You guys might remember that article we ran a couple weeks ago about a “real life Iron Man” - - a Canadian inventor who created an armor to fight a grizzly bear one-on-one. If there’s a “real life” Iron Man, it only figures that there’d be a “real life” War Machine, right? Popular Science just recently ran an article about Anthony Le, a fitness consultant who channeled his inner “Rhodey” Rhodes and built the suit you see to the right.
How long did it take him to build this thing? One month.
How much did it cost? Four grand.
That’s right. Le says he spent four thousand on this dent-proof creation that has a working retractable faceplate on its helmet, LED's for its eyes and core and a motorized “gattling gun." Judging by the talkbacks , there seems to be some controversy about the suit’s creation. I couldn’t care less about the “how’s” - - I’m just looking at the result and it really is an impressive creation. He’s apparently also made similar suits for Iron Man’s Mark III and suit-case armors.
You know, there are a lot of fans who poo poo cosplayers - - they roll their eyes and wish they’d go away from conventions. I really don’t get where that kind of sentiment comes from, myself. While I don’t think I’d ever make or wear a costume, I certainly enjoy and appreciate seeing such displays of creativity and craft (and I don’t think artistic pursuits should ever be discouraged.) On an even more basic level, being surrounded by all these larger-than-life characters is part of what really makes a con more of an experience, for me. It’s like stepping into another world. That’s why anybody reads comics in the first place, isn’t it?
-- Tom Pinchuk is the writer of UNIMAGINABLE for Arcana Studios and HYBRID BASTARDS! for Archaia. Pre-order the HYBRID BASTARDS! hardcover now on Amazon.com.