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The Many Armors of Iron Man
All commentary, anecdotes and
cover scans are courtesy Iron
Man Expert Extraordinare, Michael Hawkins. So complain to him, not
me. Without further ado, here's Michael!
"As far as I am concerned, to make the most complete value
judgements about the quality of any of the figures shown in the Iron
Man archives you must go to the source material: The Comic Book. Iron
Man has been around since 1963, originally appearing in Tales of Suspense
until he graduated to his own book in 1968. To me, the action figure
is more fun if it is a "canon" figure, taking its design
closely from the source material (unlike "Firefighter" Iron
Man). Also, you'll note that different artists treat the same armor
differently, so your "late 60s-70s Iron Man" figure could
look more like a George Tuska figure than a Gene Colan or Romita Jr./Bob
Layton. These chronological images will give you a good idea of what
has been happening in the life of Tony (Iron Man) Stark over the decades
and will also allow you to compare the comic armor designs to the
action figures. Enjoy!" - Mike Hawkins
Click on any cover
for a larger pic.
 Tales
of Suspense #39
Tony Stark takes the hit of shrapnel in his heart and invents
the original gray Iron Man armor with Prof. Yinsen. The armor's
chestplate acts as a pacemaker for Tony's damaged heart and must
be kept powered up. Also, tragically, this playboy/inventor/industrialist
must always keep his shirt on with the ladies. (Years later Dr.
Donald "Thor" Blake gave Tony an artificial heart, so
the chestplate was no longer required to keep him alive.)
 Tales
of Suspense #40
After finding that his armor was a little too scary-looking
for a hero, Tony paints the armor gold (or 100% yellow in comic
printing terms), allowing him to take on the nickname "The
Golden Avenger."
 Tales
of Suspense #48
Not sure whether this armor was designed by Jack Kirby or Steve Ditko, but Kirby did the cover and Ditko drew the interiors of this book. This armor has defined Iron Man's color scheme for most of the run as red and gold. I like to call this the "horned faceplate" armor. The gold mask can actually slide onto the top of his head so Tony doesn't have to remove the whole helmet now if he wants to get a drink of water. Stark built this new armor because the old armor was too heavy and drew too much power, requiring it to be recharged more often. Though lightweight and flexible, the armor is said to be just as strong. A neat feature: the gold leg and arm covers are magnetically pulled up from the boot and glove cuffs. Also, the new mask enables Tony's "expression to show...which will psychologically aid in instilling fear in the hearts of (his) enemies."
 Tales
of Suspense #59
In issue 54, Iron Man gets the helmet that, with a few cosmetic
changes over the years, he retains until the mid 1980s. The problem
is that that issue's cover shows the Mandarin firing directly into
his face, obscuring our view of the mask. The burst on that cover
states "Wait till you see Iron Man's new protective head mask!
Ol' bullet-head seems to change his iron masks as often as a glamor
girl changes her hair-do's...but THIS one is a doozy!" Luckily,
issue 59 has a good shot of the armor AND helmet. Note the keen
rivets.
 Tales
of Suspense #66
As you will see, the rivets are finally removed from the tops
of Iron Man's faceplate. Just a note: during this early era in Iron
Man's career, the artist's were incredibly inconsistent in drawing
the details of the body armor. For example, Kirby would draw a line
across the middle of Iron Man's chest plate, whereas Don Heck would
not draw the line at all. Ditko would draw detail lines on the upper
torso that all of the other artists dropped. Artists were also inconsistent
with the rivets on Iron Man's faceplate. Eventually all of these
details were dropped to create the more streamlined classic late
60s-70s Iron Man.
 Tales
of Suspense #95
Just a great shot of Gene Colan's Iron Man. Unlike Ditko and
Heck, Colan's armor always looked like it had some weight to it.
I have always been partial to the big round glove and boot cuffs
and the big round power pods on his waist.
 Invincible
Iron Man #40
A good shot of George Tuska's take on Iron Man. Tuska really
takes the title as the Iron Man artist of the 70s, having that decade's
longest run. Tuska flattened out the boot and glove cuffs. This
cover also demonstrates Iron Man's prowess in shooting people directly
behind him without even aiming! That's some armor!
 Invincible
Iron Man #46
Here is the first appearance of the Guardsman (see Toy Biz's
"Techno
Wars" assortment of Spider-Man action figures. They at
least picked the right colors). Originally the armor was created
by Tony Stark to be worn by his friend and confidant, Kevin O'Brien,
giving Iron Man a much-needed rest. Unfortunately, Kevin became
extremely jealous of Stark's relationship with a girl named Marriane
Rogers, believing Stark had stolen his girl. Also unfortunately,
as Tony Stark mused in issue #97, the Guardsman "armor acts
adversely on already unsettled minds." And that's just what
happened to Kevin, who died in battle wearing the unit.
