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170-598: Scott Snyder (born January 15, 1976) is an American comic book author. He is known for his 2006 short story collection Voodoo Heart , and his work for DC Comics , including series such as American Vampire , Detective Comics , a highly acclaimed run on Batman , Swamp Thing , and Justice League as well as the company-wide crossover storylines " Dark Nights: Metal " and " Dark Nights: Death Metal ." He has also written creator-owned comics published through Image Comics , including Wytches , Undiscovered Country , and Nocterra . As part of his DC work, he co-created
340-448: A Kickstarter campaign for the first issue. A television adaptation is currently in development at Netflix . In July 2021, Snyder announced an eight-title digital first deal with comiXology Originals , all to be published through his creator-owned imprint Best Jackett Press, with the books set to receive print versions via Dark Horse Comics . The first three, We Have Demons with Greg Capullo, Clear with Francis Manapul, and Night of
510-492: 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
680-471: A mythical realm. Since the 1940s, when Superman, Batman, and many of the company's other heroes began appearing in stories together, DC's characters have inhabited a shared continuity that was later dubbed the " DC Universe " by fans. With the story " Flash of Two Worlds ", in Flash No. 123 (September 1961), editor Schwartz (with writer Gardner Fox and artists Infantino and Joe Giella ) presented
850-542: 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 ,
1020-434: A March 1937 cover date. The themed anthology that revolved originally around fictional detective stories became in modern times the longest-running ongoing comic series. A notable debut in the first issue was Slam Bradley , created in a collaboration between Wheeler-Nicholson, Siegel and Shuster. In 1937, in debt to printing-plant owner and magazine distributor Harry Donenfeld —who also published pulp magazines and operated as
1190-455: 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
1360-508: A Saturday morning live action TV adaptation and gained a prominent position in the mainstream continuity of the DC Universe . As the popularity of superheroes faded in the late 1940s, DC Comics focused on such genres as science fiction, Westerns , humor , and romance . The company also published crime and horror titles, although relatively tame contributions that avoided the mid-1950s backlash against such comic genres. A handful of
1530-417: 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
1700-478: 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
1870-463: 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
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#17327902357492040-588: 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
2210-476: A conceptual mechanism for slotting the 1930s and 1940s Golden Age heroes into this continuity using the explanation that they inhabited an other-dimensional "Earth 2", whilst the modern heroes exist on "Earth 1", consequently laying the foundations of what was later called the DC Multiverse . DC's introduction of the reimagined superheroes did not go unnoticed by their competitors. In 1961, with DC's JLA as
2380-488: A copy of Superman. This extended to DC suing Fawcett Comics over Captain Marvel , who was at the time the top-selling comic character (see National Comics Publications, Inc. v. Fawcett Publications, Inc. ). Faced with declining sales and the prospect of bankruptcy if it lost the lawsuit, Fawcett capitulated in 1953 and ceased publishing comics. Years later, Fawcett sold the rights for Captain Marvel to DC Comics, and in 1972
2550-543: A degree in creative writing , and then worked at Walt Disney World for about a year. He initially worked as a custodian, but after he injured his shoulder and started to have some problems with his co-workers, he auditioned and worked as some of the characters. Snyder's Disney World stint strongly influenced his writing; he later recalled, "it did a world of good for my writing ... All the things I ended up writing about, those things that are deeply frightening to me—fear of commitment and growing up, fear of losing loved ones,
2720-568: A drug-fueled storyline in writer Dennis O'Neil and artist Neal Adams ' Green Lantern , beginning with the story " Snowbirds Don't Fly " in the retitled Green Lantern / Green Arrow No. 85 (September 1971), which depicted Speedy , the teen sidekick of superhero archer Green Arrow , as having become a heroin addict. Jenette Kahn , a former children's magazine publisher, replaced Infantino as editorial director in January 1976. As it happened, her first task even before being formally hired,
2890-477: A few years, it yielded the popular animated series Static Shock . DC established Paradox Press to publish material such as the large-format Big Book of... series of multi-artist interpretations on individual themes, and such crime fiction as the graphic novel Road to Perdition . In 1998, DC purchased WildStorm Comics, Jim Lee 's imprint under the Image Comics banner, continuing it for many years as
3060-628: 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
3230-525: 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
3400-504: A handful of thematically-linked series he called collectively "The Fourth World" . In the existing series Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen and in his own, newly-launched series New Gods , Mister Miracle , and The Forever People , Kirby introduced such enduring characters and concepts as arch-villain Darkseid and the other-dimensional realm Apokolips . Furthermore, Kirby intended their stories to be reprinted in collected editions, in
3570-456: A major slump, while manufactured " collectables " numbering in the millions replaced quality with quantity until fans and speculators alike deserted the medium in droves. DC's Piranha Press and other imprints (including the mature readers' line Vertigo , and Helix , a short-lived science fiction imprint) were introduced to facilitate compartmentalized diversification and allow for specialized marketing of individual product lines. They increased
