Iron Man

Current Events

When the hammers for the Worthy fell in Fear Itself, Tony Stark went to investigate in Paris and was confronted by the Grey Gargoyle. Unable to defeat him, he retreated and met back with Steve and Thor to form a new plan. Tony then drank a bottle of wine to gain an audience with Odin. Odin granted his request to use the facilities of Svartalfheim to create Uru infused weaponry for the Avengers so they could make a last stand in Fear Itself. Tony Stark is currently being subpoenaed by the United States government so they can gain the biometric suit records that show him using the Iron Man weapon while intoxicated. These events are being orcestrated by the coalition of Ezekiel Stane and the Mandarin.

Origin

Iron Man's Original Armor

Anthony Edward "Tony" Stark was born in Long Island, New York, to Howard Anthony Stark and Maria Collins Carbonell Stark. In his youth, Tony Stark was a precociously intelligent young boy. When Tony was 7 he was sent to a boarding school, and during this experience he found people difficult to relate to. This was when he became fascinated by machines. By the age of 15 Tony had enrolled in MIT (The Massachusetts Institute of Technology) in Boston, Massachusetts. He graduated at the top of his class at age 19 with double masters in physics and engineering.

Stark Industries

Tony Stark

At the age of 21 his parents were tragically killed in a car accident. Afterwards, Tony inherited Stark Industries, an unparalleled mega-conglomerate that mostly manufactured weapons for the United States military. One of his first projects as the new CEO was to purchase the manufacturer who designed his parents car and have the faulty brake system, which was seemingly the cause of their deaths, redesigned in order to prevent any further incidents, thus saving lives. Unknown to Stark, the true architect of his parents' deaths was a business move by Republic Oil (later renamed Roxxon Oil). Lacking in business skills, Tony promoted secretary Pepper Potts to be his executive assistant and left the majority of his workload on her so that he could avoid what he saw as a burden.

During the Vietnam War (later retconned as the Gulf War, then later still as the war in Afghanistan), Stark was at one of his munitions plants testing new technology for the military when he was injured by his own land mine that lodged shrapnel near his heart. Tony was then captured by a local warlord named Wong-Chu (a lackey of the Mandarin) and forced under threat of death to create a doomsday weapon for him with another captive, the famed Nobel award-winning physicist, Yin Sen. The shrapnel was working its way towards Stark's heart and slowly killing him, but he and the physicist created an iron suit in secret that would save Tony's life. The suit contained an iron chest plate with magnetic fields that halted the shrapnel in its place. Yin Sen then created a diversion, sacrificing himself so that Stark could put on the power armor in time and escape captivity. In the suit, Stark took on the warlord and his men and avenged Yin Sen's death, thus Iron Man was born.

Creation

Tony Stark made his first appearance in Tales of Suspense #39 in 1963. He was created by Stan Lee, Larry Lieber, Don Heck, and Jack Kirby. Tony's character was loosely based on the life of the rich and successful playboy Howard Hughes.

Character Evolution

When Marvel re-emerged on the comic book scene in the Silver Age (some say Marvel's re-emergence signaled the beginning of the Silver Age of Comics) a big factor in their popularity was making characters who were easily to relate to. In many cases this took the form of a teenage hero who others felt some empathy (as at the time readership was primarily for those of a younger age.) Such heroes included the X-Men of Spider-Man. When it came to portraying more mature characters though there was still an emphasis on portraying the character's humanity as much as their heroics. In the case of Tony Stark this took on essentially two different aspects. The first was that he had to face his past as someone that had profited from war that he now wanted to be the exact opposite. The second is that as a person with a drug addiction (he was an alcoholic) that he felt that he was invincible due to his drinking not despite it. The character of the course of his publication history has had to come to deal with both of these aspects of his life, yet he still battles with his past demons from time to time.

Major Story Arcs

After fleeing from enemy territory Tony met and befriended the pilot James Rhodes who had been shot down in his helicopter. By working together, they were able to make their escape and upon arriving back in the United States, Tony decided to continue being Iron Man in order to fight injustice. He believed that he had a limited amount of time left to live due to his injury, and therefore wanted to make the most of it. Therefore, he began making vast improvements to the technology of his power armor.