Invincible Iron Man #68
 There's
a warm spot in my heart for this short-lived addition to the classic
late 60s-70s Iron Man: The Nose. Sure, most of fandom considers
the nose to be Iron Man's goofiest addition and was glad to see
it gone by issue 85, but that Mego doll WAS Iron Man to my young
self. It was the best and most memorable present I ever got from
my grandmother. And the Nose made the (Iron) Man! Some of his greatest
adventures were had putting an end to the evil schemes of the Riddler
and Mr. Mxyzptlk using his borrowed Batmobile! Maybe someday those
epic tales will be presented in the comic book.
Anyway, for those of you in the "goofiest addition" camp,
there were VERY IMPORTANT reasons for the addition of the schnozz.
In issue 68's Iron adventure, the Mandarin fires a missile at Iron
Man from his underwater sub, cracking our hero's plexiglass eye
and mouth shields. He realizes that the shields won't withstand
the pressure, so he surfaces and spends the last page of the comic
dramatically creating his new helmet before diving back underwater
after the Mandarin.
As the cover promises, here is "The shocking secret of Iron
Man's new mask." On the last page, Tony says he'll put into
the new helmet "the latest in integrated circuitry. I'll be
able to translate my brain waves into usable electricity…so
that I can mentally command my suit's equipment and weaponry! And
this time I've fashioned increase-strength plexiglass-like eye-and-mouth
shields that will withstand the deepest ocean -- and I'll finish
the armor's changes with a slightly modified appearance…to
allow a bit more expression to show -- and so perhaps increase the
fearsome aspects of my character to those who oppose me!"
As you can see, the nose was intended to strike fear into the hearts
of criminals, that superstitious lot! This proves that Iron Man
must have hung out with Batman between panels and was allowed to
take the Batmobile out for a spin on occasions.
 Invincible
Iron Man #77
A cool Gil Kane cover during "The War of the Super Villains"
series… and the first Iron Man comic I ever purchased. It seems
that over the past issues, super villains had been duking it out
in the Black Lama's contest to win some golden globe of power. At
the end of this issue, the globe is "won" by Firebrand,
Stark's girlfriend's misguided brother, and he is transported through
a dimensional warp to the Black Lama's world. Before it closes,
Iron Man jumps in after him, swearing to bring back Firebrand with
him "…or die trying!" The reader then dies waiting
through the next two fill-in issues before the story picks up again
in issue 80, ending in 81.
 Invincible
Iron Man #82
Another cool Gil Kane cover (humor me) and the second Iron Man
comic I ever purchased. Stark's friend and chauffeur, Happy Hogan,
is once again wearing the armor so that Iron Man and Tony Stark
can be in the same place at the same time. And, for the interior
art, great metal-looking armor by one of my favorites, Herb Trimpe,
the book's George Tuska fill-in artist of the decade.
Invincible Iron Man #85
 Happy
Hogan is, once again, injured while having to perform super-heroic
services as Iron Man in issue 82. In issue 84, Stark's experimental
medical device, the "Enervator," is used, once again turning
Hogan into the monstrous "Freak." In issue 85 Tony needs
a new suit of armor to replace his battle-damaged armor. The new
armor chestplate with iron briefs "feels just like cloth"
in its depolarized state. And now, no more clunky, armor-carrying
briefcase that can often be just out of reach when needed. "But
now, by clenching my fists in a prearranged manner…I set off
a pair of ultra-sonic signals in my rather "special" I.D.
bracelet and wristwatch - which in turn activates the polarization
unit in my chest-beam…causing the shoulder and collar rings
to spring into three-dimensional form…and bringing about a
downward slide of golden sleeves and leggings. Then "memory"
circuits expand the cuffs of the gloves and boots as they reach
my forearms and calves, fully encasing my hands and feet…while
the mask slides over my head from behind. And, best of all, the
entire change takes mere microseconds…," says Tony.
To be fair, the editor's note admits that this particular armor
change was slowed down just once so that readers could take in the
specifics of the new armor-changing process.
Also, Iron Man states that the armor contains all of the weaponry
but is slightly more vulnerable. "Sniff!" And Tony says
that "in order for the mask to retain its symmetry, the nose
had to go…but somehow I don't think I'll miss it."
