (Nick Fury described him as being able to bench press a Toyota). He has been shown bending steel with his bare hands, catching a tree heavy enough to crush a Jeep. He is also shown jumping large distances, and the Ultimate Red Skull, when he was fourteen and scientists said he had abilities comparable to his father, is shown running alongside
1860-575: A plot to which he would place Fury's Ultimates who were coming for him to capture him, with tracers, and allow him to later find his son, whom the Avengers were also in pursuit. Cap fought the Avengers, managing to defeat all of them. He was subsequently subdued and captured by the Avengers. But this was all a part of his plan to get to the Red Skull as during the fight Cap managed to place tracers on War Machine , Red Wasp, and Black Widow . Escaping
1984-409: A profit-sharing agreement. Lee and Liefeld were given charge of the " Heroes Reborn " branding that renumbered Marvel's long-running periodicals at issue #1. This new Iron Man series, labeled volume two, was set in an alternate universe created during the " Onslaught " event. It ran for 13 issues, written by Lee and Scott Lobdell and drawn by Whilce Portacio . The following year, Marvel introduced
2108-564: A regulator suit, and a rookie member of the Secret Avengers . Dr. Toni Ho wore two versions of her own Iron Patriot armor as a member of the U.S. Avengers ; a standard version, and a heavy combat variation. Sharon Carter briefly wore the Iron Patriot armor to combat Selene . The American Son is another patriotic-themed exoskeleton used by Harry Osborn during the Dark Reign storyline, and later by Gabriel Stacy . The Iron Patriot drones make occasional appearances. One
2232-419: A run by Mike Friedrich , in which corporate reform of Stark Industries was a recurring subplot. Iron Man was one of several Marvel characters who declined in popularity during the 1970s, and the series went a period of time without a dedicated writer until Bill Mantlo took over in 1977. The following year, David Michelinie and Bob Layton took charge of the series, beginning with issue #116. While inking
2356-535: A single being when he rewrites reality . Stark's company was bought out at this point, so he started a consulting firm, Stark Solutions. His secret identity is revealed to the public shortly afterwards. He is then appointed Secretary of Defense until the Scarlet Witch alters his mind, causing him to behave drunkenly at the United Nations and leave in disgrace. When Mallen becomes a threat through
2480-539: A sound of physical pain emanating from the prison cell. The sound of pain was the result of Frank screaming after having snake venom spat directly into his eyes from Steve. After a lengthy hand-to-hand fight with an argument about morality, Steve was able to emerge victorious over Simpson. Aware of the fact that he was surrounded by gun toting villagers with Super Soldier Serum flowing in their veins, he warns them that if they persisted in aiming to kill him, he will treat them as enemy combatants and show them no mercy. After
2604-466: A space technology company, Stark Enterprises. When Iron Man learns Justin Hammer had acquired the Iron Man armor's technology, he seeks out all the other armors. The resulting fights leave Iron Man a fugitive, leading him to fake his death and then describe himself as a new Iron Man. When Iron Man is shot in the spine and paralyzed, he develops a new prosthesis that grants him mobility. This prosthesis
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#17327763837762728-676: A superhero and as a civilian, engaging in courageous and selfless acts as Iron Man but morally ambiguous behavior as Stark. The character represents a traditional understanding of American masculinity as a businessman and a playboy, particularly as it was seen in the Cold War. This characterization also manifests in negative traits that were prominent in early Iron Man stories, including belligerence, negligence, and misogyny. Stark has several character flaws emerging from his impulsivity and arrogance, engaging in vices that include excessive drinking, partying, and womanizing. Iron Man's heart injury
2852-646: A support strut onto the Zola AI, finally bringing an end to the Nazi. Before the events of the Liberators' attack, Steve befriended T'Challa , the Black Panther, and trained him in preparation for making him a member of the Ultimates. As the team's deputy leader, Rogers was uncomfortable with the notion of working with a man that he knew so little about. After Steve alarmingly discovered that T'Challa's throat
2976-529: A technological component, giving this power to a man who created it himself in a transcendental fashion. Iron Man does not have any superhuman abilities. Instead, he derives his strength from a powered armor of his own design. The armor is equipped with various weapons, which include "repulsor rays" in each palm that project particle beams as well as a stronger "unibeam" on his chest. As of 2010, Marvel described Iron Man's armor as being able to lift 100 tons and to fly at Mach 8 . Marvel initially depicted
3100-429: A trap for their mutual enemy Feilong. We really thought about how we needed to give him a weakness. It wasn't hip to have him running out of energy and looking for a light socket every few pages, or having a heart attack every time Ultimo was fighting him. So we discussed it and we thought that we would give him the corporate man's disease [alcoholism]. Something that would always haunt him. Bob Layton Iron Man
3224-399: A weapons manufacturer and as Iron Man, explores problems that arise from progress and advancement, including misuse of technology and the implications of cybernetics . Iron Man's position within the suit allows for discussion regarding automation versus human oversight of technology, and it reflects the debate on how new technologies are incorporated into public and military use, including
3348-430: Is a businessman and entrepreneur who seeks to innovate and improve his technology, both for society's benefit and his own. Iron Man is one of many Marvel heroes with a genius-level intellect, but his focus on societal application alongside hard science distinguishes him from other heroes. The character is a futurist, and he works to identify solutions for problems that have yet to emerge. This preemptive problem-solving
