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150-462: Iron Man has a large range of villains. They each have specific abilities which they use against Tony Stark. While these enemies include major independent operators such as Mandarin and Doctor Doom , many of the more minor foes, especially those equipped with extremely advanced weaponry, are mercenaries of Justin Hammer . This is a list of them in alphabetical order: Iron Man Iron Man

300-492: 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

450-410: A "secret identity". In Strange Tales #106 (March 1963), Johnny discovered that his friends and neighbors knew of his dual identity all along from Fantastic Four news reports, but were humoring him. Supporting characters included Johnny's girlfriend, Doris Evans, usually in consternation as Johnny cheerfully flew off to battle bad guys. She was seen again in a 1973 issue of Fantastic Four , having become

600-455: 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

750-417: 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

900-478: 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

1050-463: 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

1200-588: 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

1350-573: A few issues with temporary teams, Mark Waid took over as writer with #60 / 489 (October 2002) with artist Mike Wieringo with Marvel releasing a promotional variant edition of their otherwise $ 2.25 debut issue at the price of nine cents US. Pencillers Mark Buckingham , Casey Jones, and Howard Porter variously contributed through issue #524 (May 2005), with a handful of issues by other teams also during this time. Writer J. Michael Straczynski and penciller Mike McKone did issues #527–541 (July 2005 – Nov. 2006), with Dwayne McDuffie taking over as writer

1500-498: A field on Earth. Upon exiting the rocket, the four discover they have developed incredible superpowers and decide to use these powers to help others. In the first issue the crew talks about Reed Richards' rocketship flying to the stars. Stan Lee's original synopsis described the crew's plan to fly to Mars, but Lee later shortly afterward wrote that due to "the rate the Communists are progressing in space, maybe we better make this

1650-628: 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

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1800-618: 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 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

1950-525: 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

2100-653: A heavyset but cheerful wife and mother. Ayers took over the penciling after ten issues, later followed by original Golden Age Human Torch creator Carl Burgos and others. The Fantastic Four made occasional cameo appearances, and the Thing became a co-star with issue #123 (Aug. 1964). The Human Torch shared the split book Strange Tales with fellow feature Doctor Strange for the majority of its run, before being replaced in issue #135 (August 1965) by Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. The Silver Age stories were republished in 1974, along with some Golden Age Human Torch stories, in

2250-463: A long run through issue #32 (Aug. 2000). Following the run of Claremont, Lobdell and Larroca, Carlos Pacheco took over as penciller and co-writer, first with Rafael Marín , then with Marín and Jeph Loeb . This series began using dual numbering, as if the original Fantastic Four series had continued unbroken, with issue #42 / #471 (June 2001). At the time, the Marvel Comics series begun in

2400-607: 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

2550-409: 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

2700-419: 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

2850-606: A scientific mission to outer space, are Mister Fantastic (Reed Richards), a scientific genius and the leader of the group, who can stretch his body into incredible lengths and shapes; the Invisible Woman (Susan "Sue" Storm-Richards), Reed's girlfriend and later wife, who can render herself invisible and project powerful invisible force fields and blasts; the Human Torch (Johnny Storm), Sue's younger brother, who can generate flames, surround himself with them and fly; and

3000-535: A short-lived ongoing Human Torch series. A later ongoing solo series in Marvel's manga -influenced Tsunami imprint , Human Torch , ran 12 issues (June 2003 – June 2004), by writer Karl Kesel and penciler Skottie Young . The series was followed by the five-issue limited series Spider-Man/Human Torch (March–July 2005), an untold tales team-up arc spanning the course of their friendship. The Thing appeared in two team-up issues of Marvel Feature (#11–12, September–November 1973). Following their success, he

3150-535: 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

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3300-627: A sixteen-issue run. Following the summer 2008 crossover storyline, " Secret Invasion ", and the 2009 aftermath " Dark Reign ", chronicling the U.S. government's assigning of the Nation's security functions to the seemingly reformed supervillain Norman Osborn , the Fantastic Four starred in a five-issue miniseries , Dark Reign: Fantastic Four (May–Sept. 2009), written by Jonathan Hickman , with art by Sean Chen . Hickman took over as