 Invincible
Iron Man #92
The Mysterious Melter destroys Tony's sonic-signal expanding
armor (the
bastard!) so it's back to the attache case (as seen again in issue
95) and the old non-polarizing armor. PS - The Golden Armor on
the cover is a robot controlled by Iron Man to psyche out his
old foe.
 Invincible
Iron Man #97
The Guardsman is back, but this time he is Michael O'Brien,
Kevin's brother. He feels that Stark stole his brother's girl and
murdered him. Soon after, Michael realizes that the armor truly
was driving him crazy as well. He then learns Stark's secret when
Iron Man saves him from the Mandarin and realizes that Stark isn't
the bad guy he thought he was and heads back to rethink his wasted
years. Stark will soon fix his Guardsman armor and he will become
one of the head guards of The Vault (jail for incorrigible super-villains).
 Invincible
Iron Man #100
Iron Man takes on the Mandarin and destroys his rings (until
next time!). Just had to include this for the great Jim Starlin
anniversary issue cover. I just wish he hadn't moved the chest bolts
down and made them look like nipples.
 Invincible
Iron Man #126
Lead in to the following issue where Iron Man takes down evil
corporate rival Justin Hammer and his super-villain goon squad.
Well into the Michelinie/Romita Jr./Layton run on the golden avenger.
This classic cover shows off Layton's shiny armor technique and
how he (or John Byrne) added the segments all the way down the hand
and fingers of the glove that were first seen in issue 118.
 Iron
Man #142
In this issue, the Michelinie/Romita Jr./Layton team introduces
a fantastic concept to the series: Tony Stark's "special purpose
prototype armor." Unlike the other heroes (think Batman action
figure line), Iron Man actually does have different armored suits
for different occasions. In this issue, Tony picks out prototype
armor "# 14C," designed to operate for extended periods
of time outside of earth's atmosphere. Of course, you have to add
a bit of tension any time he uses prototype armor by having Tony
specify that the armor has "never been fully field tested…until
now." Stark uses this armor to help S.H.I.E.L.D. discover who
microwaved a whole town. He traces the radiation source to a ROXXON
(another amoral corporation out to do in Stark Industries) satellite
and super-villain, Sunturian, the man transformed into microwaves.
 Invincible
Iron Man #152
Another Michelinie/Romita Jr./Layton prototype armor is introduced:
the stealth armor. The armor is black (or black and blue as printed
in the comic to give it definition), and contains a "wave modifier"
that bends radar waves around it, making Iron Man electronically
invisible. The armor's boot jet sound is "dampened by advanced
microbaffles." The armor also has a sonic scanner that, in
this episode, allows him to get digital images of an East German
(still a bunch of commies back then) top secret research facility's
interior from the outside. Unfortunately, to add all of the "detection
and evasion components" required removing all of the active
weaponry, including IM's repulsor rays. This made for a really tough
"field test" since he had to take on the facility's defense
drones with his boot jets.
 Invincible
Iron Man #169
Though I'm a big fan of Denny O'Neil's Batman stories, I was
really disappointed with his treatment of Iron Man. Stark's battle
with alcoholism culminated in Michelinie/Romita Jr./Layton's "Demon
in a Bottle" story in issue 128. O'Neil thought the wrapup
was too quick and felt it necessary to drag our hero back to the
bottle to the point of him losing his company and becoming a wandering
drunk. Whereas Michelinie's Stark was himself whether he was wearing
the armor or not, O'Neil decided that, like Batman, Stark and Iron
Man should be two different personnas (see issue 158). As you can
tell, I'm not a big fan of this run (except for a thumb's up to
Yoe Studio's Luke McDonnell, artist of a good portion of O'Neil's
run, currently drawing Big Boy Comics). In this issue, Magma gets
the better of Iron Man and continues to trash Stark Industries.
James "Rhodey" Rhodes then peels the Iron Man armor off
of a stinking drunk Stark and begins to put it on.
 Invincible
Iron Man #170
In this issue, Rhodey puts on the helmet, fully encasing himself
in the famous armor, and finishes off Magma. After the battle, and
after Stark has cleaned himself up, he tells Rhodey to hang onto
the armor for awhile, saying "anybody who wears the armor is
Iron Man," and then goes out for a drink. Again, not what Michelinie's
Stark would have ever said. A now humorless Rhodey remains as Iron
Man for about a two-year period.
