Iron Man Images

The Ironman competition was first run in 1978 and quickly grew in popularity. ABC’s Wide World of Sports began covering the event, drawing attention to the sport and encouraging competitors. By the 1980s, the Ironman was a global phenomenon, and competitors sought to prove themselves as the best at all three disciplines—swimming 2.4 miles in the ocean off of Dig-Me Beach, biking 112 miles over black lava fields on Queen K Highway, and running 26.2 miles down the brutal Energy Lab hill.

The character Iron Man is a founding member of the superhero team known as the Avengers and has maintained a regular presence in Marvel comics and other popular media. He has also appeared in animated television shows and films, including a live-action film directed by Jon Favreau and starring Robert Downey Jr.

Despite his immense wealth and technical wizardry, Stark remains a complex character whose brilliance and charisma attract countless admirers, both real and imagined. Initially, the public and news media perceive him as a brash and arrogant corporate mascot, but over time, he becomes a hero who fights threats to his company (e.g., the Communists’ Black Widow and Crimson Dynamo) as well as independent villains like the Mandarin.

A shard of shrapnel lodged in his chest renders Stark unable to remove it without risking fatal injury. He develops a powerful new type of chestplate that uses repulsors to regulate his heartbeat. He then enlists his assistant, Dr. Tony Stark, to develop an improvised suit of armor to protect him from further harm. Stark calls the result “Iron Man.”

The armor is powered by a battery of high-tech tritium and lithium-ion cells that are housed in a titanium alloy frame, which makes the suits both lighter and more durable. The armaments in the suit are based on Stark’s research into advanced metals.

Over the years, the design of the Iron Man suits has evolved as technology advances. The original version, which debuted in Tales of Suspense #39 (March 1963), is credited to four people: writer Stan Lee, who plotted the story; his brother Larry Lieber, who wrote it; artist Don Heck and Jack Kirby, who drew the original illustration of the hero; and engineer James Rhodes, who designed the first iteration of the armor.

After the first movie was released in 2008, Marvel Studios and Paramount Pictures collaborated to release a sequel in 2010. The film was an enormous critical and commercial success, and RDJ proved himself adept at portraying Stark’s personality and brilliance. The success of the movie spawned an Iron Man comic book series written by Matt Fraction and illustrated by Salvador Larroca, as well as several direct-to-video animated films. Earlier, the Marvel characters had been portrayed in animated television programs such as The Marvel Super Heroes (1966) and Iron Man: Armored Adventures (2004–2006). In addition to his own franchise, the character has also made appearances in the comics The Ultimates and The Avengers, as well as the television series and direct-to-video movies of the same name.