3472-504: Is framed for murder. These stresses cause him to begin drinking, and he develops alcoholism . Though he gets sober, he relapses due to a plot orchestrated by his business rival Obadiah Stane . Iron Man briefly loses his company to Stane, passes the Iron Man mantle to his ally James Rhodes , and becomes homeless. After Stark recovers, Stane adopts an armored suit and becomes the Iron Monger before being defeated. Iron Man then founds
3596-474: Is given a briefing by SHIELD Director Danvers about Simpson. Frank Simpson's background is similar to the circumstances of Steve Rogers. Swept up in nationalistic pride, he attempted to join the United States Army in order to serve overseas, but due to his original physical stature he is rejected. He is then inducted into a secret program similar to that of "Project: Rebirth". Due to the formula of
3720-508: Is hacked and controlled remotely, causing neurological damage that appears for a time to kill him. Rhodes temporarily becomes Stark's chosen successor as Iron Man. After returning, Immortus places Stark under his control and turns him evil. The Avengers bring an alternate Tony Stark from another reality to help defeat him. Iron Man is killed and the alternate Tony Stark becomes the new Iron Man, but Franklin Richards merges both versions into
3844-535: Is inducted into the Ultimates , the superhero task force maintained by S.H.I.E.L.D. Soon after, the Ultimates are faced with the Hulk . Rogers was able to put down the Hulk briefly during combat. When he was about to inject the Hulk with an antidote, the Hulk made a surprise attack and broke the needle and the Hulk then began beating Cap, until Thor came to the rescue. After the Hulk had reverted to Bruce Banner, Cap knocked
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3968-401: Is key to his heroism, unlike other heroes who use engineering to supplement superhuman abilities. This makes it more plausible that something like Iron Man could exist in the real world, as it is only technological advancement that separates Iron Man from reality. Iron Man's power of flight is especially significant in the technology's symbolism, as it associates traditional heroic imagery with
4092-765: Is seen during the Fear Itself storyline to assists the New Avengers, but the Iron Patriot is vaporized by the Red Skull 's powers. Another is seen during the Marvel NOW! event. At a weapons expo, the Iron Patriot now has a low-level A.I. and ends up stolen by A.I.M. for the Scientist Supreme 's plans, but is almost interrupted by Nick Fury Jr. and Daisy Johnson . An Iron Patriot army of sentient drones controlled by Marvin Flumm were used to incriminate
4216-716: Is taken into S.H.I.E.L.D. custody. During the Ultimate Six story arc Captain America leads the Ultimates in the arrests of Electro and Kraven the Hunter . Later those two–along with the Sandman , Doctor Octopus , and the Green Goblin —escape from S.H.I.E.L.D. He becomes very disheartened when he finds out that these villains were all a result of trying to duplicate the Super Soldier serum. During an attack on
4340-452: Is that we felt we'd done everything with it that we'd set out to do." Through the 1980s, writers for Iron Man focused on the character's role as a businessman, reflecting the economic changes associated with Reaganomics , and many of his challenges involved threats to his company. Denny O'Neil was put in charge of Iron Man beginning with issue #158 (1982). His run explored Stark's psychology, having him relapse into alcoholism and suffer at
4464-437: Is unable to maintain romantic relationships despite his wealth and talents. Writer Dennis O'Neil described the Iron Man armor as "a psychological crutch preventing him from dealing with his own inner demons". He identifies with the Iron Man armor as an extension of himself, believing the image it presents is his own image, and he considers himself responsible any time someone uses the technology. Iron Man behaves differently as
4588-406: Is what I plan to do. Bill Mantlo , Iron Man #100 When Goodwin became Marvel's editor-in-chief, he assigned Gerry Conway as the writer for Iron Man . Conway was the first of several writers in a four-year effort to reform Iron Man, beginning in 1971, with stories that directly addressed the character's history as a weapons manufacturer. These stories were especially prominent during
4712-777: The Cosmic Cube utilized elements of Tony Stark's armor in order to control Hydra as the Hydra Supreme / Civil Warrior, which would later be utilized by Veronica Eden. The Ultimate Marvel equivalent of the Iron Patriot armor is used by Tony Stark / Iron Man as a member of the Ultimates and inspired by Steve Rogers / Captain America . Iron Man Iron Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics . Co-created by writer and editor Stan Lee , developed by scripter Larry Lieber , and designed by artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby ,
4836-582: The French S.H.I.E.L.D. guards, Cap jumped into a tele-plane (a jet which teleports), to where the Avengers were fighting the Red Skull in Alaska . When he arrived, Red Skull, who was wielding the Cosmic Cube, subdued Rogers's jet. However, Cap ordered Hawkeye the coordinates for the Red Skull's position in which he had the jet teleport to the Red Skull and fatally impale his son on the tele-plane's nose. After
4960-487: The Fresh Start branding, written by Dan Slott and drawn by Valerio Schiti . In 2020, Iron Man was relaunched in a new series, written by Christopher Cantwell and illustrated by CAFU, following the " Iron Man 2020 " event. This series moved away from the developments and deviations made to Stark's character introduced over the previous years—including the more extravagant science fiction and soap opera plots—creating
5084-631: The Mandarin , various supervillains of communist origin, and many of Stark's business rivals. Robert Downey Jr. portrayed Tony Stark in Iron Man (2008), the first film of the Marvel Cinematic Universe , and continued to portray the character until his final appearance in Avengers: Endgame (2019). Downey's portrayal popularized the character, elevating Iron Man into one of Marvel's most recognizable superheroes. Other adaptations of