 The
All New Iron Man #174
In the previous issue, Stark the drunk loses his company to
Obadiah Stane and the name is changed from Stark International to
Stane International. Now, Stane demands the Iron Man armor as part
of Stark International's assets. Rhodey keeps the armor, saying
that the question of ownership will be decided by the courts and
that he'll hang onto it until then. Most of Stark's key employees
resign. The race is now between Rhodes, Stane and S.H.I.E.L.D. to
get to Tony Stark's hidden lab and Iron Man's previous model and
prototype suits first. Rhodey and scientist Morley Erwin arrive
first and attach remote control units to the remaining armor. Then
Rhodey guides them into the ocean to dispose of them. In the issue,
Nick Fury of S.H.I.E.L.D. states that "There are eleven suits
of armor an' I want 'em," though the cover shows twelve. Maybe
he's allowing Iron Man his most recent suit. Six of the twelve armor
suits are identifiable. They include the grey suit, the gold suit,
the "horned faceplate" armor, the 60s-early 80s classic
suit, the classic nose-mask suit, and the stealth armor. One of
the suits looks like the space armor with the wrong mask, another
looks like a second suit of the classic armor and another looks
like the classic armor with a horned mask. The remaining three look
like doodled-up variations on the classic armor. Wonder if there
specialty function was ever considered?
In the following issue, since Nick Fury is diving for the armored
suits to claim them as salvage, Iron Man dives underwater to take
on Krang and his undersea army and destroy the remaining suits.
By the issue's end there is only one suit of Iron Man armor remaining:
the classic model.
Iron Man #182
Tony Stark, homeless drunk on the street, helps a homeless woman
deliver her baby in a car in sub-zero weather. The woman dies and
Stark ends up in the hospital from exposure, but the baby is alive.
This inspires Stark to once again take steps toward sobriety. Meanwhile,
Jim Rhodes has come back from the Secret Wars mini series with some
alien armor refinements that aren't
functioning correctly here due to earth's differing magnetic
field or just plain different laws of physics. By the following
issue, Rhodey has removed the attachments and had non-functioning
gauntlets made.
 Iron
Man #191
In this issue, Stark debuts a new gray suit of armor. Since
Stark headed to California with Rhodey, Morley Erwin and sister,
Clytemnestra, to start Circuits Maximus, Rhodey has been getting
stress headaches. He has been angry, assuming that Stark wants to
take the armor back and jealous that Stark understands its workings.
The two duke it out in the next issue and in the following, Stark
tells Rhodey to keep the armor that he has earned. Stark is "not
sure" if he really wants to be Iron Man again, but in the following
issues, both appear as Iron Man.
 Iron
Man #200
Last issue, Stark's old friends were being kidnapped and Circuits
Maximus was blown up, killing Morley Erwin and breaking Rhodey's
leg. It was the work of Obadiah Stane. Stark, with a mad-on, puts
on the new armor he had been tinkering with to take Stane down.
Stane also is wearing his new Iron Monger armor (designed using
one of Stark's discovered notebooks). This latest Iron Man armor
is red and silver, so the Golden Avenger nickname doesn't apply
again until issue 231. The reason the action-figure version of this
armor is called the Hologram Armor Iron Man is probably because
that is the first of the armor's new features illustrated in the
comic. Stealth features are added into this new armor making it
invisible to radar, and the armor's chameleon effect uses a hologram
projector to make the armor blend in with the surrounding sky and
clouds.
Other features include the armor's ability to absorb and return
any form of energy and its ability to fire pulse bolts, which get
stronger the farther they travel. Mark Bright comes on board as
penciller.
 Iron
Man #215
Both new and old armor are featured as Stark and Rhodes head
into space to take on the evils of Advanced Idea Mechanics (A.I.M.)
at Stark's new satellite. Unfortunately, Rhodey's armor malfunctions
and he is gets burned during re-entry. After this, Rhodey will not
put on the armor again (…or, actually, just for a long, long
time). Micheline and Layton are back for a second run on the title.
Great stuff!
 Iron
Man #218
Here is the first appearance of Iron Man's "deep sea armor"
or, in action figure talk, "Hydro Armor." Tony uses it
to beat the Russians to some canisters of "the strongest death
gas we've ever devised." Tony has been busy since all of his
prototype suits were sent swimming and then blown up in issue 174-175.
As he says in the issue, "My regular Iron Man suit can go underwater
- but not for miles, or stay down for hours!" Some of the armor's
"subaqua defense mechanisms" include its ability to provide
an electric eel-style shock, produce an octopus-inspired ink screen,
or fire mini-torpedoes. But if he's bored with the new, he can always
fall back on the old repulsor rays included in this model. The armor
also has a powerful halogen lamp beam and the boots contain "aquatic
propulsion jets." Also, the armor has a smaller inner suit
that can come out of the top of the larger outer shell. The inner
suit can withstand the pressure of the deep for only a few minutes.