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#17327902357493740-554: 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
3910-528: A primer. They would get artists ... and they taught them the ABCs, which amounted to learning Jack Kirby ... Jack was like the Holy Scripture and they simply had to follow him without deviation. That's what was told to me ... It was how they taught everyone to reconcile all those opposing attitudes to one single master point of view. Given carte blanche to write and illustrate his own stories, he created
4080-416: A principal in the magazine distributorship Independent News —Wheeler-Nicholson had to enter into partnership with Donenfeld to publish Detective Comics No. 1, and Detective Comics, Inc. (which helped inspire the abbreviation DC) was formed, with Wheeler-Nicholson and Donenfeld's accountant Jack S. Liebowitz listed as owners. As the company continued to experience cash-flow problems, Wheeler-Nicholson
4250-409: 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
4420-415: A publishing format that was later called the trade paperback , which became a standard industry practice decades later. While sales were respectable, they did not meet DC management's initially high expectations, and also suffered from a lack of comprehension and internal support from Infantino. By 1973 the "Fourth World" was all cancelled, although Kirby's conceptions soon became integral to the broadening of
4590-691: A rogue Talon from the Court. It was announced at the 2012 New York Comic Con that Snyder would be writing a new Superman ongoing series, titled Superman Unchained , with art by Jim Lee . The series began publication in June 2013. Snyder left the Swamp Thing series as of issue #18 (May 2013) and began writing The Wake , a 10-issue, ocean-based horror miniseries drawn by Snyder's American Vampire: Survival Of The Fittest collaborator Sean Murphy . The series follows marine biologist Lee Archer, who along with
4760-658: A romantic interest for Batman named Julie Madison , as well as the Batarang weapon that Batman commonly uses, and the fictional aircraft called the Batplane . The story of Batman's origin was first shown in Detective Comics No. 33 (November 1939), which depicted the death of Thomas Wayne and Martha Wayne by a mugger . The origin story remained crucial for the fictional character after its inception. The Daily Planet (a common setting of Superman)
4930-419: 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
5100-535: 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
5270-466: 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
Scott Snyder - Misplaced Pages Continue
5440-523: A subsidiary of Time Warner. In June, the first Tim Burton-directed Batman film was released, and DC began publishing its hardcover series of DC Archive Editions ; these were collections of many of their early, key comics series, featuring rare and expensive stories previously unseen by the majority of modern fans. Much of the restoration work was handled by Rick Keene, with colour restoration performed by DC's long-time resident colourist Bob LeRose . The Archive Editions attempted to retroactively credit many of
5610-562: A summer camp where one of the counselors read Stephen King 's Eyes of the Dragon to him over the summer, an experience that Snyder says "really jump-started my love of story-telling." He was also influenced by the writing of Denis Johnson , Raymond Carver , Rick Bass , Joy Williams , Elizabeth McKracken , Stephen King , Tobias Wolff , and George Saunders . In comics, he has named Alan Moore and Frank Miller as his favorite writers. Snyder graduated from Brown University in 1998 with
5780-469: A superhero origin story with the reveal of an unnamed planet, later known as Krypton , where he is said to have originated . The issue also contained the first essential supporting character and one of the earliest female characters in any comic, with Lois Lane as Superman's first depicted romantic interest . The Green Hornet -inspired character known as the Crimson Avenger by Jim Chamber
5950-676: 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
6120-569: A supporting character called James Gordon , the police commissioner of what would later become Gotham City Police Department . Despite being a parody, All-American Publications introduced the earliest female character who became the female superhero Red Tornado (though disguised as a male) in Ma Hunkel who first appeared in the "Scribbly" stories in All-American Comics No. 3 (June 1939). Another important Batman debut
6290-529: 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
6460-429: 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
6630-399: 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
6800-501: A wholly separate imprint (and fictional universe) with its own unique style and audience. As part of this purchase, DC also began to publish titles under the fledgling WildStorm sub-imprint America's Best Comics (ABC), a series of titles created by Alan Moore which included The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen , Tom Strong , and Promethea . Moore strongly opposed this move, and DC eventually stopped publishing ABC. In March 2003, DC acquired publishing and merchandising rights to
6970-430: 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
Scott Snyder - Misplaced Pages Continue
7140-460: Is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment , a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery . DC is an initialism for "Detective Comics", an American comic book series first published in 1937. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, the first comic under the DC banner being published in 1937. The majority of its publications are set in
7310-504: 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
7480-508: 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
7650-401: 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
7820-516: Is still being used. The company created a second recurring title called New Comics , first released in December 1935, which was the start of the long-running Adventure Comics series that also featured many anthology titles. By 1936, the group had became Nicholson Publishing. Wheeler-Nicholson's next and final title, Detective Comics , was advertised with a cover illustration dated December 1936 but eventually premiered three months late with