3450-413: 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

3600-461: A spy named Lyja . Once discovered, Lyja, who herself had fallen for Storm, helped the Fantastic Four rescue Masters. Ventura departed after being further mutated by Doctor Doom. Although some fans were not pleased with DeFalco's run on Fantastic Four , calling him "The Great Satan", the title's sales rose steadily over the period. Other key developments included Franklin Richards being sent into

3750-516: A studio assistant to Jack Kirby in the 1970s, says that the considered opinion of Lee and Kirby's contemporaries was "that Fantastic Four was created by Stan and Jack. No further division of credit seemed appropriate." The release of The Fantastic Four #1 (Nov. 1961) was an unexpected success. Lee had felt ready to stop working on comics at the time, but the positive response to Fantastic Four persuaded him to continue with comic books. The title began to receive fan mail and Lee started printing

3900-676: 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

4050-529: 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

4200-518: A three-issue stint drawn by Arthur Adams , Simonson remained in all three positions through #354 (July 1991). Simonson, who had been writing the team comic The Avengers , had gotten approval for Reed and Sue to join that team after Engelhart had written them out of Fantastic Four . Yet by The Avengers #300, where they were scheduled to join the team, Simonson was told the characters were returning to Fantastic Four . This led to Simonson quitting The Avengers after that issue. Shortly afterward, he

4350-429: 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

4500-399: 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

4650-669: A woman) led by a Professor travelling to the Earth’s centre and encountering giant monsters while contending with a human protagonist who is also from the surface world. Although neither Lee nor Kirby ever mentioned the 1959 film Journey to the Center of the Earth as a direct inspiration, publisher Martin Goodman was well known for following popular entertainment trends to attract sales in his comics line. Comics historian R. C. Harvey believes

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4800-518: 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 , 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

4950-430: 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

5100-441: 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 ,

5250-504: 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

5400-452: 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

5550-401: 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

5700-679: Is reverting to its original numbers, and the book is going away for a while. I'm moving towards the end of Fantastic Four . I just want to reassure people that you will not leave this book with a bad taste in your mouth." In the aftermath of the " Secret Wars " storyline, the Thing is working with the Guardians of the Galaxy and the Human Torch is acting as an ambassador with the Inhumans. With Franklin's powers restored and Reed having absorbed

5850-455: Is settled and they finally made peace. As the Fantastic Four are about to depart Spyre after helping its citizens clean up the Planet (as well as Reed providing the mutates with a variation of the temporary 'cure' he has created for Ben), Skye join them to learn about Earth and every unseen galaxy. When the incoming Kree-Skrull Empyre occur at the same time as teen heroes are being outlawed ,

6000-452: 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

6150-528: Is the three-part " Galactus Trilogy " that began in Fantastic Four #48 (March 1966), chronicling the arrival of Galactus , a cosmic giant who wanted to devour the planet, and his herald, the Silver Surfer . Fantastic Four #48 was chosen as #24 in the 100 Greatest Marvels of All Time poll of Marvel's readers in 2001. Editor Robert Greenberger wrote in his introduction to the story that, "As

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6300-437: 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

6450-406: 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

6600-493: 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 a Bottle " (1979), " Armor Wars " (1987–1988), " Extremis " (2005), and " Iron Man 2020 " (2020). He

6750-660: The Fantastic Four title, FF continues publication as a separate series. Starting with issue #12, the title focuses upon the youthful members of the Future Foundation, including Franklin and Valeria Richards. In the graphic novel Fantastic Four: Season One , the Fantastic Four is given an updated origin story set in the present day instead of the 1960s. The hardcover compilation debuted at number four on The New York Times Best Seller list for graphic novels. As part of Marvel NOW! Fantastic Four ended with #611, ending Jonathan Hickman's long run on FF titles, and

6900-487: 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

7050-631: 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

7200-624: 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

7350-493: The " Marvel Method ", worked so well that Lee and Kirby used it from then on, and the Marvel Method became standard for the company within a year. Kirby recalled events somewhat differently. In a 1970 Fanzine interview he confirmed Lee's involvement in the creation of the Fantastic Four but took credit for the main characters and ideas, stating "It was my idea. It was my idea to do it the way it was; my idea to develop it