Wouldn't it have been easier to just go back to the classic armor
with the nose mask?
 Iron
Man #219
Iron Man takes on the high tech industrial saboteur, The Ghost.
The only
reason I'm showing this is it is a good shot of the back of this
model
armor. This is one of the few models with its own "backpack."
The Secret Wars modification is the other "backpack" attachment
that comes to mind.
 Iron
Man #229
This issue takes place during the Armor Wars series. Stark discovered
that parts of his Iron Man technology had been stolen by the Spy
Master for Justin Hammer. Hammer then incorporated the technology
into the suits of many super-villains (and some good guys). In this
series, Iron Man hunts down and destroys this unauthorized armor.
This time he uses the stealth armor to head to the U.S.S.R. to take
out the armor of the Crimson Dynamo and Titanium Man using his recreated
stealth armor. Though the armor looks the same as the armor in issue
152, it has a few added features. In this issue, the stealth armor
turns white against the snow. Iron Man describes this stealth module
by saying that it "alters the way the (armor's) surface reflects
light." Also, Stark was smart enough to include the repulsor
rays in this model.
 Iron
Man #231
Here's a great front view of this model armor by Bob Layton.
Iron Man takes on the Mandarin in this and the following issue.
But more importantly, issue 243 ends with Tony Stark being shot
through the chest by Kathy Dare, his own personal stalker. With
his spinal cord severed, Stark is confined to a wheelchair and we
are told that "Tony Stark will never walk again." In following
issues he spends more and more of the time in his cybernetically
controlled armor, which allows him to walk. In issue 248 an experimental
bio chip is implanted in Tony's back. It is an organic computer
that "instructs" the cells to repair Stark's damaged spinal
cord. By the end of the issue Stark is walking again. This is the
armor featured in the Marvel Super-heroes "Quick Change Armor"
Iron Man. The figure could have used the extra yellow paint on the
chest plate and Stark wasn't sculpted with his late 1980s perm.
 Iron
Man #256
John Romita Jr. returns as artist and writer John Byrne joins
him two issues later. Over the course of J.R. Jr.'s run, he bulks
up and squares off the armor a little more. At first I would consider
it just a stylistic difference…
 Iron
Man #264
…but by the end of his run, Iron Man's boots have been
modified. Previously, the boots were much more like the action figure's,
with the foot extending below the separate iron calf-piece "leg
warmer." Now, as you'll notice on the cover, the boots are
super-bulky and one piece. I really like the "Mega Man"
boots, myself. Also of note, this is the penultimate chapter in
the Armor Wars II storyline. This sequel has absolutely nothing
to do with the original Armor Wars and I can't even figure out why
the title was chosen. In the story, it turns out that Stark's bio
chip created nervous system can be controlled by unscrupulous scientists
from the Marrs Corporation. Several times throughout the series
they take over Stark's body. Stark imprisons his body in his cybernetically
controlled armor, mentally guiding his Iron shell and keeping his
body in check until he can find the bad guys. Also something to
note: Iron Man's nervous system is pretty beat up by the end of
this issue.
 Iron
Man #269
Stark's nervous system is pretty much shot by now and the only
thing keeping him on his feet, and blocking any control signals
coming from outside of his body, is an "exo-sheath neuro-net"
(also referred to as an "electro-web exo-suit" and a "bio-electric
mesh"). This suit is said to
keep Tony's "heart and lungs functioning - and the rest of
(his) nervous system doing its proper job." This is his
full body, silver circuit suit that he keeps hidden with a layer
of "pseudo-skin." This is the same silver suit that the
Tony Stark action figure is wearing, though he never wears it with
only his mask and boots.
 Iron
Man #278
These are the Iron Man chapters of the 19 chapter Operation:
Galactic Storm series that ran through Iron Man, The Avengers and
Avengers character books. The series had the Avengers caught in
between the warring alien Kree race and the Shi'ar. Iron Man's new
space armor appears in these issues...
 Iron
Man #279
... It is minimally modified from Iron Man's standard suit,
the primary differences being a mouthless and more bulky helmet,
backpack and belt. With the exception of the helmet, this armor
is pretty close to the space armor of the action figure. The beginning
of a very inventive run by writer Len Kaminski, with artist Kevin
Hopgood beginning his run with issue 280.