7990-452: 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
8160-522: Is the second largest publisher of comic books, after Viz Media ; and Marvel is third. In 1934, entrepreneur Major Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson founded National Allied Publications , intended as an American comic book publishing company. Its debut publication was the tabloid -sized New Fun: The Big Comic Magazine #1 (the first of a comic series later called More Fun Comics ) with a February 1935 cover date . An anthology title, essentially for original stories not reprinted from newspaper strips , it
8330-437: 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
8500-406: 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
8670-539: The Infinite Crisis limited series. Immediately after this event, DC's ongoing series jumped forward a full year in their in-story continuity, as DC launched a weekly series, 52 , to gradually fill in the missing time. Concurrently, DC lost the copyright to "Superboy" (while retaining the trademark) when the heirs of Jerry Siegel used a provision of the 1976 revision to the copyright law to regain ownership. In 2005, DC launched its " All-Star " line (evoking
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#17327902357498840-896: The All-Star Batman series as part of the DC Rebirth relaunch. Snyder and Greg Capullo launched the Dark Nights: Metal limited series in August 2017. Snyder and artist Andy Kubert created the New Challengers , part of The New Age of DC Heroes line. Snyder and Rafael Albuquerque crafted "The Fifth Season" chapter in Action Comics #1000 (June 2018). Snyder co-wrote Justice League: No Justice with Joshua Williamson and James Tynion IV , with art by Francis Manapul . Following that, Snyder re-launched
9010-564: The Department of Homeland Security , discovers a potential threat to humanity that may involve strange, humanoid creatures that inhabit the ocean depths. The story shifts between three time periods: the near future, two centuries in the future and the distant past. The covers of the first five issues form a mural when placed side by side. The same month, DC published a Free Comic Book Day sneak preview of Superman Unchained , an ongoing series written by Snyder and illustrated by Jim Lee, which
9180-487: 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
9350-667: The Green Lantern character, the introduction of the modern all-star team Justice League of America (JLA), and many more superheroes, heralding what historians and fans call the Silver Age of Comic Books . National radically overhauled its continuing characters—primarily Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman—rather than just reimagining them. The Superman family of titles, under editor Mort Weisinger , introduced such enduring characters as Supergirl , Bizarro , and Brainiac . The Batman titles, under editor Jack Schiff , introduced
9520-690: The Joker , Lex Luthor , Deathstroke , the Reverse-Flash , Brainiac , and Darkseid . The company has published non-DC Universe-related material, including Watchmen , V for Vendetta , Fables , and many other titles, under the alternative imprint Vertigo and DC Black Label . Originally at 432 Fourth Avenue in Manhattan , New York City, the company offices have been located at 480 and later 575 Lexington Avenue , 909 Third Avenue , 75 Rockefeller Plaza , 666 Fifth Avenue , and 1325 Avenue of
9690-631: 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
9860-483: The Phantom Stranger ) rose from art director to become DC's editorial director. With the growing popularity of upstart rival Marvel Comics threatening to topple DC from its longtime number-one position in the comics industry, he tried to direct DC's focus towards marketing new and existing titles and characters with more adult sensibilities, aimed at an emerging older age group of superhero comic book fans; this
10030-795: The Silver Age , the comics of the 1970s and 1980s became known as the Bronze Age, as fantasy gave way to more naturalistic and sometimes darker themes. Illegal drug use, banned by the Comics Code Authority , explicitly appeared in comics for the first time in Marvel Comics' story " Green Goblin Reborn! " in The Amazing Spider-Man No. 96 (May 1971), and after the Code's updating in response, DC offered
10200-689: The Spirit which it then used, along with some DC heroes, as part of the First Wave comics line launched in 2010 and lasting through fall 2011. In May 2011, DC announced it would begin releasing digital versions of their comics on the same day as paper versions. 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 ,
10370-624: 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
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#173279023574910540-557: The line further, increasing the number of titles and story pages, and raising the price from 35 cents to 50 cents. Most series received eight-page back-up features while some had full-length twenty-five-page stories. This was a move the company called the "DC Explosion". The move was not successful, however, and corporate parent Warner dramatically cut back on these largely unsuccessful titles, firing many staffers in what industry watchers dubbed "the DC Implosion ". In September 1978,
10710-538: 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
10880-578: The 2011 Eisner Award for Best New Series, as well as the 2011 Harvey Award for Best New Series. Snyder's run as writer of Detective Comics began with issue No. 871 (Jan. 2011) of that title, which marked the beginning of his exclusive contract with DC Comics . He and Kyle Higgins wrote the Batman: Gates of Gotham miniseries which debuted in May 2011. Beginning in September 2011, Snyder became
11050-706: The Americas . DC Comics was located at 1700 Broadway in Midtown Manhattan until April 2015, when DC Entertainment transferred its headquarters to Burbank, California . DC Comics books are distributed to the bookstore market by Penguin Random House Publisher Services . The comics shop direct market was supplied by Diamond Comic Distributors until June 2020, when Lunar Distribution and UCS Comic Distributors (who were by then dominating direct market distribution on account of
