10 Things You Didn't Know About Iron Man
It's hard to imagine a world without Iron Man now. Since Iron Man came out in 2008, in which Tony Stark was portrayed perfectly by Robert Downey Jr. (so perfectly in fact that it's been difficult at times to tell the difference between the actor and the character), he has gone on to become something of a mascot for the MCU. Not only has the character had his own trilogy, but he has also shown up in the Avengers team ups as well as other characters' films in a supportive role. Surprisingly, the character hasn't always been as popular, with most people only knowing the film version. So today, we are going to look at 10 things you didn't know about Iron Man:
10. Drinking Problem
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Starting us off at number 10 is a fact that is almost completely missing from the MCU version of the character we know and love. Tony Stark suffers terribly from an alcohol problem throughout the Marvel comics, starting from when he is very young. One of the most well known examples of this comes from the nine-issue story arc "Demon in a Bottle" from 1979. Often referred to as the quintessential Iron Man story, it delves deep into Stark's drinking and shows the character at one of his lowest points. Jon Favreau has gone on record to state that the party scene from Iron Man 2, where Tony gets drunk and starts getting guests to throw things for him to shoot with the suit, was the closest he would ever get to replicating the storyline from this arc. What's also interesting is, Robert Downey Jr himself also struggled with alcohol addiction early in his life, making him somewhat of a kindred spirit with Tony and further cementing their relationship.
9. His Relationship With Jarvis
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Another difference between the MCU and comic version of the character is his relationship with a character named Jarvis. In the MCU, J.A.R.V.I.S. is Tony's AI assistant, voiced by Paul Bettany, whose code is embedded into his suits, allowing him to aid Tony. In later films, his intelligence is used to form part of the Vision's personality. In the comics, however, Jarvis is a real human being. His full name is Edwin Jarvis and he is the Stark family butler who helps take care of Tony following the death of his parents when he is still young. The butler Edwin Jarvis serves Tony's father Howard Stark in the TV series Agent Carter portrayed by D'Arcy, who reprises the role in Avengers: Endgame, still serving Howard around the time that he is expecting his soon to be born son Tony.
8. Brains Of The Operation
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A big problem with Tony's personality, shown both in the comics and the MCU, is his arrogance. He constantly views himself as the smartest man in the room, which has caused various issues and tensions between him and other characters. However, there is a fairly good reason for this. According to his backstory, Stark enters MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) at the very young age of 15 and graduates just two years later with a Master's degree in chemical engineering.
7. He Owns Area 51
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In the real world, Area 51 is a highly classified United States Air Force facility located within the Nevada desert, which many people believe houses various secrets such as proof of aliens and a real spaceship. In the Marvel Universe, it is the same place, but Tony actually owns the base. In a small throwaway line from Avengers #19, Tony mentions he purchased the property after the government secretly put it up for sale. He goes on to use the base as a safehouse to hide the Reality Gem of the Infinity Gauntlet.
6. He Was Once Head Of S.H.I.E.L.D
During the years 2006 and 2007, Marvel released a series of comic books covering the Civil War storyline. This saw a chain of multiple events leading to the Avengers splitting up with some following Captain America and some remaining with Iron Man. Elements of this storyline were taken for Captain America: Civil War, but with different characters and circumstances causing the rift between the two. In the comics version, following the events of the storyline, Stark is promoted to Director of S.H.I.E.L.D and Maria Hill is demoted to Deputy Director.
5. The Avengers Mascot
As mentioned previously, Iron Man has pretty much become the unofficial mascot of the MCU. However, the same could actually be said about the comic book version of the character as well. There have been lots of different Avengers teams throughout the years, and Stark has been part of most of them. Along with being part of the original team, he is also part of the West Coast Avengers, New Avengers, Mighty Avengers, and Force Works (a team he starts after the West Coast Avengers disbands).
4. Not All Alterations Were Successful
The Iron Man suit has gone through a lot of changes and upgrades since the character first appeared, again something covered in the MCU with all the suits we see Tony develop throughout the franchise. However, in the comic book world, not all alterations hit right. Reportedly, back in 1974, Stan Lee saw a drawing of Iron Man and asked the illustrator why there was no nose on the helmet. Based on who he was, the illustrator apparently said nothing and began adding a nose to the helmet, which stayed on for a few illustrations. Thankfully, Lee realized it looked weird and had it removed. Around this time, a version of the suit was created to include retractable jet powered roller blades which could reach speeds of up to 60mph. It looked cool, but it too was later scrapped.
3. He Held Another High Ranking Government Position
Not only is Stark promoted to Director of S.H.I.E.L.D during his comic book tenure, but he is also brought in as Secretary of Defense for the United States by the President, albeit out of necessity.
The government tries to recreate his tech and suits, but they are not very good at it and nearly blow up Washington. Stark is brought in to lend a hand and oversee the whole operation, which does make perfect sense, to be fair.
2. Suffers Brain Damage To Protect The Team
During the events of the "World's Most Wanted" storyline set after the Skrulls invade Earth and destroy all Starktech, Norman Osborn a.k.a The Green Goblin, manages to manipulate events to make himself head of H.A.M.M.E.R. (the new version S.H.I.E.L.D.) and tries to find out all secret identities of superheroes. Thanks to Stark, the only place this knowledge exists is within his own head. So to prevent Osborn from getting the information, Tony travels the world to try and wipe out his mental database and even goes as far as to give himself brain damage. He is eventually caught by Osborn, who wears his Iron Patriot armor, and is savagely beaten.
1. He Was Based On A Real Person
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Finally, Stan Lee has often stated the character of Tony Stark was inspired by real life millionaire, playboy, philanthropist Howard Hughes. (Stark even describes himself as this in The Avengers from 2012). Hughes was known during his lifetime as one of the most financially successful individuals in the world and also for his eccentric behavior and reclusive lifestyle in his later years. Lee decided he wanted to create a character similar and to be fair, he was pretty on the money. The persona of Hughes was also emulated via the character Howard Stark, father to Tony, in Captain America: The First Avenger, when he is showing his inventions and is even shown to share the real Howard's reputation as a womanizer throughout his appearances in Agent Carter.
So there you have it, 10 things you didn't know about Iron Man. Do you know any others?
Until next time!