7500-538: 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

7650-407: The 1960s, such as Thor and The Amazing Spider-Man , were given such dual numbering on the front cover, with the present-day volume's numbering alongside the numbering from the original series. After issue #70 / #499 (Aug. 2003), the title reverted to its original vol. 1 numbering with issue #500 (Sept. 2003). Karl Kesel succeeded Loeb as co-writer with issue #51 / #480 (March 2002), and after

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7800-563: 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

7950-619: The Challengers and the FF have a minimum of decoration. And of course, the Thing's skin is a kind of decoration, breaking up the monotony of the blue uniform." It is important to note, however, that the Fantastic Four wore civilian garb instead of uniforms, which were only introduced (along with the Baxter Building Headquarters) in the third issue of the series following readership feedback. The original submitted design

8100-690: 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

8250-492: The FF. It is an absolutely vital dynamic between the characters." [emphases in original] Byrne was followed by a quick succession of writers: Roger Stern , Tom DeFalco , and Roy Thomas . Steve Englehart took over as writer for issues 304–332 (except #320). The title had been struggling, so Englehart decided to make radical changes. He felt the title had become stale with the normal makeup of Reed, Sue, Ben, and Johnny, so in issue #308 Reed and Sue retired and were replaced with

8400-501: The Fantastic Four was a continuation of the work Kirby previously did, and so "more likely Kirby's creations than Lee's". But Harvey notes that the Marvel Method of collaboration allowed each man to claim credit, and that Lee's dialogue added to the direction the team took. Wells argues that Lee's contributions set the framework within which Kirby worked, and this made Lee "more responsible". Comics historian Mark Evanier ,

8550-587: The Fantastix with Ms. America taking the codename of Ms. Fantastix. Following the staged bank robbery that the Wrecking Crew committed and their involvement of being hired to humiliate the Fantastix in public, the Fantastic Four gave the Fantastix their blessing to continue using the Baxter Building while the FF operate in a house on Yancy Street with a dimensionally-transcendental interior. In

8700-456: 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

8850-438: The Thing's new girlfriend, Sharon Ventura , and Johnny Storm's former love, Crystal. The changes increased readership through issue #321. At this point, Marvel made decisions about another Englehart comic, West Coast Avengers , that he disagreed with, and in protest he changed his byline to S.F.X. Englehart (S.F.X. is the abbreviation for Simple Sound Effects). In issue #326, Englehart was told to bring Reed and Sue back and undo

9000-578: 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

9150-470: 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

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9300-463: The aptly titled "Back to the Basics", Byrne began his run as writer, penciller and inker, the last under the pseudonym Bjorn Heyn for this issue only. Byrne revitalized the slumping title with his run. Byrne was slated to write with Sienkiewicz providing the art however, Sienkiewicz left to do Moon Knight , and Byrne subsequently became writer, artist, and inker. Various editors were assigned to

9450-413: 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

9600-926: 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

9750-540: The basic characters as well as a story synopsis for the first issue penciller Jack Kirby to follow. Lee noted the involvement of both Kirby and Publisher Martin Goodman prior to preparing his synopsis: "After kicking it around with Martin and Jack for a while I decided to call our quaint quartet the Fantastic Four. I wrote a detailed first synopsis for Jack to follow and the rest is history." Kirby turned in his penciled art pages to Lee, who added dialogue and captions. This approach to creating comics, which became known as

9900-476: 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

10050-449: 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

10200-432: 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

10350-498: 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

10500-510: 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

10650-520: 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

10800-422: 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

10950-467: The characters' personal lives, having the married Sue Storm and Reed Richards suffer a miscarriage and the Thing quitting the Fantastic Four, with She-Hulk being recruited as his long-term replacement. He also re-emphasized the family dynamic which he felt the series had drifted away from after the Lee/Kirby run, commenting that, " Family —and not dysfunctional family —is the central, key element to

11100-405: The comic; eventually Bob Budiansky became the regular editor. Byrne told Jim Shooter that he could not work with Budiansky, although they ultimately continued to work together. In 2006, Byrne said "that's my paranoia. I look back and I think that was Shooter trying to force me off the book". Byrne left following issue #293 (Aug. 1986) in the middle of a story arc, explaining he could not recapture