 Iron
Man #281
The Masters of Silence featured in this issue and the following
three are most-likely the inspiration for the Samurai Iron Man action
figure. These high-tech samurai-ninjas have actually taken on the
task of hunting down and killing Tony Stark, whom they feel is "without
honor." A nuclear plant failure in Japan is linked to faulty
parts provided by Stark Enterprises and the Masters are seeking
vengeance. After an initial battle, they discover that the parts
were actually purchased when Stark International was Stane International
and that the parts were supplied by Justin Hammer's company. Iron
Man then joins the Masters in taking the battle to Hammer.
 Iron
Man #290
Tony Stark is awakened from his cryogenic sleep, having mentally
rewritten the code for his own digital nervous system. The only
bad part is Stark will have to relearn all of his basic functions,
and is currently paralyzed from the neck down. But "bed rest"
won't keep Stark from heeding any calls for the Golden Avenger.
Stark's new Iron Man armor is a vast improvement over his previous
remote telepresense unit. The previous unit had a slight delay between
the user's thoughts and the armor's actions (as seen during Iron
Man's battle with the Mandarin's dragon "allies," chronicled
by John Byrne from issues 270-275). The latest model, the NTU-150
(Neuromimetic Telepresence Unit) does not since data is transmitted
through a subspace link. This model is also loaded with War Machine-like
shoulder weaponry that rises up out of the armor.
Stark is able to control this unwearable armor from his bed with
the User Interface Headset. This headset is plugged into a "neural
port" behind Tony's right ear. This allows for the armor's
visual, aural and some tactile information to be received, processed
and responded to just as if the armor were a part of Stark's own
body. Also, just like his body, if the armor is damaged to any large
degree, Stark "feels" it, with "mortal damage"
resulting in "fatal neural feedback." Personally, I like
to think of this as the third "mouthless" armor (the first
and second being the two space armor models).
 Iron
Man #291
The cover of this issue made for a great necktie (with either
black or maroon background), one of the Iron Man items available
that I never thought I'd see. In this issue Stark and Rhodes begin
the slow process of reconciliation. Rhodey was pretty peeved to
find Stark alive at the end of issue 289, having not been let in
on Stark's cryogenic freeze and digital self-reconstruction plan.
Still, before the end of the issue, Stark refers to the armor as
the "War Machine armor" and personally gives it to Rhodey.
Rhodey then puts a call in to the West Coast Avengers, probably
to discuss his change in title from Iron Man to War Machine.
 Iron
Man #292
The Iron Man comic has been the inspiration for most of the
figures that have shown up in the Toy Biz line, and elsewhere since
its debut in 1963. But there have been far more armors worn by Iron
Man than have been made into action figures. Here is a quick run-down
of all the major armor variations that have made appearances through
Iron Man's life in the funny books.
 Iron
Man #300
"Mouthless" model number 4 appears in this issue.
This is the model that the Marvel Action Hour Iron Man (cartoon
and action figure) is based upon, except that they decided to add
back the mouth slit. As far as the plot of this issue and the why
of this new armor, in the previous issue Tony was trounced by an
improved Ultimo, the giant, humanoid Doomsday machine. Ultimo rips
apart the NTU-150 and the resultant neuro feedback puts Stark out
of commission. Rhodey then pulls together a group of Stark's friends
who all share Stark's secret. He then fits each of them into Stark's
old Iron Man suits and leads them as War Machine against Ultimo.
The group is called the "Iron Legion."
The Legion includes the grey armor (from issue 191), the horned
faceplate suit (miscolored), the classic late 60s to early 80s suit,
the red and silver armor and the 1988 red and gold armor that immediately
followed the red and silver (issues 231-281). Funny thing is, Stark
must have been feeling pretty nostalgic in wanting to recreate some
of these suits or else he had an ultra-secret stash. This has never
been explained. The horned faceplate armor was destroyed in issue
175 along with all previous armor. Only one classic suit survived.
The red and silver armor was blown up in issue 230. As for the 1988
red and gold armor, the telepresence unit was destroyed so I assume
Tony still had a separate, wearable suit.
Back to the plot, the Iron Legion gets trounced. Stark recovers
and is able to get out of his wheelchair ("I got better.")
to put on this new armor. This armor was fabricated from Stark's
design by HOMER (Heuristically Operative Matrix Emulation Rostrum),
the computer artificial intelligence that Stark created for Stark
Enterprises. Here's how Tony describes this latest suit: "It
was time to rethink the basic design paradigm. So, instead of a
single integrated suit…a modular component system - which can
be reconfigured by swapping out sub-systems like the boots, gloves
or helmets…and with plug-in points for auxiliary systems chosen
according to specific mission needs. In today's case, a full spectrum
scanalyzer - a magnetic railgun launcher (both attached to the forearms
and explain the action figure accessories) … and a half-dozen
compact utility modules (attached to upper legs)."