11220-619: 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
11390-490: The Bible as the foundation of his own new company, EC Comics . At that point, "Liebowitz promptly orchestrated the merger of All-American and Detective Comics into National Comics... Next he took charge of organizing National Comics, [the self-distributorship] Independent News, and their affiliated firms into a single corporate entity, National Periodical Publications ". National Periodical Publications became publicly traded on
11560-472: The Changing Man , as well as an increasing array of non-superhero titles, in an attempt to recapture the pre- Wertham days of post-War comicdom. In 1977, the company officially changed its name to DC Comics . It had used the brand "Superman-DC" since the 1950s, and was colloquially known as DC Comics for years. In June 1978, five months before the release of the first Superman film , Kahn expanded
11730-544: The DC Universe, especially after the major toy-company, Kenner Products , judged them ideal for their action-figure adaptation of the DC Universe , the Super Powers Collection . Obligated by his contract, Kirby created other unrelated series for DC, including Kamandi , The Demon , and OMAC , before ultimately returning to Marvel Comics in 1976. Following the science-fiction innovations of
11900-690: 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
12070-659: The Ghoul with Francesco Francavilla , debuted in October 2021. In October 2022, Deadline reported that a film adaptation of Night of the Ghoul was in development at 20th Century Studios. Snyder was among a group of creators with whom fellow comics writer Nick Spencer formed a deal in August 2021 with the subscription-based newsletter platform Substack to publish creator-owned comics stories, essays, and instructional guides on that platform. Snyder indicated that he would offer advice to aspiring writers in his published pieces. An animated television series adaptation of Wytches
12240-556: The Silver Age Teen Titans led DC's editors to seek the same for the wider DC Universe . The result, the Wolfman/Pérez 12-issue limited series Crisis on Infinite Earths , gave the company an opportunity to realign and jettison some of the characters' complicated backstory and continuity discrepancies. A companion publication, two volumes entitled The History of the DC Universe , set out the revised history of
12410-456: 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
12580-697: The TV series. This change in tone coincided with the prominent "Go-Go Checks" cover-dress that featured a black-and-white checkered strip at the top of each DC comic (all cover dates between February 1966 and August 1967), a misguided attempt by then-managing editor Irwin Donenfeld to make DC's output "stand out on the newsracks". In particular, DC artist Carmine Infantino complained that the distinctive cover made it easier for readers to spot DC's titles and avoid them in favor of Marvel's titles. In 1967, Infantino (who had designed popular Silver Age characters Batgirl and
12750-678: 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
12920-470: 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
13090-803: The anthology Who Can Save Us Now? Brand-New Superheroes and Their Amazing (Short) Stories . In 2009, Snyder began writing for Marvel Comics . His first foray into the genre was a one-shot focusing on the first Human Torch , part of Marvel's 70th anniversary celebrations. He later wrote the four-issue miniseries, Iron Man : Noir , which debuted in April 2010. By the late 2000s, Snyder had taught writing at New York University , Columbia University , and Sarah Lawrence College . Vertigo began publishing American Vampire , Snyder's first creator-owned ongoing series , in March 2010. The first five issues feature an original storyline by Stephen King. American Vampire won
13260-587: The antihero. These titles helped pave the way for comics to be more widely accepted in literary-criticism circles and to make inroads into the book industry, with collected editions of these series as commercially successful trade paperbacks . The mid-1980s also saw the end of many long-running DC war comics , including series that had been in print since the 1960s. These titles, all with over 100 issues, included Sgt. Rock , G.I. Combat , The Unknown Soldier , and Weird War Tales . In March 1989, Warner Communications merged with Time Inc. , making DC Comics
13430-413: 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
13600-926: 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
13770-413: The brand's popularity, like the presence of the color red or word balloons on the cover, or that the perceived crudeness of the interior art was somehow more appealing to readers. When Lee learned about DC's subsequent experimental attempts to imitate these perceived details, he amused himself by arranging direct defiance of those assumptions in Marvel's publications as sales strengthened further to frustrate
13940-507: 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
14110-476: 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
14280-512: 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
14450-432: 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
14620-424: The character was revived in DC's new title Shazam! , which featured artwork by Captain Marvel's creator C. C. Beck . In the meantime, the abandoned 'Marvel' trademark had been seized by Marvel Comics in 1967, with the creation of their Captain Marvel , preventing DC from using the name in the title of their own comic series. While DC's Captain Marvel failed to recapture his earlier popularity, he later appeared in
14790-498: 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
14960-510: 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
15130-437: 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
15300-465: 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
15470-422: 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