11250-401: 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

11400-434: The creation of the Fantastic Four for a fanzine in 1968, during which time Jack Kirby was also working at Marvel (Kirby himself is interviewed separately in the same publication). When asked who conceived the team, him or Kirby, Lee responded "Both – 'twas mainly my idea, but Jack created characters visually". In the 1974 book Origins of Marvel Comics Lee described the creative process in more detail, stating that he developed

11550-405: 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

11700-517: The dialogue after the story was pencilled. Kirby also sought to establish, more credibly and on numerous occasions, that the visual elements of the strip were his conceptions. He regularly pointed to a team he created for rival publisher DC Comics in the 1950s, the Challengers of the Unknown . "[I]f you notice the uniforms, they're the same... I always give them a skintight uniform with a belt...

11850-426: 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

12000-466: 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

12150-513: The flagship series include the 1970s quarterly Giant-Size Fantastic Four and the 1990s Fantastic Four Unlimited and Fantastic Four Unplugged ; Fantastic Force , an 18-issue spinoff (November 1994 – April 1996) featuring a young adult Franklin Richards, from a different timeline, as Psi-Lord. A 12-issue series Fantastic Four: The World's Greatest Comics Magazine ran in 2001, paying homage to Stan Lee and Jack Kirby 's legendary run. A spinoff title Marvel Knights 4 (April 2004 – August 2006)

12300-589: The following issue, and Paul Pelletier succeeding McKone beginning with #544 (May 2007). As a result of the events of the " Civil War " company-crossover storyline, the Black Panther and Storm temporarily replaced Reed and Susan Richards on the team. During that period, the Fantastic Four also appeared in Black Panther , written by Reginald Hudlin and pencilled primarily by Francis Portela. Beginning with issue #554 (April 2008), writer Mark Millar and penciller Bryan Hitch began what Marvel announced as

12450-459: The fourth year of the Fantastic Four came to a close, Stan Lee and Jack Kirby seemed to be only warming up. In retrospect, it was perhaps the most fertile period of any monthly title during the Marvel Age." Daniels noted that "[t]he mystical and metaphysical elements that took over the saga were perfectly suited to the tastes of young readers in the 1960s", and Lee soon discovered that the story

12600-563: The fun he had previously had on the series. One of Byrne's changes was making the Invisible Girl into the Invisible Woman: assertive and confident. During this period, fans came to recognize that she was quite powerful, whereas previously, she had been primarily seen as a superpowered mother and wife in the tradition of television moms like those played by Donna Reed and Florence Henderson . Byrne staked new directions in

12750-597: The future and returning as a teenager; the return of Reed's time-traveling father, Nathaniel, who is revealed to be the father of time-travelling villain Kang the Conqueror and Reed's apparent death at the hands of a seemingly mortally wounded Doctor Doom. It would be two years before DeFalco resurrected the two characters, revealing that their "deaths" were orchestrated by the supervillain Hyperstorm . The ongoing series

12900-496: 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

13050-529: The gathered heroes assisted the Fantastic Four into causing so much damage to the Griever's equipment, she is forced to retreat in her final telepod or be trapped in that universe. This left the heroes to salvage components from the broken ship to create their own teleport system to return to their universe. The Fantastic Four and their extended family returned to Earth where they find that Liberteens members Ms. America, 2-D, Hope, and Iceberg have come together as

13200-644: The group, due to an overwhelming fan response in the affirmative (93.47%). Stan's comment of ' Nuff Said would from here become an ongoing phrase in Lee's communications with fans. While the early stories were complete narratives, the frequent appearances of these two antagonists, Doom and Namor, in subsequent issues indicated the creation of a long narrative by Lee and Kirby that extended over months. According to comics historian Les Daniels , "only narratives that ran to several issues would be able to contain their increasingly complex ideas". During its creators' lengthy run,

13350-470: 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

13500-480: 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

13650-537: The letters in a letter column with issue #3. Also with the third issue, Lee created the hyperbolic slogan "The Greatest Comic Magazine in the World!!" With the following issue, the slogan was changed to "The World's Greatest Comic Magazine!" and became a fixture on the issue covers into the 1990s, and on numerous covers in the 2000s. Issue #4 (May 1962) reintroduced Namor the Sub-Mariner , an aquatic antihero who