Secret Identity

When Tony finally admitted his double identity to his fiancee Joanna Nivena, she encouraged him to use the armor to become a super hero and save lives. Iron Man began to establish himself as one of the U.S.'s most eminent super heroes, but while halting a breakout of lions and tigers from a circus, Tony saw how his armor frightened the people he was defending. Asking his date Marion what she would do if she were Iron Man, Tony painted his armor in stainless gold.Tony Stark allowed the public at large to believe that he was no more than a rich playboy while his identity as Iron Man would remain a secret. Since Iron Man was often seen at Stark Industries, Tony circulated the idea that Iron Man was his personal bodyguard. Stark, of course, still had his heart condition which meant that any day could potentially be his last. Luckily for him, his heart condition became publicly known and he was eventually healed by way of an artificial heart transplant.

When testing his "Stark Special" race car, Tony wound up in a wreck, but was saved at the last minute by ex-boxer Harry "Happy" Hogan . To repay Happy, Tony hired him as a chauffeur, although Happy became more like a bodyguard, resenting Iron Man. At the same time, former Stark Industries scientist Gregor Shapanka menaced Tony as Jack Frost (later renamed Blizzard), a villain who could generate ice. Happy would often try to play for Pepper's affection, but she was more interested in Tony. However, as Tony's heart could fail at any time, he didn't want to commit himself to a serious relationship since he could die unexpectedly. Happy remained extremely faithful to Tony, telling Iron Man straight out that if he had harmed Tony he would regret it during a period in which Iron Man was thought to have killed Tony. Happy even almost died when delivering a device to Iron Man that would stop Titanium Man.

Formation of the Avengers

With The Avengers

When Loki framed the Hulk for wrecking a train in the hope that Thor would battle him, the Hulk's friend Rick Jones sent a message to the Fantastic Four asking for their help. Loki then diverted the message to Thor. What he didn't realize was that Iron Man, Ant-Man and the Wasp had also intercepted it. After Thor, the Hulk, Ant-Man, Wasp and Iron Man all defeated Loki together, Ant-Man suggested that the five of them stayed together as a team, and the Wasp dubbed them the Avengers. Shortly afterwards, after a fight with the Space Phantom, the Hulk decided to quit since he thought no one trusted him. Whilst in pursuit of the Hulk and Namor (whom he had teamed up with), the Avengers came upon the body of Captain America, a legendary World War II fighter. The Avengers accepted him into their ranks, and he became close friends with Iron Man. Iron Man even gave Captain America transistors to control the flight of his shield, although Captain America later discarded them since they upset the balance of the shield. After a fight with the original Masters of Evil which ended with Baron Helmut Zemo being killed, Iron Man, Giant-Man, Wasp and Thor all decided to quit for a while since they needed a break. Captain America stayed on and became the new leader of the Avengers, which now consisted of Captain America, Hawkeye, Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch.

Early Encounters

When Tony was targeted by the mysterious villain Mr. Doll, who was forcing millionaires to give their funds to him, he was completely powerless against Mr. Doll's power to cause pain using a mystic doll (similar to voodoo). In order to defeat Mr. Doll, Tony completely redesigned his armor into light fitting armor rather than his previously heavy and bulky Armor. With this new armor, he was able to defeat Mr. Doll in a rematch.

Iron Man initially fought primarily against enemies that were a threat to him or his company, such as The Mandarin, The Melter, The Ghost, and Spymaster. He also fought against communist enemies (the 1960's, when Iron Man first debuted, was a time of unparalleled anti-communism) such as The Crimson Dynamo, (the first of who would defect to the U.S.A. and later gave up his life to stop the second Crimson Dynamo) Black Widow (who would later defect to the US), The Titanium Man, and others. Iron Man was also one of the founding members of the Avengers and, with Tony’s fortune, he was able to fund the team through the Maria Stark Foundation, a non-profit charitable organization named after his late mother. He also donated the use of his boyhood manor which became Avengers Mansion, staffed by Edwin Jarvis.

Demon in the Bottle

Over time, Tony evolved into a more complex and vulnerable individual as his dual life as a superhero caused him numerous personal problems. He became the victim of corporate take-overs and would lose and rebuild his fortune multiple times. Tony would also eventually be led to a dependency on alcohol when he discovered that SHIELD, who he had previously supported, was seeking to buy controlling stocks in his company, thus ensuring his continued weapons development for them.