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5208-785: The Nazis in Europe , Rogers was inspired to enlist in the Army around the time that the United States entered World War II . However, because of failing the physical test, he was rejected. Refusing to work in factories, he reattempted enlistment several times. His luck changed during another visit to a Recruitment Center when Military Sergeant Dugan recruited him for Project: Rebirth , after hearing Rogers' pleas. After voluntarily subjecting to surgery, steroid treatments, and other experimental treatments supervised by Doctor Erskine , Rogers became
5332-602: The Raft penitentiary, Osborn blames his Goblin alter-ego for ruining his chance to protect America as the Iron Patriot. James "Rhodey" Rhodes temporarily wore the Iron Patriot armor during the Iron Patriot series. His father Terrence Rhodes provides support for his family and uses the Iron Patriot battlesuit to help stop a conspiracy in which he sacrifices himself. Sarah Garza is an Inhuman who can generate powerful explosions of energy with her Iron Patriot armor used as
5456-624: The Tiannamen Square Massacre in 1989. The absence of Cold War politics was not immediately replaced by another theme, and post-Cold War Iron Man stories often explored different ideas regarding technology for a short time before moving on. When terrorism became more prominent in the public mind, writers shifted Iron Man's symbolism from anti-communism to anti-terrorism. As part of a company-wide reorganization in 1996, Marvel's major characters, including Iron Man, were given to former Marvel writers Jim Lee and Rob Liefeld in
5580-740: The Ultimate Marvel line of books, and is an alternative version of Captain America . The character first appeared in The Ultimates #1 (March 2002), and was created by writer Mark Millar and artist Bryan Hitch (based upon the original version of the character by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby ). Steve Rogers grew up in Brooklyn during the Great Depression , a scrawny child protected from neighborhood bullies by his best friend "Bucky" Barnes . Horrified by newsreel footage of
5704-418: The "Heroes Return" event to bring the characters back from the alternate universe, which again reset characters such as Iron Man to issue #1. Kurt Busiek became the writer for volume three while Sean Chen was the artist. When the Ultimate Marvel imprint was created with reimagined versions of Marvel's characters, an alternate Iron Man appeared in 2002 with the Ultimates , the imprint's adaptation of
5828-594: The "Marauders" attacked the military base where Zola's AI was being held and stole this intelligence, along with some other weaponry. Cap was furious at this and immediately went with the Falcon to Missouri to stop the Marauders and Zola. Unknown to Cap, Zola was then able to convince the leader of the "Marauders" to allow Zola to experiment on him. Zola mutated the man until he was approximately 20-foot (6.1 m) tall and installed armor plating (and Zola's AI brain) on him with
5952-577: The American war efforts, Rogers bid farewell to his sweetheart Gail Richards , becoming Captain America. For the next three years, he underwent numerous covert operations, often accompanied by Bucky, now a war photographer, and sometimes alongside James "Lucky Jim" Howlett . During one mission, Captain America was able to infiltrate Arnim Zola 's facility and kill his first experimental monster, which Zola dubbed "Siegsoldat" ("Victory soldier"). The experiment's dead body then fell on Zola, seemingly killing
6076-563: The Avengers. Marvel released a five-issue limited series, Ultimate Iron Man , featuring this character in 2005. Iron Man represented an attempt to define what a superhero was in the 21st century, following the September 11 attacks , implicitly likening the fear of terrorism to the fear of unregulated super-powered beings. In 2004, Iron Man was a major character in the Avengers Disassembled event and subsequently became
6200-534: The Colonel's body being transferred away by S.H.I.E.L.D., and thought of what he said to him about America's current role in the world. Seeing how having the Ultimates working with the United States government "policing" the world would produce similar results to their battle against the Liberators, Rogers and his team decided to leave S.H.I.E.L.D. and to continue to work as an independent team instead. After
6324-542: The Earth-1610 Captain America for disobeying his orders. Captain America later turns up alive with the Ultimates when it is shown that Earth-1610 has been recreated. However, following the events of Absolute Carnage and King in Black , when The Maker finally finds passage back to his native dimension via a chronal Portal gateway of his own invention, as well as utilizing the codexes of many of
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#17327763837766448-635: The Extremis project, Iron Man has Maya Hansen inject him with the Extremis virus, giving him a biological armor he can control with his mind. Iron Man serves as the Superhero Registration Act's enforcer upon its enactment, creating a schism between superheroes, with Iron Man leading proponents of registration against a group of resistors led by Captain America . After the conflict, Iron Man becomes head of S.H.I.E.L.D. The government dismantles S.H.I.E.L.D. after it fails to prevent an alien invasion , but Iron Man refuses to turn over
6572-506: The Hulk to mutilate and then eat Kleiser. After the successful battle against the Chitari, Rogers danced with Janet and a relationship between them bloomed. The relationship would later become sour as Rogers's 1940s personality created a generation gap, causing Janet to secretly go back to her ex-husband. During the events of Ultimate War, the Ultimates battle with the X-Men after Magneto
6696-518: The Iron Patriot have been jeopardized by the original Avengers : Osborn gets tricked into attacking Tony Stark , and when the New Avengers led by Captain America used the Iron Patriot's tracking device on Luke Cage as a trick to destroy his own house. During the siege of Asgard , the Iron Patriot is disabled during Osborn's fight with Steve Rogers which revealed Osborn's Green Goblin warpaint. When Rogers, Stark and Thor transfer him to