13800-465: 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

13950-571: The medium had become creatively restrictive. Determined "to carve a real career for myself in the nowhere world of comic books", Lee concluded that, "For just this once, I would do the type of story I myself would enjoy reading.... And the characters would be the kind of characters I could personally relate to: they'd be flesh and blood, they'd have their faults and foibles, they'd be fallible and feisty, and — most important of all — inside their colorful, costumed booties they'd still have feet of clay." Lee provided one of his earliest recorded comments on

14100-607: The members squabbled, held grudges both deep and petty, and eschewed anonymity or secret identities in favor of celebrity status. They are also well known for their recurring encounters with characters such as the villainous monarch Doctor Doom ; the planet-devouring Galactus ; the Kree Empire 's ruthless and tyrannical enforcer Ronan the Accuser ; the Negative Zone 's ruler Annihilus ; the sea-dwelling prince Namor ;

14250-416: The monstrous Thing (Ben Grimm), their grumpy but benevolent friend, a former college football star, Reed's college roommate and a skilled pilot, who possesses tremendous superhuman strength, durability and endurance due to his stone-like flesh. Since their 1961 introduction, the Fantastic Four has been portrayed as a somewhat dysfunctional, yet loving, family. Breaking convention with other comic archetypes,

14400-417: 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

14550-478: The mutates who are unable to retain their original forms in the same manner as the Thing, accusing the mutates of being "villains and imperfects"; as a result, through his own paranoia and xenophobia , the Overseer himself is responsible for the fateful creation of the Fantastic Four and mutated his entire race to face a non-existent threat. Revos challenges Mr. Fantastic to a fight over their differences, until it

14700-519: The offices of Marvel Comics and met numerous comics creators . Marv Wolfman and Keith Pollard crafted a multi-issue storyline involving the son of Doctor Doom which culminated in issue #200 (Nov. 1978). John Byrne joined the title with issue #209 (Aug. 1979), doing pencil breakdowns for Sinnott to finish. He and Wolfman introduced a new herald for Galactus named Terrax the Tamer in #211 (Oct. 1979). Bill Mantlo briefly followed Wolfman as writer of

14850-482: The original Fantastic Four went to space with Avengers to stop this Empyre, leaving Franklin and Valeria being backed by Spider-Man and Wolverine to defend Earth. In August 2022, Marvel announced that writer Ryan North and artist Iban Coello would launch a new volume of Fantastic Four in November of that year after Slott had concluded his run on the title with issue #46. Ancillary titles and features spin off from

15000-535: The other changes he had made. This caused Englehart to take his name entirely off the book. He used the pseudonym John Harkness, which he had created years before for work he didn't want to be associated with. According to Englehart, the run from #326 through his last issue, #332, was "one of the most painful stretches of [his] career." Writer-artist Walt Simonson took over as writer with #334 (December 1989), and three issues later began pencilling and inking as well. With brief inking exceptions, two fill-in issues, and

15150-432: 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

15300-521: The power of the Beyonders from Doom, the Richards family is working on travelling through and reconstructing the multiverse, but Peter Parker has purchased the Baxter Building to keep it "safe" until the team is ready to come back together. A new volume for the Fantastic Four was released in August 2018, written by Dan Slott , as part of Marvel's Fresh Start event. The first issue of the new series

15450-580: 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

15600-399: 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

15750-550: 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

15900-476: The published version. However Earl Wells, writing in The Comics Journal , points out that its existence does not assert its place in the creation: "[W]e have no way of knowing of whether Lee wrote the synopsis after a discussion with Kirby in which Kirby supplied most of the ideas". It is also notable that the Fantastic Four's first adventure in 1961 depicts a team of four adventurers (three men and

16050-484: The regular team of writer and Marvel editor-in-chief Tom DeFalco , penciller Paul Ryan and inker Dan Bulanadi took over, with Ryan self-inking beginning with #360 (Jan. 1992). That team, with the very occasional different inker, continued for years through #414 (July 1996). DeFalco nullified the Storm-Masters marriage by retconning that the alien Skrull Empire had kidnapped the real Masters and replaced her with