15640-522: The characters, The Batman Who Laughs , Mr. Bloom , and the Court of Owls . Snyder has garnered acclaim from critics and fans for his work, such as his run on the New 52 version of Batman that debuted in 2011, and has won numerous industry awards, including three Eisner Awards , a Harvey Award , and a 2012 Eagle Award for Best Writer. Scott Snyder was born January 15, 1976. At the age of nine, he attended
15810-429: The comic book limited series . This publishing format allowed for the deliberate creation of finite storylines within a more flexible publishing format that could showcase creations without forcing the talent into unsustainable open-ended commitments. The first such title was World of Krypton in 1979, and its positive results led to subsequent similar titles and later more ambitious productions like Camelot 3000 for
15980-401: 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
16150-482: The company. The resulting influx of sophisticated horror-fantasy material led to DC in 1993 establishing the Vertigo mature-readers imprint, which did not subscribe to the Comics Code Authority . Two DC limited series, Batman: The Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller and Watchmen by Moore and artist Dave Gibbons , drew attention in the mainstream press for their dark psychological complexity and promotion of
16320-488: The competition. However, this ignorance of Marvel's true appeal did not extend to some of the writing talent during this period, and attempts were made to emulate Marvel's narrative approach. For instance, there was the Doom Patrol series by Arnold Drake (who had previously warned DC's management about Marvel's strength), a superhero team of outsiders who resented their freakish powers, which Drake later speculated
16490-405: 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
16660-547: The direct market in 1982. These changes in policy shaped the future of the medium as a whole, and in the short term allowed DC to entice creators away from rival Marvel, and encourage stability on individual titles. In November 1980 DC launched the ongoing series The New Teen Titans , by writer Marv Wolfman and artist George Pérez , two popular talents with a history of success. Their superhero-team comic, superficially similar to Marvel's ensemble series X-Men , but rooted in DC history, earned significant sales in part due to
16830-583: The disruption to Diamond caused by the COVID-19 pandemic ) replaced Diamond as the direct market distributor. In 2017, approximately 70% of the American comic book market was shared by DC Comics and its long-time major competitor Marvel Comics (acquired in 2009 by Warner Bros. Discovery's main competitor, The Walt Disney Company ), though this figure may be distorted by the fact that sales of graphic novels are excluded. When all book sales are included, DC
17000-512: The distribution of NPP's shows. A 1966 Batman TV show on the ABC network sparked a temporary spike in comic book sales and a brief fad for superheroes in Saturday morning animation ( Filmation produced most of DC's initial cartoons) and other media. DC significantly lightened the tone of many of its comics—particularly Batman and Detective Comics —to better complement the "camp" tone of
17170-723: The end of 2009. By 2007, DC was licensing characters from the Archie Comics imprint Red Circle Comics . They appeared in the Red Circle line, based in the DC Universe, with a series of one-shots followed by a miniseries that led into two ongoing titles that each lasted for ten issues. In 2011, DC rebooted all of its running titles following the Flashpoint storyline. The reboot called The New 52 gave new origin stories and costume designs to many of DC's characters. DC licensed pulp characters including Doc Savage and
17340-426: 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
17510-450: The example of Atlas/Seaboard Comics and such independent companies as Eclipse Comics —DC began to offer royalties in place of the industry-standard work-for-hire agreement in which creators worked for a flat fee and signed away all rights, giving talent a financial incentive tied to the success of their work. As it happened, the implementation of these incentives proved opportune considering Marvel Comics' Editor-in-Chief, Jim Shooter ,
17680-707: The fictional DC Universe and feature numerous culturally iconic heroic characters , such as Superman , Batman , Wonder Woman , Green Lantern , the Flash , Cyborg , and Aquaman ; as well as famous fictional teams, including the Justice League , the Justice Society of America , the Teen Titans , and the Suicide Squad . The universe contains an assortment of well-known supervillains , such as
17850-463: The first comic book to feature the character archetype later known as the "superhero", Action Comics was a sales hit that brought to life a new age of comic books, now affectionately termed the "Golden Age" . Action Comics #1 is credited as featuring the first appearance of Superman, both on the cover illustration and inside the issue, and is now one of the most valuable and sought-after comic book issues of all time. The first Superman tale included
18020-521: 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
18190-633: The first mention of Batman's utility belt by Gardner Fox . Outside of DC's publishing, a character later integrated as DC was introduced by Fox Feature Syndicate named the Blue Beetle released in August 1939. Fictional cities were a common theme of DC; the first revealed city was Superman's home city of Metropolis , originally named in Action Comics No. 16 (September 1939). Detective Comics No. 31 (September 1939) by Gardner Fox, Bob Kane and Sheldon Moldoff introduced
18360-588: The first recurring Superman enemy referred to as the Ultra-Humanite ; created by Siegel and Shuster, this is commonly cited as one of the earliest supervillains in comic books. The Superman character had another breakthrough when he was given his own comic book series , which was previously unheard of. The first issue, published in June 1939, helped directly introduce Superman's adoptive parents, Jonathan and Martha Kent , also created by Siegel and Shuster. Detective Comics No. 29 (July 1939) included
18530-496: 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