6820-615: The Liberators ". Captain America was framed by Black Widow for the assassination of Hawkeye 's family and was hastily subdued and arrested when he was visiting Bucky for consolation after his relationship with Janet ended bitterly for him. He was imprisoned in the Triskelion. When the Liberators attacked the United States, he was freed by the Wasp and defeated multiple copies of the Schizoid Man rather than killing him while escaping
6944-419: The Liberators short occupation, Captain America helped in the rebuilding of New York City until he found out that his old Nazi nemesis Arnim Zola did not die; instead the O.S.S. rescued him so as to harvest his intellect on the post-war super soldier program. Later they mapped his brain and created an artificial intelligence out of it before the tumors he had could degrade his mind. A white survivalist group called
7068-585: The Phoenix Program he simply disappeared. Rogers, sensing that Carol told him this in order for him to make it look like he went AWOL, subdued Danvers and left to hunt down Frank Simpson. Once in Vietnam, Rogers's search for Simpson results in being told about a secret village deep in the Vietnamese forest. Unfortunately, the source of this news along with the rest of the village has a synthesis of
7192-585: The Red Skull was in custody, Rogers emotionally bore witness to Gail being briefly reunited with their dying son. Steve Rogers is currently a member of the New Ultimates, and helped Valkyrie, Zarda, Iron Man and Hawkeye fight off an attack from the Defenders , who managed to steal Thor's hammer before they retreated. Rogers learns that the Captain America project was maintained after he
7316-456: The Starks so their biological son could be hidden from an alien threat. While fighting Red Skull , a spell cast by Victor von Doom and the Scarlet Witch temporarily inverts the personalities of several heroes. The new morally corrupt Iron Man protects himself from the counterspell and takes over San Francisco to augment the residents with Extremis. When a man is discovered who can see
7440-485: The Super Soldier Serum having died with the death of Dr. Erskine, he went through a painful combination of steroids as well as physical and psychological training in order to prepare for his assignment. Danvers reveals that originally, Simpson was overjoyed about serving his country and amassed a high enemy casualty count. But then the psychological pressure began to wear down on him and after an operation for
7564-551: The Super Soldier Serum via Simpson's blood flowing through them and Steve is captured and taken prisoner. Day after day he is physically and psychologically tortured and Simpsons attempts to brainwash him with anti-American diatribes. One day two S.H.I.E.L.D. employees sent to rescue Steve are captured and later executed because they are mistaken for assassins. Steve upon seeing this begins to pray and Simpson decides to indulge in his beliefs before executing him. The page then fades to black as Simpson enters to execute Steve, but with
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#17327763837767688-726: The Symbiotes he'd obtained, Earth-1610, he finds his alternate New York devastated and burning from an undisclosed cataclysm. As such, the fate of Ultimate Captain America, as well as all the rest of the Ultimate Universe's superheroes and villains, or even populists, are left unknown. Like his Earth-616 counterpart, Ultimate Captain America underwent the super soldier procedure which turned him into America's first super soldier. Unlike his Earth 616 counterpart, however, Ultimate Captain America's physical attributes have been augmented to superhuman, rather than peak human, levels. On
7812-466: The Triskelion where he is hospitalized under supervision and begins to read the Bible to him. Ultimate Cap is largely absent during the series of events initiated by Reed Richards , leading to the destruction of Washington and death of POTUS Barack Obama . He returns to assist new President Howard during the events of "Divided they Fall." The US is on the brink of civil war as some States decide to leave
7936-536: The Ultimates members Captain America, Iron Man, Giant-Man, Wasp, and Hulk were revived where they were to help Eternity fight the First Firmament. When Earth-616's version of the Ultimates arrived on Counter-Earth to confront Maker about his actions, he ordered the Earth-1610 Ultimates to attack. As both versions of Ultimates concluded that there is no reason to fight each other, Maker killed
8060-582: The Ultimates, enabling the real Black Panther the chance to return home. Following the Ultimates' separation with S.H.I.E.L.D., Rogers secretly adopted the identity of the Black Panther. Eventually his secret was blown when Juggernaut literally beat Rogers's costume off of him. Iron Man and the Wasp arrived with Cap's shield and uniform. He then led the Ultimates against their robotic doppelgangers. Captain America drowned when Magneto's Ultimatum Wave hit New York. While in Valhalla, Thor appeared to save
8184-626: The Union, and the legitimacy of President Howard is being put into question. Captain America takes on the role of being the President of the United States after being made a write-in candidate and reunites the warring states of America." When the Maker collaborated with High Evolutionary to destroy the Superflow that kept the different universes separate in order to merge them into one reality,
8308-464: The United States and becomes a superhero, convincing the public Iron Man is Stark's bodyguard. When he is called to stop the Hulk and learns Loki is behind the Hulk's attack, he joins forces with the Hulk, Thor , Ant-Man , and the Wasp to defeat Loki, and they agree to form a superhero team, the Avengers. He also helps found the intelligence agency S.H.I.E.L.D. , providing the organization with equipment. Iron Man then undergoes surgery to replace
8432-521: The United States in international attacks, such as a framed attack on Iran where the Hulk is sent in response. S.H.I.E.L.D. uses holographic communication to hack into the A.I.M. network so the Iron Patriot drones can understand these programmed actions are wrong. The Iron Patriot drones are next seen during the Inhumanity storyline as the Secret Avengers' support. The Iron Hulk is an alias used by Robert Maverick / Red Hulk . A variation of Steve Rogers (now referred to as Grant Rogers) created by