16200-422: The series and wrote a crossover with Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man #42 (May 1980). Byrne wrote and drew a giant-sized Fantastic Four promotional comic for Coca-Cola , which was rejected by Coca-Cola as being too violent and published as Fantastic Four #220–221 (July–Aug. 1980) instead. Writer Doug Moench and penciller Bill Sienkiewicz then took over for 10 issues. With issue #232 (July 1981),

16350-542: 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

16500-592: The series produced many acclaimed storylines and characters that have become central to Marvel, including the hidden race of alien-human genetic experiments, the Inhumans ; the Black Panther , an African king who would be mainstream comics' first black superhero; the rival alien races the Kree and the shapeshifting Skrulls ; Him, who would become Adam Warlock ; the Negative Zone and unstable molecules . The story frequently cited as Lee and Kirby's finest achievement

16650-624: The series re-imagined the team as young adults. It ran for 60 issues (Feb. 2004 – Feb. 2009). The issues were repackaged into four-issue graphic novel volumes. The characters continued to appear in other Ultimate Marvel franchises, including Ultimatum . Ultimate Reed Richards became a mainstay of both the Earth-1610 and Earth-616 continuities as the villain the Maker . In 2008, they also launched Marvel Adventures: Fantastic Four , an out-of-continuity series aimed at younger readers. Although it

16800-490: The series regular writer as of issue #570 with Dale Eaglesham and later Steve Epting on art. In the storyline "Three", which concluded in Fantastic Four #587 ( cover date March 2011, published January 26, 2011), the Human Torch appears to die stopping a horde of monsters from the other-dimensional Negative Zone . The series ended with the following issue, #588, and relaunched in March 2011 as simply FF . The relaunch saw

16950-400: 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

17100-501: 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

17250-652: The spacefaring Silver Surfer ; the Skrull warrior Kl'rt ; and the Molecule Man . The Fantastic Four has been adapted into other media , including several video games , animated series , and live-action films . Apocryphal legend has it that in 1961, longtime magazine and comic book publisher Martin Goodman was playing golf with either Jack Liebowitz or Irwin Donenfeld of rival company DC Comics , then known as National Periodical Publications, and that

17400-417: 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

17550-430: 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. Fantastic Four The four characters traditionally associated with the Fantastic Four, who gained superpowers after exposure to cosmic rays during

17700-429: The storyline Point of Origin , the Fantastic Four entrust Alicia, H.E.R.B.I.E., Franklin and Valeria to protect Earth while they begin their mission to learn a further origin of the cosmic radiation that granted them their powers in the first place, piloting a new space ship called Marvel-2. While in the middle of a space adventure to find the origin, the Fantastic Four are attacked by a group who believed themselves to be

17850-608: The superheroes of Planet Spyre, the Unparalleled . Reed and Sue are separated from the Thing, Human Torch is revealed to be the soulmate of the Unparalleled member named Sky, and they learn that the Unparalleled's leader and the Overseer of Planet Spyre, Revos, was responsible for the cosmic rays that struck the team on their original trip, as he wanted to stop them coming to his planet. Revos subsequently mutated his people to "prepare for their return" before trying to eradicate

18000-535: The team assume a new name, the Future Foundation , adopt new black-and-white costumes, and accept longtime ally Spider-Man as a member. In October 2011, with the publication of FF #11 (cover-dated Dec. 2011), the Fantastic Four series reached its 599th issue. In November 2011, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Fantastic Four and of Marvel Comics, the company published the 100-page Fantastic Four #600 (cover-dated Jan. 2012), which returned

18150-585: The team, Giant-Size Super-Stars , began in May 1974 and changed its title to Giant-Size Fantastic Four with issue #2. The fourth issue introduced Jamie Madrox , a character who later became part of the X-Men . Giant-Size Fantastic Four was canceled with issue #6 (Oct. 1975). Roy Thomas and George Pérez crafted a metafictional story for Fantastic Four #176 (Nov. 1976) in which the Impossible Man visited