Later, Tony would become bankrupt and homeless when he lost his company to his rival, Obadiah Stane, who had been manipulating him for some time. During this event, his friend James "Rhodey" Rhodes even took on the mantle of Iron Man. Stark would begin rebuilding his fortune when he created a company named Circuits Maximus, which specialized in computer technology. While this was happening, Rhodes was slowly going mad while using the Iron Man armor since its unique interface was designed for Stark's nervous system, and not his own. He eventually succumbs and goes on a rampage. This caused Tony to use a prototype armor that was not yet finished in order to stop Rhodey from causing any more destruction. Stane would now try to take over Stark’s new company, but Tony finished developing the brand new armor and confronted Stane face to face. Stane used one of Tony’s old armors to battle him but Stane’s inexperience would be his downfall. Tony won and regained control of his family's company. After wards, Stane killed himself by removing his helmet, and blowing of his head with a repulsor ray in his suit.

With so many people gaining access to his armor designs, Tony had to figure out a way to stop all the misuse of his armor technology. Tony would develop a way to disable the armors of everyone else who used technology based on his designs. Tony even disabled SHIELD armors known as the Mandroids that he had designed for their use, which causes the US Government to go after Iron Man as public enemy number one, and a threat to society. Tony eluded capture by fooling them into believing that Iron Man had gone rogue. He then faked the death of Iron Man and claimed that a new person was now using the Iron Man armor.

Tony's Destiny.

While Stark is continuing to use the Iron Man armor he discovers that its interface design was causing severe damage to his nervous system. He began remotely controlling the Iron Man armors, but after a failed mission against the Masters of Silence, he realizes that controlling the Iron Man armor is not as effective as being inside it. This leads to Tony designing the War Machine Armor, previously dubbed as the “Variable Threat Response Battle Suit.” His nervous system would continue to deteriorate however, even to the point where it was life-threatening. Tony had to fake his own death and be put into suspended animation in order to survive. Even close friends like James Rhodes were unaware of his faked death, and when he would later reveal the deception it would cause a serious rift in their relationship. Also during this time, James Rhodes would watch over the company and continue Iron Man’s career by using the “Variable Threat Response Battle Suit.”

Of course Tony would eventually awaken and survive with a chip he programmed and implanted in himself. An enraged Rhodes takes the “Variable Threat Response Battle Suit” and begins his own career as the hero known as War Machine. Tony continues his super hero career and eventually gets into a feud with the Avengers after the Kree- Shi'ar War, resulting in him quitting the team. Tony would create a new group called Force Works, but eventually left that team as well because of another falling out. In time, Iron Man would decide to reconcile with the Avengers, and he rejoins them.

Death and Rebirth

Life As Iron Man

Tony Stark was later revealed as an unwitting traitor to the Avengers while under the control of Kang the Conqueror, who had been using Stark as an unwilling sleeper agent for several years (later retconned into Immortus impersonating Kang and that Tony was under control for just a few months). Kang used Iron Man to kill many innocent lives and other heroes, such as Rita DeMara, and other Avenger teammates. The Avengers traveled back in time to recruit a teenage Tony Stark to fight the present-day Tony, and Kang. The teen Tony was able to steal an Iron Man armor from his older self and used it in battle against him. During the battle, the present-day Tony Stark would regain his memories and realize what he had been forced to do. As a result, he ended up sacrificing himself in order to kill Kang. The teenage Tony Stark would stay in the present time line following Iron Man's death, and continued his life as the new Iron Man. As for Stark’s company, it was sold to a Japanese rival named Fujikawa Industries.

Unfortunately for the teenage Tony, Onslaught arrived soon after, preventing him from gaining greater control over his life. In the final battle, many of the heroes of the Marvel Universe, including the teenage Tony, sacrificed themselves in order to defeat Onslaught. Luckily for them, Franklin Richards had created a pocket universe with all the heroes in it, and eventually restored everything back to normal, with Tony Stark restored to his normal adult age, but still retaining the teenage Tony’s memories. Tony also gained the help of Daredevil and his law firm associate, Foggy Nelson. They helped him regain ownership of his company and assets. Next, Tony reconciled with the Avengers and rejoined the team.