18700-503: The groundwork for a full continuity-reshuffling sequel to Crisis on Infinite Earths , promising substantial changes to the DC Universe (and side-stepping the 1994 Zero Hour event which similarly tried to ret-con the history of the DCU). In 2005, the critically lauded Batman Begins film was released; also, the company published several limited series establishing increasingly escalating conflicts among DC's heroes, with events climaxing in
18870-470: 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
19040-480: 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
19210-446: The line was dramatically reduced and standard-size books returned to 17-page stories but for a still increased 40 cents. By 1980, the books returned to 50 cents with a 25-page story count but the story pages replaced house ads in the books. Seeking new ways to boost market share , the new team of publisher Kahn, vice president Paul Levitz , and managing editor Giordano addressed the issue of talent instability. To that end—and following
19380-518: 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
19550-547: The long-running fantasy series Elfquest , previously self-published by creators Wendy and Richard Pini under their WaRP Graphics publication banner. This series then followed another non-DC title, Tower Comics ' series T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents , in collection into DC Archive Editions. In 2004, DC temporarily acquired the North American publishing rights to graphic novels from European publishers 2000 AD and Humanoids . It also rebranded its younger-audience titles with
19720-596: The main Justice League series with art from Jim Cheung and Jorge Jimenez, while Williamson and Tynion wrote the companion series Justice League Odyssey and Justice League Dark , respectively. In 2018, Snyder, along with co-writer Tony Patrick and artist Cully Hamner , launched the mini-series Batman and the Signal , featuring Duke Thomas as Gotham's daylight protector, The Signal. A spin-off limited series from Dark Nights: Metal , The Batman Who Laughs ,
19890-562: The major DC characters. Crisis featured many key deaths that shaped the DC Universe for the following decades, and it separated the timeline of DC publications into pre- and post-"Crisis". Meanwhile, a parallel update had started in the non-superhero and horror titles. Since early 1984, the work of British writer Alan Moore had revitalized the horror series The Saga of the Swamp Thing , and soon numerous British writers, including Neil Gaiman and Grant Morrison , began freelancing for
20060-449: The mascot Johnny DC and established the CMX imprint to reprint translated manga . In 2006, CMX took over from Dark Horse Comics ' publication of the webcomic Megatokyo in print form. DC also took advantage of the demise of Kitchen Sink Press and acquired the rights to much of the work of Will Eisner , such as his The Spirit series and his graphic novels. In 2004, DC began laying
20230-417: 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
20400-408: The most popular superhero titles continued publication, including Action Comics and Detective Comics , the medium's two longest-running titles. In the mid-1950s, editorial director Irwin Donenfeld and publisher Liebowitz directed editor Julius Schwartz (whose roots lay in the science-fiction book market) to produce a one-shot Flash story in the try-out title Showcase . Instead of reviving
20570-526: The old character, Schwartz had writers Robert Kanigher and John Broome , penciler Carmine Infantino , and inker Joe Kubert create an entirely new super-speedster, updating and modernizing the Flash's civilian identity, costume, and origin with a science-fiction bent. The Flash's reimagining in Showcase No. 4 (October 1956) proved sufficiently popular that it soon led to a similar revamping of
20740-469: The other imprints was Impact Comics from 1991 to 1992 in which the Archie Comics superheroes were licensed and revamped. The stories in the line were part of its own shared universe. DC entered into a publishing agreement with Milestone Media that gave DC a line of comics featuring a culturally and racially diverse range of superhero characters. Although the Milestone line ceased publication after
20910-432: 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
21080-580: 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
21250-399: 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
21420-550: 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
21590-542: 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
21760-400: 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
21930-501: 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
22100-449: The specific inducement, Marvel Comics' writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby ushered in the sub-Silver Age "Marvel Age" of comics with the debut issue of The Fantastic Four . Reportedly, DC dismissed the initial success of Marvel's editorial change until its consistently strengthening sales—albeit also benefiting DC's parent company Independent News, as Marvel's distributor—made it impossible to ignore. This commercial situation
22270-511: The stability of the creative team, who both continued with the title for six full years. In addition, Wolfman and Pérez took advantage of the limited-series option to create a spin-off title, Tales of the New Teen Titans , to present origin stories of their original characters without having to break the narrative flow of the main series or oblige them to double their work load with another ongoing title. This successful revitalization of
22440-490: The stock market in 1961. Despite the official names "National Comics" and "National Periodical Publications", the company began branding itself as "Superman-DC" as early as 1940 and became known colloquially as DC Comics for years before the official adoption of that name in 1977. DC Comics began to move aggressively against what it saw as copyright-violating imitations from other companies, such as Fox Comics ' Wonder Man , which (according to court testimony) Fox started as
22610-417: 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
22780-498: The successful Batwoman , Bat-Girl , Ace the Bat-Hound , and Bat-Mite in an attempt to modernize the strip with non-science-fiction elements. Schwartz and Infantino then revitalized Batman in what the company promoted as the "New Look", with relatively down-to-earth stories re-emphasizing Batman as a detective. Meanwhile, editor Kanigher successfully introduced a whole family of Wonder Woman characters having fantastic adventures in