Suffice it to say, Stark arrives in the new armor to take out Ultimo
and save the day.
 Iron
Man #304
The Hulkbuster armor
is introduced at the end of this issue for the next issue's confrontation
with the emerald giant. The armor is actually made up of modular
parts that connect to the standard "mouthless" armor.
Stark built the armor planning for a worst-case-scenario battle
with the Hulk, not knowing that Stark Enterprises would be involved
in a situation necessitating its usage. It turns out that Stane
International built a plant to manufacture Gamma Bombs (the same
bombs that created the Hulk). Stark got back all of the facilities
he lost to Stane years ago, but now in the "Crash and Burn"
series he's uncovering the extent of what Stane was involved in,
a chunk of which is now tarnishing Stark Enterprises' reputation.
Of course, word of the Gamma Bombs in the news was sure to draw
the Hulk to the facility. After fighting a few rounds with the Hulk,
the two work together to dismantle the plant. My favorite line in
issue 305 is when the Hulk comments on Iron Man's Hulkbuster armor,
saying "Something I've always wondered: which do you design
first, the specialty armors - or the action figures?" The line
was penned by writer Len Kaminski, who most likely would have been
involved with the changes in the Iron Man comic to echo the new
cartoon and action figure line. For example, the other heroes in
the Iron Man cartoon were pulled together into their own team comic,
"Force Works," a group funded and lead by Iron Man after
Iron Man voted to disband the West Coast Avengers and that book
was cancelled. Can't help but wonder whether the cartoon and action
figure line were driving the comic book at this time. Would we ever
have seen a "Firefighter Iron Man" in the comic if the
cartoon/action figure line continued?
 Iron
Man #317
With the Cold War ended, Stark Enterprises opens a factory in
Russia. This doesn't sit right with Iron Man's old Russian foe,
the Titanium Man, who wants to tear the factory down (issues 315-317).
Iron Man fights side-by-side with the Black Widow and the newly
armored Crimson Dynamo. The Dynamo's new armor is similar to the
action figure armor. Unfortunately, the Dynamo breaks a leg while
trying to dissuade the Titanium Man from his course of action. To
help the Russians save face (since it would look pretty bad for
Russia's previous long-time enemy, Iron Man, to take down their
hometown hero, the Titanium Man), Tony dons the armor of the Crimson
Dynamo to do the deed. Another fun Len Kaminski series with art
by Tom Morgan (the Iron Man Annual artist who finally graduated
to a run on the book).
 Iron
Man #318
Don't ask me. It looks
like some kind of Arctic armor appears at the end of this issue,
but it doesn't look at all like the action figure. At the end
of the issue, Iron Man flies up north to what looks like a secret
"Fortress of Solitude"-type lair in the mountains. This
is the last of the Len Kaminski stories and looks to be a set-up
for the next issue.
 Iron
Man #319
My guess is that Stark built this new, menacing looking, "rivet
face" armor in his "Fortress of Solitude" between
issues. This is the beginning of a perfectly lousy series of "events."
Either the editors of the Avengers line of books needed an "event"
to boost sales or thought they'd just throw everything against a
wall knowing that the Avengers line of books was going to be rebooted
anyway after the Onslaught. The Onslaught event, occurring during
issue 332, throws all of the Avengers heroes into another universe
and into the Heroes Reborn event. I really don't know how far in
advance this group was thinking, but it made for a pretty lousy
few years of the book. Once again a writer change is made and it
feels as if we are reading a totally different Tony Stark. Character,
in this case, was secondary to the contrived "event" plot.
Anyway, lets get back to the "event" started in this issue,
that would continue to run through Avengers, War Machine and Force
Works. It turns out that Iron Man is discovered as a traitor and
murderer who has been controlled by the evil time traveler, Kang,
since who-knows-when. This series runs for many months until issue
325…
Invincible Iron Man #325
…when a younger version of Tony Stark is brought forward
through time, from an alternate timeline, to help defeat his Kang-corrupted
later self. The cover shows kid Stark as Iron Man in all of his
new fin-headed glory taking on the corrupted Iron Man. Inside this
issue, the evil Iron Man punches a hole through kid Stark, destroying
his heart and the fin-headed armor. By the series end in the next
issue of the Avengers, evil Iron Man is killed while foiling Kang's
plan, supposedly redeeming himself. Young Stark is given an artificial
heart by Don Blake in the following "Age of Innocence"
special and begins his short-lived run as the Golden Avenger in
the following issue of Iron Man. Initially, kid Stark only has iron,
repulsor ray-shooting gauntlets powered by the chestplate that he
must wear to keep his artificial heart beating. It will be a while
before he can put together a full suit of armor, even though the
cover of issue 326 shows him wearing the evil Iron Man rivet face
suit.