8556-417: The White House lawn, Captain America wrestled with Spider-Man with neither out-powering the other. He then explained the truth to Spider-Man that his aunt was safe with S.H.I.E.L.D. Captain America then fought the Goblin landing several hits while not being hit once. The Ultimates and Spider-Man defeat the five villains and they are taken back into custody. Cap and the Ultimates were later under fire from
8680-470: The actor Errol Flynn 's physical appearance in the design. When first designing the character, Lee wanted to create a modernized Arthurian knight . Kirby initially drew the Iron Man armor as a "round and clunky gray heap", and Heck modified the design to incorporate gadgets such as jets, drills, and suction cups. The Iron Man character was created at a time when comic book characters were first depicted struggling with real-life problems, and his heart injury
8804-413: The armor as powered by transistors , but this was replaced with integrated circuits as real-world technology advanced. New designs have further miniaturized the technology, ultimately incorporating nanotechnology . Developments in the armor's design often reflect real-world advances in technology and trends in science fiction. The changing nature of the armor allows artists to make frequent changes to
8928-926: The armor, trusting only a few close allies. In the 2008 story "The Five Nightmares", Iron Man narrates his five greatest fears: relapse into alcoholism, reproduction of the Iron Man technology, other people becoming Iron Man, the technology becoming disposable, and that someone else would be distributing this technology. Besides the danger such scenarios pose, they all represent fear of losing power over himself or his technology. Iron Man finds machines easier to interact with than humans, believing machines can be more easily controlled and repaired. This leads him to engage in self-destructive behavior, giving his relationships as Tony Stark lower priority and failing to be accountable for his creations as Iron Man. His isolation comes to him from two directions, with both his celebrity status and his role as Iron Man making personal relationships difficult. Through both poor decisions and bad luck, he
9052-557: The character first appeared in Tales of Suspense #39 in 1962 ( cover dated March 1963) and received his own title with Iron Man #1 in 1968. Shortly after his creation, Iron Man became a founding member of the superhero team, the Avengers , alongside Thor , Ant-Man , the Wasp , and the Hulk . Iron Man stories, individually and with the Avengers, have been published consistently since
9176-476: The character anyway. Iron Man was created in the years after a permanent arms industry developed in the United States , and this was incorporated into the character's backstory. The character was introduced as an active player in the Vietnam War . Lee described the national mood toward Vietnam during Iron Man's creation as "a time when most of us genuinely felt that the conflict in that tortured land really
9300-512: The character appear in animated direct-to-video films, television series, and video games. Following the success of the Fantastic Four in 1961 and the subsequent revival of American comic books featuring superheroes , Marvel Comics created new superhero characters. Stan Lee developed the initial concept for Iron Man. He wanted to design a character who should be unpalatable to his generally anti-war readers but to make them like
9424-432: The character in Iron Man #5 (1968) and intermittently served as artist for much of the 1970s. In total, he drew over one hundred issues for the character. I don't feel Tony Stark is a dinosaur, a creature unable to change before the weight of time crushes him aside. Yeah, it is hard in 1977 to praise a millionaire industrialist, playboy and former munitions-manufacturer—but it isn't impossible to change that image. Which
9548-498: The character's age, which is explained by a "sliding scale of continuity" in which the timing of significant events in the world of Marvel may change. This conflict was the Vietnam War for the first decades of Iron Man's publication history. This was changed to an unnamed Southeast Asian country in the 1990s, and a conflict in the fictional country Siancong was ultimately created to justify the inconsistency. Iron Man returns to
9672-510: The character's appearance without controversy. Iron Man has also created specialized models for specific purposes, including space armor, stealth armor, and deep sea armor, as well as the Hulkbuster armor to engage in combat with the Hulk. Prior to Iron Man's surgery, the armor's primary function was to produce a magnetic field that protected his heart from the shrapnel in his body. His efforts to keep it charged and to keep it secret drove
9796-437: The character's creation. Iron Man is the superhero persona of Anthony Edward " Tony " Stark , a businessman and engineer who runs the weapons manufacturing company Stark Industries . When Stark was captured in a war zone and sustained a severe heart wound, he built his Iron Man armor and escaped his captors. Iron Man's suits of armor grant him superhuman strength, flight, energy projection, and other abilities. The character
9920-520: The character's primary image. Iron Man's recurring nemesis, the Mandarin , first appeared shortly after in Tales of Suspense #50 (1964). By this time, the science-fiction and horror stories were phased out from Tales of Suspense , and the series ran only Iron Man and Captain America stories. Gene Colan became the artist for Iron Man in January 1966, bringing with him an expressionist style. For
10044-422: The character's superhero and businessman aspects more directly when Stark sought legal recourse against his rivals. Michelinie and Layton returned to the series with issue #215 (1988) through issue #232 (1989). Again, they experimented with variations on the Iron Man armor and focused on down to Earth stories with realistic situations. In 1990, Michelinie and Layton handed the series over to John Byrne , one of
10168-401: The company more monthly releases, The Avengers (1963) was developed as a new comic book series. Iron Man was one of the five characters who formed the titular superhero team . By 1965, the difficulty of maintaining continuity between The Avengers and the members' solo titles prompted Lee to temporarily write the original cast out of The Avengers , including Iron Man. Heck continued as