22950-471: The title of the 1940s publication ), designed to feature some of the company's best-known characters in stories that eschewed the long and convoluted continuity of the DC Universe. The line began with All-Star Batman & Robin the Boy Wonder and All-Star Superman , and All-Star Wonder Woman and All-Star Batgirl was announced in 2006, but neither of these stories had been released or scheduled as of
23120-485: 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
23290-422: The use of non-traditional contractual arrangements, including the dramatic rise of creator-owned projects, leading to a significant increase in critically lauded work (much of it for Vertigo) and the licensing of material from other companies. DC also increased publication of book-store friendly formats, including trade paperback collections of individual serial comics, as well as original graphic novels . One of
23460-487: The wonder and terror of falling in love—all of it was constantly being played out all around me in this weird, cartoonish, magnified way at Disney." Snyder then enrolled at Columbia University where he received an MFA in fiction. Snyder's first collection of stories, Voodoo Heart , was published by the Dial Press in June 2006. The collection received starred reviews from Publishers Weekly and Booklist , and
23630-515: The writer of both Batman and a new Swamp Thing ongoing series as part of The New 52 , DC Comics' company-wide relaunch of all of its titles. Snyder's Batman series reinivisioned the classic character for the New 52's rebooted continuity , garnering acclaim from critics and fans. Snyder later became the co-writer of Talon , a spin-off of the " Court of Owls " storyline in Batman , which focused on
23800-401: The writers and artists who had worked for DC without receiving much recognition during the early age of comic books when individual credits were rare. The comics industry experienced a brief boom in the early 1990s, thanks to a combination of speculative purchasing—mass purchase of the books as collectible items, with the intention to resell at a higher value (as the rising value of older issues
23970-509: Was a Kirkus Reviews "Hot Debut" of the year. The New York Times published a positive review by author Andrew Sean Greer in the Sunday Book Review. Stephen King picked two of the included stories—"Wreck" and "Dumpster Tuesday"—for the 2007 The Best American Short Stories anthology shortlist. Voodoo Heart was shortlisted for The Story Prize in 2006. In 2008, Snyder wrote a short story called The Thirteenth Egg for
24140-472: 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
24310-407: 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
24480-412: Was alienating much of his company's creative staff with his authoritarian manner and major talents there went to DC like Roy Thomas , Gene Colan , Marv Wolfman , and George Pérez . In addition, emulating the era's new television form, the miniseries while addressing the matter of an excessive number of ongoing titles fizzling out within a few issues of their start, DC created the industry concept of
24650-445: Was also announced as the co-writer, alongside Joshua Williamson, of DC All In Special #1, an oversized one-shot flipbook with art by Daniel Sampere and Wes Craig that will kick off the initiative. Snyder has a wife named Jeanie and two sons. On March 3, 2019, Snyder announced that they were expecting another child in May. Their child, a son, was born on May 4, 2019. DC Comics DC Comics, Inc. (later simply known as DC )
24820-444: 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
24990-685: Was announced by Amazon Prime Video in February 2023, with Snyder serving as co-showrunner. DC revealed in July 2024 that Snyder would return to the company to spearhead DC All In, an initiative that would introduce the Absolute Universe characters and titles, including Absolute Superman written by Jason Aaron and drawn by Rafa Sandoval, Absolute Wonder Woman written by Kelly Thompson and drawn by Hayden Sherman, and Absolute Batman written by Snyder and drawn by Nick Dragotta. Snyder
25160-444: Was charging fifteen cents. At this time, the senior DC staff were reportedly unable to explain how this small publishing house was achieving its increasingly threatening commercial strength. For instance, when Marvel's product was examined in a meeting, the emphasis on more sophisticated character-based narrative and artist-driven visual storytelling was apparently overlooked. Instead, superficial reasons were put forward to account for
25330-552: 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
25500-628: Was featured in Detective Comics No. 20 (October 1938). This character is known to be the first masked vigilante published by DC. An unnamed "office boy", retconned as Jimmy Olsen 's first appearance, was revealed in a Superman story by Siegel and Shuster in Action Comics No. 6 (November 1938). Starting in 1939, Siegel and Shuster's Superman was the first comic-derived character to appear in other formats, later featuring in his own newspaper comic strip , which first introduced his biological parents Jor-El and Lara . All-American Publications' debut comic series, All-American Comics ,
25670-740: Was first named in a Superman newspaper strip around November 1939. Doll Man was the first superhero to be produced by Quality Comics , which DC now owns. Fawcett Comics was formed around 1939 and became DC's original competitor company over the next decade. At the end of 1944, All-American titles began using its own logo to distinguish it from the National comics. All-American Publications , an affiliate concern co-owned by Gaines and Liebowitz, merged with Detective Comics, Inc. on September 30, 1946, forming National Comics Publications . The previous year, in June 1945, Gaines had allowed Liebowitz to buy him out and had retained only Picture Stories from