 Invincible
Iron Man #328
A terrible series deserves terrible inconsistencies. Kid Stark
completes his armor by this issue, but for some reason the chestplate
shown in issue 327, on the cover of this issue and on the full suit
of armor shown on the following issue's cover has the Omnibeam (the
round yellow thingie) to the right of center. At
all other times the Omnibeam is in the center of the chestplate.
Also, there is no consistency in the treatment of the gauntlets.
Additionally, the circular power pods, elbow pads, circles on the
boot cuffs and on the stomach are lost by the following issue.
 Invincible
Iron Man #329
The Iron Man comic has been the inspiration for most of the
figures that have shown up in the Toy Biz line, and elsewhere since
its debut in 1963. But there have been far more armors worn by Iron
Man than have been made into action figures. Here is a quick run-down
of all the major armor variations that have made appearances through
Iron Man's life in the funny books.
 Invincible
Iron Man #330
The Iron Man comic has been the inspiration for most of the
figures that have shown up in the Toy Biz line, and elsewhere since
its debut in 1963. But there have been far more armors worn by Iron
Man than have been made into action figures. Here is a quick run-down
of all the major armor variations that have made appearances through
Iron Man's life in the funny books.
 Invincible
Iron Man #331
To be frank, each artist seems to be tweaking and doing their
own thing with the armor. These "metal underwear cuffs"
at the top of the legs do not appear in issue 328, are there in
329, are off again in 330, back in 331 and hang around for kid Stark's
last appearance in this title in issue 332 (the last issue of Volume
1).
Iron Man v.2 #1
Marvel goes Image with this "event." The Heroes Reborn
took Iron Man, the Avengers, Captain America and the Fantastic Four
and started them over in an alternate universe. In this universe,
Tony Stark is a creep but he gets a goatee, the only change that
remains when the heroes return. Image artists Jim Lee and Rob Liefeld
were given these four titles to help boost their sales. I'm sure
Volume 2 would have continued on if the event were a success. The
Jim Lee studio artist, Whilce Portacio, couldn't draw an attractive,
in-proportion person to save his life. He also avoided backgrounds
like the plague.
 Invincible
Iron Man v.3 #1
Finally, the heroes return to the classic Marvel Universe and
the Iron murderer/kid Stark fiasco is forgotten. With this issue,
Marvel brought in a solid storyteller and a storyteller artist.
Kurt Busiek (later with the help of Roger Stern) and Sean Chen had
a fun run on this book. No spectacular concepts introduced, but
good, fun superheroics. Also, the armor stayed the same for their
25 issue run. I've heard somewhere that this armor was supposed
to be more "knight-like." I'd love to see an action figure
of this suit, especially if it has the light up helmet and gauntlet
features that were introduced with this armor.
 Iron
Man Tribute
This special Wizard issue occurs right after Iron Man #25. Joe
Quesada becomes Editor in Chief at Marvel and begins to add some
interesting concepts into the book. He also does some really powerful
cover illustration, as you can see! With partner Frank Tieri, Joe
had the armor become sentient. Eventually, we discover that this
was part of Ultron's (a really evil sentient robot, for those who
don't know) plan to replicate himself. Still, the armor destroys
itself in creating an artificial heart to save Stark in issue 30.
After this, Stark, paranoid about accidentally creating another
sentient armor, goes back to the old technology, wearing his classic
armor for a while (through issue 41).
 Invincible
Iron Man v.3 #44
Over the course of the last two issues, Iron
Man begins working with Askew Laboratories to incorporate their
SKIN technology into his latest armor. The SKIN is described as
"liquid metal circuitry that shapes the object it is forming
around into a nearly admantium-hard shell." This
liquid metal flows out of the "Omnibeam" that is placed
on the chest, until it covers the wearer in its pre-programmed
way. Accessories with weaponry (gloves, boots, chestplate,
helmet, etc.) are put on afterwards.
 Invincible
Iron Man v.3 #50
Here's a look at the latest armor design by penciller
Michael Ryan as writer Mike Grell takes a stab at the Golden Avenger's
adventures in 2002.
 Essential
Iron Man #1
If you want to read all of Iron Man's early adventures, Marvel
has recently started reprinting 20 issues at a time in cheap, black
& white volumes. These are the easiest way to read those hard
to find super expensive mags! Click on the link above to go to Amazon's
page selling this book.
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