10292-405: The damaged portions of his heart, eliminating the need for his prosthetic chest plate. As he came to regret his involvement in weapons manufacturing, Stark Industries is changed to Stark International, an electronics company that emphasizes environmentalism and ending world hunger . S.H.I.E.L.D. attempts to take over the business and return it to weapons manufacturing. At the same time, Iron Man
10416-426: The examination of both the perspective of an individual inventor and that of the bureaucracy of governments and corporations, respectively. His business Stark Industries is depicted as a force for good that advances scientific knowledge through capitalist innovation. The Iron Man persona itself, as well as the technology Iron Man uses, are proprietary assets owned by Stark Industries. Reflecting his characterization as
10540-485: The fallen X-Men. Months after Ultimatum, Captain America and Hawkeye fought a group of AIM terrorists at the Baxter Building who were stealing the building's valuable and powerful technologies. After defeating a majority of the terrorists, Cap encountered the Red Skull who easily beat him. The Red Skull then shockingly revealed to Rogers that he was his own son before throwing him out of a helicopter, which Cap
10664-466: The first five years of publication, Iron Man represented the United States in Cold War allegories. Growing opposition to the American involvement in Vietnam prompted a shift in Iron Man's characterization, which was part of a larger push by Marvel in the late 1960s to be more apolitical. Over the years, the letters to the editor column in several issues saw extensive political debate. Lee shifted
10788-441: The first genetically-enhanced super-soldier. During the final treatment, he noticed a suspicious soldier focusing on him instead of standing guard. The shady man revealed himself as a Nazi spy sent to murder Rogers in the event that he survived the entire experiment. Rogers stopped him from destroying the experiment, but not before the spy murdered Doctor Erskine and other soldiers who attempted to stop him. Fully committing himself to
10912-541: The former out and had Banner taken back to the Triskelion . After learning that his teammates Hank and Janet Pym's quarrels with each other had left Janet hospitalized and nearly dead, Rogers tracked the now fugitive Hank to a bar and engaged him in combat, emerging victorious. He then takes Janet flowers and other gifts, but she was not amused by his actions and rejected his gifts. Rogers soon discovered that his nemesis, Herr Kleiser, had survived World War II and
11036-496: The future, the superhero community undergoes another schism , and Iron Man leads a team of heroes opposed to a predetermined justice system based on his ability. The battle ends with Iron Man in a coma. A reformed Victor von Doom becomes Iron Man, while an artificial intelligence backup of Stark's mind guides a new armored superhero, Ironheart. Stark resumes his work as Iron Man after the technology in his body allows him to heal. He then allies with Emma Frost and marries her to set
11160-470: The hands of business rival Obadiah Stane . O'Neil wrote Stark out of the role entirely beginning with issue #170 (1983), having him temporarily retire as Iron Man and replacing him with his ally James Rhodes . Stark was relegated as a side character until he returned to heroism in Iron Man #200 (1985). The 1987 " Armor Wars " story arc followed Iron Man as he reclaimed his technology, which Justin Hammer distributed to several villains. This story blended
11284-480: The latter. During one of his few leaves he met up with Gail and they spent the night together, which resulted in her becoming pregnant. He would later come into battle with Herr Kleiser, who possessed a prototype atomic bomb, made with alien technology, and was meant to target the White House. Captain America managed to get to the bomb as it was launched. In a successful attempt to stop it in mid air, he fell into
11408-480: The lesser of two evils, whereas Captain America held an idealist approach, and both held these positions at great personal cost. While Marvel was neutral between the characters, readers overwhelmingly saw Iron Man as the villain, being the stronger force that the underdog had to overcome. Iron Man appeared with the Mighty Avengers in 2007, and his characterization in this era leaned into his identity as
11532-405: The life of his love, Valkyrie, and traded his own life for Valkyrie and Steve Rogers. Cap then led a team of Ultimates, while Jean Grey led a team of X-Men against Magneto and vowed to not let Thor's sacrifice be in vain. Magneto was defeated and the world began its rebel against mutants. Shortly after defeating Magneto, Captain America, Iron Man, and the military are searching for survivors in
11656-518: The list of registered heroes to its corrupt successor agency H.A.M.M.E.R. This agency is dismantled as well, and Iron Man organizes the Avengers to replace these agencies. He founds a clean energy company, Stark Resilient, and fakes his death so his enemies will not threaten it. He joins the Guardians of the Galaxy for a time, and upon returning to Earth, he discovers he had actually been adopted by
11780-417: The most highly regarded comic book writers at the time. He wrote three story arcs across 20 issues: "Armor Wars II" (which had already been announced by Michelinie and Layton), "The Dragon Seed Saga", and "War Games". Byrne revisited Iron Man's opposition to communism but portrayed it as less of a threat, and he rewrote Iron Man's origin to remove references to communism and the Vietnam War. He lost interest in
11904-432: The past. Iron Man's use of his vast resources as a protector was reframed as a cautionary tale, in which these resources could be co-opted to do harm. His motivation for providing weapons to the government was retroactively changed so Stark only got involved because he believed it would end the war more quickly. Over time, writers portrayed Iron Man as a philanthropist . The dual role of Iron Man and Tony Stark allows for
