Iron Man

Tony Stark, Marvel's Iron Man, debuted in Tales of Suspense #39, cover-dated March 1963. Stan Lee developed the character; Larry Lieber scripted the premiere; Don Heck illustrated it; and Jack Kirby contributed the armor design. Stark is introduced as a genius industrialist and weapons manufacturer running Stark Industries. In that story, a Vietnam booby trap drives shrapnel toward his heart. Professor Ho Yinsen fits a magnetic chest plate, while Wong-Chu demands weapons. Stark and Yinsen secretly build armor; Yinsen dies aiding Stark's escape, and Stark defeats Wong-Chu. The experience makes him reconsider his company's arms business and his responsibility. Early Iron Man stories gave Stark gray armor, then the familiar gold version, before red-and-gold armor appeared in Tales of Suspense #48. The character became a founding Avenger in The Avengers #1, published in 1963. With Thor, Hank Pym, Janet van Dyne, and the Hulk, he confronts Loki after the villain manipulates the Hulk. Stark finances the team and later provides its Manhattan headquarters, Avengers Mansion. His armor's chest piece evolves into the arc reactor, an energy source that powers suits and keeps deadly shrapnel from reaching his heart. In many comic eras, he is both hero and flawed corporate leader. Iron Man's comic history includes major reinventions and conflicts tied directly to Stark's technology. In "Demon in a Bottle," principally Iron Man #120 through #128, Stark's alcoholism becomes central rather than incidental. He loses control, faces the consequences of drunken decisions, and eventually acknowledges addiction. The 1980 "Armor Wars" storyline begins when Stark discovers criminals are using technology derived from his designs; he destroys armored equipment belonging to other heroes and governments. In Civil War, published from 2006 through 2007, Stark supports the Superhuman Registration Act and leads forces opposing Steve Rogers. Their conflict makes Stark director of S.H.I.E.L.D. afterward. On film, Robert Downey Jr. first portrayed Stark in Marvel Studios' Iron Man, released in 2008. Jon Favreau directed, and the film helped launch the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Its plot relocates Stark's captivity to Afghanistan: the Ten Rings attack his convoy, and Yinsen helps him construct the Mark I suit. Back in the United States, Obadiah Stane has arranged the attack and builds the larger Iron Monger armor from Stark's discarded technology. Stark publicly states, "I am Iron Man," rejecting a secret-identity ending. He appears in later MCU films and dies in Avengers Endgame after using the Infinity Stones.