18300-401: The title to its original numbering and featured the return of the Human Torch. It revealed the fate of the character of Johnny Storm after issue #587, showing that while he did in fact die, he was resurrected to fight as a gladiator for the entertainment of Annihilus. Storm later formed a resistance force called Light Brigade and defeated Annihilus. Although it was launched as a continuation of

18450-615: The title was relaunched in November 2012 with the creative team of writer Matt Fraction and artist Mark Bagley . In the new title with its numbering starting at #1, the entire Fantastic Four family explore space together, with the hidden intent for Reed Richards to discover why his powers are fading. Writer James Robinson and artist Leonard Kirk launched a new Fantastic Four series in February 2014 ( cover dated April 2014). Robinson later confirmed that Fantastic Four would be cancelled in 2015 with issue #645, saying that "The book

18600-562: The titles published by National Comics seemed to be selling better than most. It was a book called The [ sic ] Justice League of America and it was composed of a team of superheroes. ... 'If the Justice League is selling', spoke he, 'why don't we put out a comic book that features a team of superheroes?'" Lee, who had served as editor-in-chief and art director of Marvel Comics and its predecessor companies, Timely Comics and Atlas Comics , for two decades, found that

18750-572: The top executive bragged about DC's success with the new superhero team the Justice League of America . While film producer and comics historian Michael Uslan has debunked the particulars of that story, Goodman, a publishing trend-follower, aware of the JLA's strong sales, did direct his comics editor, Stan Lee , to create a comic-book series about a team of superheroes. According to Lee, writing in 1974, "Martin mentioned that he had noticed one of

18900-485: 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

19050-464: The way it was. I'm not saying Stan had nothing to do with it. Of course he did. We talked things out." Years later, when specifically challenged with Lee's version of events in a 1990 interview, Kirby responded: "I would say that's an outright lie", although the interviewer, Gary Groth , notes that this statement needs to be viewed with caution. Kirby claims he came up with the idea for the Fantastic Four in Marvel's offices, and that Lee merely added

19200-438: The world believing them to be clones of the original members of the Fantastic Four. The series ran for 8 issues (Jan. – Aug. 1996), serving as a companion to Doom 2099 —an original Marvel 2099 title featuring an individual claiming to be the original Victor von Doom . In 2021, the series was brought back for a single issue. In 2004, Marvel launched Ultimate Fantastic Four . As part of the company's Ultimate Marvel imprint,

19350-402: Was Sue Storm's first solo title. Adam Hughes drew the cover for all five issues. The Fantastic Four is formed after four civilian astronauts are exposed to cosmic rays during an unauthorized outer space test flight in an experimental rocket ship designed by Dr. Reed Richards. Pilot Ben Grimm and crew-members Susan Storm and her brother Johnny Storm survive an emergency crash-landing in

19500-472: 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

19650-564: Was a favorite on college campuses. The Fantastic Four Annual was used to spotlight several key events. The Sub-Mariner was crowned king of Atlantis in the first annual (1963). The following year's annual revealed the origin story of Doctor Doom. Fantastic Four Annual #3 (1965) presented the wedding of Reed Richards and Sue Storm. Lee and Kirby reintroduced the original Human Torch in Fantastic Four Annual #4 (1966) and had him battle Johnny Storm. Sue Richards' pregnancy

19800-407: 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

19950-557: Was a star character of Marvel's earliest iteration, Timely Comics , during the late 1930s and 1940s period that historians and fans call the Golden Age of Comics . Issue #5 (July 1962) introduced the team's most frequent nemesis, Doctor Doom . These earliest issues were published bimonthly. With issue #16 (July 1963), the cover title dropped its The and became simply Fantastic Four . In Fantastic Four #19 (October 1963), Stan Lee announced that Reed Richards would remain leader of

20100-402: Was also modified to include the iconic chest insignia of a "4" within a circle that was designed by Lee. Given the conflicting statements, outside commentators have found it hard to ascertain who created the Fantastic Four. A typed synopsis by Lee for the introductory segment of the first Fantastic Four issue exists and outlines the characters and their origins, with various minor differences to