12028-580: The press and politicians, whose attempts to keep him accountable hamper his efforts as a superhero. He is conflicted between his support for the rule of law and his moral beliefs in doing what he feels must be done for the greater good. When he engages in unsanctioned attacks against those who co-opted his technology in the "Armor Wars" story, he describes it as "a tough decision; perhaps the toughest in my life". The character's morally ambiguous nature can make him more accessible to readers relative to other superheroes who are more inherently virtuous. Iron Man
12152-606: The press and public due to the belief that Thor had revealed that Bruce Banner was indeed the Hulk. In a meeting with Thor, Thor brought up the fact that Captain America killed many people and still goes to church, saying that he's confused with his morals. The Ultimates fought Thor and eventually captured him when his power belt was removed by Quicksilver . From then on the Ultimates became involved in foreign affairs wherein America attempted to control Third World countries' nuclear resources. The Ultimates' actions led to Third World countries forming their own superhuman team, dubbed "
12276-399: The primary Iron Man artist until 1965, as Kirby had obligations to other Marvel properties. As part of a shuffling to match artists with the characters they were most suited for, Steve Ditko briefly became the artist for Iron Man. He was responsible for only three issues in late 1963, but in this time he redesigned Iron Man's suit from fully gold to the red and gold color scheme that became
12400-416: The prison. He and the Wasp soon reached the White House where they met with Hawkeye, Nick Fury , the Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver. Captain America dueled with his Liberators counterpart, The Colonel , and emerged victorious after stabbing the Colonel in the chest with one end of the double-bladed energy sword that the Colonel used. After the Liberators are defeated, Steven Rogers somberly looked over
12524-550: The pro-registration faction during the 2006 Civil War crossover event by Mark Millar and Steve McNiven . In an allegory for the Patriot Act and government surveillance , Iron Man's pro-registration faction represented conservative support for government surveillance in the name of security and stood against Captain America's anti-registration faction that represented individualism and liberal opposition to government surveillance. Iron Man believed in pragmatically choosing
12648-476: The ruins of New York City. Captain America finds the maskless Spider-Man in the rubble and digs the latter out. Later while the X-Men dig graves for the fallen, Sabretooth, Mystique, and Assemble arrive, claiming that they have come to pay their respects. However, Jean Grey blames them for the destruction, and a fight ensues. Captain America arrives, decapitating Assemble and stating that he also came to pay respect to
12772-560: The sea and was lost, presumed dead. Years later, Captain America was found in the Arctic Ocean , frozen in a block of ice, and was revived. Initially he thought S.H.I.E.L.D. were a group of Nazi soldiers who had captured him, but eventually realized that he was in a different time after seeing a modern New York City . He discovers that his best friend Bucky Barnes is now married to his fiancée and that all of his loved ones are dead. After catching up to his new era, Captain America
12896-542: The series by 1992 as his collaborators John Romita Jr. and Howard Mackie had moved on to other projects. Iron Man's supporting character War Machine was spun off into his own comic book series in 1994. The Iron Man series rejected broader ideological themes by the 1990s, and individualist values replaced Stark's allegiance to American democracy for its own sake. He remained anti-communist , reiterating his support for democracy and refusing to do business in China following
13020-400: The series' run: they removed Iron Man's romantic interest Whitney Frost and Stark's robotic Life Model Decoy doubles, and they had Stark move to a different home. They introduced Iron Man's new romantic interest, Bethany Cabe , as a feminist character who worked as his bodyguard. Their goal was to push the character toward a more grounded, realistic portrayal. The largest change they made
13144-501: The series, Layton used issues of GQ , Playboy , and electronics catalogues as visual references, which he and Michelinie used to stay informed on developments in real world technology so the Iron Man armor would always be a more advanced version of what existed. Layton was inspired by the vast collection of specialized outfits used by Batman when designing Iron Man's various armors. In Iron Man #117 and #118 (1978), Michelinie and Layton replaced many elements that developed over
13268-417: The stories' focus to espionage and domestic crime, incorporating Marvel's fictional intelligence agency S.H.I.E.L.D. He also incorporated the villains of other Marvel heroes, avoiding Iron Man's primarily communist rogues' gallery and rewriting some of Iron Man's communist villains to have personal motivations independent of their communist allegiances. Iron Man was one of several characters whom Marvel gave
13392-453: The story's plot. From its first appearance, Stark has controlled the armor by linking it to his brainwaves, and he must calibrate it to any allies who use it. The armor is often shown to have some method of shrinking it down to make it portable when not being used. Captain America (Ultimate Marvel character) Captain America ( Steven " Steve " Rogers ) is a superhero appearing in books published by Marvel Comics . He appears in
13516-472: The surrender of the villagers, a rescue by S.H.I.E.L.D., and some time to recuperate, Steve is seen having a beer with Hawkeye where he tells Hawkeye that he did not know if he would make it out of that jungle alive and it was God that sent him the cobra. Hawkeye intimates that the Devil is not a possibility. Feeling the need to put Frank on the right path and to lead him on the right path, Rogers visits Simpson in
13640-485: The use of exoskeletons and battle suits. These technological themes are explored through a modern lens during the "Extremis" story arc, which incorporates the idea of human enhancement through biotechnology . Depictions of technology in Iron Man stories have often endorsed its use to alter the natural world. This is in contrast with Silver Age Marvel stories, where radiation and other technological advancements were portrayed as dangerous. Iron Man's engineering talent