25840-521: Was first published in April 1939. The series Detective Comics made history as being the first to feature Batman —a Bob Kane and Bill Finger creation—in issue No.27 (March 1939) with the request of more superhero titles. Batman was depicted as a masked vigilante who wore a caped suit known as the Batsuit and drove a car that was later referred to as the Batmobile . The Batman story also included
26010-581: Was forced out after the first year. Shortly afterwards, Detective Comics, Inc. purchased the remains of National Allied (also known as Nicholson Publishing) at a bankruptcy auction and absorbed it. Meanwhile, Max Gaines formed the sister company All-American Publications in 1939. Detective Comics, Inc. soon launched a new anthology title called Action Comics ; the first issue , cover dated June 1938, featured new characters such as Superman by Siegel and Shuster, Zatara by Fred Guardineer , and Tex Thompson by Ken Finch and Bernard Baily . Considered as
26180-418: Was highlighted by Marvel's superior sell-through percentage numbers which were typically 70% to DC's roughly 50%, meaning that DC's publications were barely making a profit after returns from the distributors were factored in, while Marvel was making a healthy profit by comparison. Also in 1961, both DC and Marvel increased their cover price from ten cents to twelve cents, while the rival publisher Dell Comics
26350-457: Was in response to Marvel's efforts to market their superhero line to college-aged adults. Infantino also recruited major talents such as ex-Marvel artist and Spider-Man co-creator Steve Ditko , and promising newcomers Neal Adams and Denny O'Neil , and he replaced some existing DC editors with artist-editors, including Joe Kubert and Dick Giordano , to give DC's output a more artistic critical eye. In 1967, National Periodical Publications
26520-402: Was later published on June 12, 2013, and intended to coincide with the feature film Man of Steel , which opened two days later. Snyder explained his approach to the series: "The way to approach a character as iconic as him is you just come at it from a standpoint of what you love the most about the character, and then write a story that explores that, tear it down and build it back up." Snyder
26690-481: Was launched by him and Jock in 2019. In 2020, he and Greg Capullo released the DC Black Label miniseries Batman: Last Knight on Earth , described as "the grand finale" of their New 52 run. That same year, the two launched the follow-up to Dark Nights: Metal — Dark Nights: Death Metal . Snyder's Image series Nocterra , drawn by Detective Comics artist Tony S. Daniel , was launched in March 2021 following
26860-418: 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
27030-579: Was one of the co-writers of the Batman Eternal series which launched in April 2014. The second run of Batman Eternal , retitled as Batman & Robin Eternal launched on October 7, 2015. During this time, Snyder and Detective Comics collaborate Jock launched the Image Comics series Wytches , the media rights to which were purchased by Brad Pitt 's Plan B Entertainment in October 2014. In 2016, Snyder and artist John Romita Jr. collaborated on
27200-470: Was plagiarized by Stan Lee to create The X-Men . There was also the young Jim Shooter who purposely emulated Marvel's writing when he wrote for DC after studying both companies' styles, such as for the Legion of Super-Heroes feature. In 1966, National Periodical Publications established its own television arm, led by Allen Ducovny, to develop and produce TV projects, with Superman TV Corporation handling
27370-403: 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
27540-590: 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
27710-596: 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
27880-456: Was purchased by Kinney National Company , which purchased Warner Bros.-Seven Arts in 1969. Kinney National spun off its non-entertainment assets in 1972 (as National Kinney Corporation ) and changed its name to Warner Communications Inc. In 1970, Jack Kirby moved from Marvel Comics to DC, at the end of the Silver Age of Comics , in which Kirby's contributions to Marvel played a large, integral role. As artist Gil Kane described: Jack
28050-475: Was the introduction of the fictional mansion known as Wayne Manor first seen in Detective Comics No. 28 (June 1939). The series Adventure Comics followed in the footsteps of Action Comics and Detective Comics by featuring a new recurring superhero called Sandman who first appeared in Adventure Comics No. 40 (July 1939). Action Comics No. 13 (June 1939) introduced
28220-417: Was the single most influential figure in the turnaround in Marvel's fortunes from the time he rejoined the company ... It wasn't merely that Jack conceived most of the characters that are being done, but ... Jack's point of view and philosophy of drawing became the governing philosophy of the entire publishing company and, beyond the publishing company, of the entire field ... [Marvel took] Jack and use[d] him as
28390-464: Was thought to imply that all comics would rise dramatically in price)—and several storylines gaining attention from the mainstream media. DC's extended storylines in which Superman was killed , Batman was crippled , and Green Lantern turned into the supervillain Parallax , resulted in dramatically increased sales. However, the increases were temporary, and sales dropped off as the industry went into
28560-421: Was to convince Bill Sarnoff, the head of Warner Publishing, to keep DC as a publishing concern, as opposed to simply managing their licensing of their properties. With that established, DC had attempted to compete with the now-surging Marvel by dramatically increasing its output and attempting to win the market by flooding it. This included launching series featuring such new characters as Firestorm and Shade,
28730-427: 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
28900-449: Was unlike many comic book series before it. While DC Comics is now primarily associated with superhero comics , the genres in the first anthology titles consisted of funnies , Western comics , and adventure-related stories. The character Doctor Occult —created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster in December 1935 and included in issue No. 6 of New Fun Comics —is considered to be the earliest recurring superhero created by DC that
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