20250-500: 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

20400-1034: Was announced in Fantastic Four Annual #5 (1967), and the Richards' son, Franklin Richards was born in Fantastic Four Annual #6 (1968) in a story which introduced Annihilus as well. Marvel filed for a trademark for "Fantastic Four" in 1967 and the United States Patent and Trademark Office issued the registration in 1970. Kirby left Marvel in mid-1970, having drawn the first 102 issues plus an unfinished issue, partially published in Fantastic Four #108, with alterations, and later completed and published as Fantastic Four: The Lost Adventure (April 2008), Fantastic Four continued with Lee, Roy Thomas , Gerry Conway and Marv Wolfman as its consecutive regular writers, working with artists such as John Romita Sr. , John Buscema , Rich Buckler and George Pérez , with longtime inker Joe Sinnott adding some visual continuity. Jim Steranko also contributed some covers during this time. A short-lived series starring

20550-587: Was canceled with issue #416 (Sept. 1996) and relaunched with vol. 2 #1 (Nov. 1996) as part of the multi-series " Heroes Reborn " crossover story arc. The yearlong volume retold the team's first adventures in a more contemporary style, and set in a parallel universe. Following the end of that experiment, Fantastic Four was relaunched with vol. 3 #1 (Jan. 1998). Initially by the team of writer Scott Lobdell and penciller Alan Davis , it went after three issues to writer Chris Claremont (co-writing with Lobdell for #4–5) and penciller Salvador Larroca ; this team enjoyed

20700-451: 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 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

20850-543: Was given a solo strip in Strange Tales in 1962 to bolster the title's sales. The series began in Strange Tales #101 (October 1962), in 12- to 14-page stories plotted by Lee and initially scripted by his brother Larry Lieber , and drawn by penciller Kirby and inker Dick Ayers . Here, Johnny was seen living with his older sister, Susan, in fictional Glenview, Long Island , New York, where he continued high school and, with youthful naiveté, attempted to maintain

21000-466: Was given his own regular team-up title Marvel Two-in-One , co-starring with Marvel heroes not only in the present day but occasionally in other time periods (fighting alongside the World War II -era Liberty Legion in #20 and the 1930s hero Doc Savage in #21, for example) and in alternate realities . The series ran 100 issues (January 1974 – June 1983), with seven summer annuals (1976–1982) and

21150-458: Was immediately followed by the solo title The Thing #1–36 (July 1983 – June 1986). Another ongoing solo series, also titled The Thing , ran eight issues (January–August 2006). A six issue miniseries written by Walter Mosely , entitled The Thing , was released in November 2021. In April 2019, Marvel Comics announced that it would publish Invisible Woman , a five-issue miniseries written by Mark Waid and drawn by artist Mattia De Lulis. This

21300-506: Was launched by Marvel as a continuation of the Fantastic Four title in 2011, FF continued publication as a separate series after the regular series resumed in 2012. From issues #12, the title focused on the youthful members of the Future Foundation, including Franklin and Valeria Richards. A second volume was launched as part of Marvel NOW! by Matt Fraction and Mike Allred depicting a substitute Fantastic Four team starring Scott Lang , Medusa , She-Hulk and Ms. Thing. The Human Torch

21450-557: Was met with strong sales, and a positive critical reaction. When the Future Foundation is threatened by the Griever at the End of All Things, Mister Fantastic plays on her ego to convince her to provide him with equipment that will allow him to summon his teammates. When Human Torch and Thing are reunited with Mister Fantastic and Invisible Woman, the other superheroes that were part of the Fantastic Four at some point in their lives also arrived, including, unexpectedly, X-Men 's Iceman . With

21600-418: 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

21750-474: Was offered the job of writing Fantastic Four . Having already prepared a number of stories involving the Avengers with Reed and Sue in the lineup, he then rewrote these for Fantastic Four . Simonson later recalled that working on Fantastic Four allowed him the latitude to use original Avengers members Thor and Iron Man , which he had been precluded from using in The Avengers . After another fill-in,

21900-403: 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

22050-590: 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

22200-596: 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

22350-427: 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

22500-475: Was written by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa and initially illustrated by Steve McNiven in his first Marvel work. There have also been numerous limited series featuring the group. In 1996, Marvel launched the series Fantastic Four 2099 , part of the company's Marvel 2099 imprint which explored an alternate future of the Marvel Universe. The four protagonists inexplicably find themselves in 2099, with

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