13764-472: Was a driving force in his organization of the Avengers and later in his support for the Superhero Registration Act during the Civil War event. Stark's intelligence and engineering skills allowed him to construct the Iron Man armor, and he believes this justifies his authority over the armor and who uses it. While Iron Man sometimes develops equipment for other superheroes, he is selective about who can use
13888-407: Was a simple matter of good versus evil". Larry Lieber developed Iron Man's origin and wrote the first Iron Man story, while Jack Kirby and Don Heck were responsible for the initial design. Lee modeled Iron Man after businessman Howard Hughes , invoking his physical appearance, his image as a businessman, and his reputation as an arrogant playboy. Kirby and Heck then incorporated elements of
14012-424: Was an alien soldier. This was why he would always seem to survive, Cap saying that he has killed Kleiser "twice". When Kleiser resurfaced, the two resumed their enmity. During the Chitari invasion, Rogers fought Kleiser in combat, but was unable to defeat him due to his regeneration abilities. When the Hulk was dropped into their battle, Captain America convinced the Hulk that Kleiser was "hitting on Betty ", causing
14136-500: Was an early example of a superhero with a physical disability. Iron Man's earliest stories were published in the monster-themed anthology series Tales of Suspense . Marvel premiered several superheroes this way in the 1960s as superhero comics became more popular than traditional science-fiction and horror comics. Iron Man's first appearance, "Iron Man is Born!", appeared in Tales of Suspense #39, released in December 1962 with
14260-552: Was created in response to the Vietnam War as Lee's attempt to create a likeable pro-war character. Since his creation, Iron Man has been used to explore political themes, with early Iron Man stories being set in the Cold War . The character's role as a weapons manufacturer proved controversial, and Marvel moved away from geopolitics by the 1970s. Instead, the stories began exploring themes such as civil unrest, technological advancement, corporate espionage, alcoholism, and governmental authority. Major Iron Man stories include " Demon in
14384-528: Was found alive and members of The Brotherhood of Mutants bombed the Brooklyn Bridge . S.H.I.E.L.D. believe the X-Men have teamed up with the Brotherhood. Captain America then vows that he will kill Magneto. Later the X-Men are framed to make it look like they teamed up with Magneto. The Ultimates with the support of numerous S.H.I.E.L.D agents succeed in capturing the X-Men and Professor Xavier
14508-584: Was heavily damaged and that these injuries caused his muteness, he pressed Fury for more information. Fury lied about the origin of T'Challa's scars, and about T'Challa's history with the Weapon X Program, while also telling him that everything about the "Black Panther" was classified. Captain America eventually established a means of communicating with T'Challa and learned of the man's desire to return to Wakanda to see his father. Since no one but Cap had ever seen T'Challa's true face, he decided to take his place in
14632-598: Was lost in World War II. A more aggressive successor was selected for USA operations during the Vietnam War. The "1960s Captain America" ( Frank Simpson ) has returned and is not pleased with the return of the World War II Cap and seeks to make himself the only active Cap. Rather than kill Rogers, Simpson instead beats him to the point of collapse. Steve wakes up two days later in the French hospital where he
14756-418: Was more overtly political than other Silver Age Marvel characters. Lee wrote the character to represent liberal capitalism , fighting against communism and other anti-democratic forces. Though anti-communist sentiments were present throughout Marvel Comics, they appeared most prominently in Iron Man stories. After Marvel shifted away from addressing foreign conflicts toward the end of the 1960s, Iron Man
14880-403: Was portrayed as a liberal who was skeptical of the U.S. government, yet also opposed radicalism ; at the time associated with 1960s counterculture . Marvel portrayed Iron Man as more self-doubting, questioning when the use of force is justified against communism. By 1975, Iron Man opposed the Vietnam War, which gave the character a new motivation in making up for his promotion of violence in
15004-590: Was prominent in his early characterization, causing him to isolate himself so as not to reveal his injury or his secret identity . This weakness was a threat to his autonomy and his masculinity. As real-world medical technology made heart injuries less fatal, writers introduced neurological damage and alcoholism as other medical weaknesses. Despite this, Iron Man considers himself lucky and believes he lives "a good life", attributing this to his money, friendships, engineering skills, and recovering health. Iron Man's belief in progress sometimes manifests as opposition to
15128-596: Was published as Iron Man #500. A concurrent series, Iron Man Legacy by Fred Van Lente , was launched in 2010 leading up to the release of the film Iron Man 2 . Iron Man was then one of several characters whose series was relaunched at issue #1 with the Marvel Now! branding following the 2012 Avengers vs. X-Men event, written by Kieron Gillen . The 2014 " AXIS " event led into the Superior Iron Man series by Tom Taylor , featuring Iron Man with
15252-550: Was saved by Hawkeye. After learning that the Red Skull's words to him were true and that his mother is Gail Richards, Captain America decided to personally confront his son, in which he abandoned the Ultimates and attacked S.H.I.E.L.D. agents in the process. Rogers later infiltrate the Army's computer database and discovered the truth of the Red Skull. Sometime later Captain America was in Paris, France for his own reasons. Rogers created
15376-427: Was to make Iron Man an alcoholic , an unprecedented move for a major comic book hero, which led to the " Demon in a Bottle " story arc that ran from issues #120 to #128 (1979). At the same time, they introduced the character Justin Hammer , who provided financial backing for several Iron Man villains. Michelinie and Layton remained on the series until Iron Man #153 (1981). Michelinie later said, "The reason I quit
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