While trying to save an android by downloading its program into his power suit, the Iron Man armor was influenced by Ultron who had embedded himself in the androids systems without the android knowing. Ultron used the armor to cause Tony to go into a cardiac arrest after a shock from villain Whiplash. That shock awoke the suit and gave it a mind of its own. It knew that Tony was in cardiac arrest and saved him. Tony welcomed the live armor until it committed murder, and until it began wanting to merge itself with Tony, making him a human machine. Tony decided to battle the armor that had gained a mind of its own. During the battle however, Tony suffered another heart attack. The armor, which still cared about its creator, decided to save him and gave Tony its own cybernetic heart, replacing his own. This worked effectively but meant that Tony had to constantly recharge the battery power in order to keep his new heart functioning. After this incident, Tony decided to return to his original armor.

Tony would fall in love with a woman named Rumiko Fujikawa, the daughter of the man who had previously taken over his company. She only began dating him to rebel against her father however, and did not truly share his feelings for her. Due to the lack of any real intimacy between the two, their relationship soon became tumultuous, with Rumiko even cheating on Tony with one of his business rivals because she thought he had become boring. Strangely, Rumiko was murdered by an Iron Man impostor.

Stark would later reveal his identity to the world when saving a puppy from a speeding car since he was unable to completely mask himself in time. Afterwards, Tony discovered that the Government was once again using his technology, and was able to do so legally due to a copyright loophole that Tony exposed himself to by revealing his secret identity. Tony decided to accept a Presidential appointment to serve as the President's new Secretary of Defense so that he could monitor and direct the use of his technology by the Government.

Avengers Disassembled

Extremis Armor

During the Avengers Disassembled story, in which the Scarlet Witch goes insane and kills many of the Avengers members, she made Tony Stark confront the Ambassador of Latveria while drunk at the United Nations. After this incident, Tony was forced to resign his duties as Secretary of Defense. Later, Stark claimed to be stepping down as Iron Man as well while someone else was stepping into the role, thus allowing him to continue operating as Iron Man in secret. Also during this event, Avengers Mansion was destroyed. It had been Tony's boyhood manor up until he donated it to the Avengers to be the teams base of operations. After its destruction, Tony built a new operational headquarters for the group which is now located in Stark Tower.

After being seriously injured during a battle with an extremis-enhanced adversary, Stark calls upon Maya Hansen to inject his nervous system with a modified version of the extremis enhancile (a techno-organic virus) in order to save his life. Extremis allows Stark to store the inner layers of the Iron Man armor in the hollows of his bones, and to control the armor through direct brain impulses. Extremis also integrates Stark's existing lockchip (a personal networking implement implanted in his forearm) directly into his nervous system. After this, Tony's abilities as Iron Man are significantly increased. He now has the ability to communicate with his suit faster than any human reaction time would normally be, making him much more powerful than before.

Civil War

For More Information: Civil War

Iron Man and Cap during Civil War

It was revealed that Stark, in the days following the Kree- Skrull war had formed a secret society or group called the Illuminati, which is a governing body of super heroes. The other members of this still functioning group consist of Mr. Fantastic, Professor X, Doctor Strange, Black Bolt, and Namor. Their first meeting was in Wakanda where the group also offered membership to the Black Panther, whom politely rejected it. However, although the rest of the members had different views and did not believe that an alliance like this would be of much use, they still agree to work together and at least share information. In one case, shortly before the events of Civil War, the Illuminati decided to launch the Hulk into outer space feeling he was too great a threat to civilization to be left alone, due to his constant rampages.

Tony would later discover that the Government was pushing forward with the idea of a Super Human Registration Act. At first, Stark is very much against the idea, even going so far as to hire the Titanium Man to attack him in order to manipulate public opinion in his favor. Tony also tries to talk the government out of Registration but his appeal is ignored after the tragedy at Stamford, Connecticut, in which members of the New Warriors confronted a villain named Nitro in a residential neighborhood, setting off an explosion that killed many innocent lives. When the heroes unite in the face of this tragedy in Stamford , they move around some of the rubble to find if there are any survivors. Meanwhile, Tony tells Wolverine who has caught Nitro’s scent to go after him. The trail leaves cold next to the water, but Iron Man lets Wolverine borrow one of his suits to traverse underwater.

After the Stamford incident and another in which Tony's armors are hacked and used to attack innocent people, Stark reconsiders his position and the morality of super human registration. He reversed his decision and publicly spearheading the support for the Super-human Registration Act. Support among the super hero community is mixed however, and the conflict leads to the Civil War in the Marvel Universe.

Stand Off!

Stark was able to convince many heroes including Spider-Man to join the pro-registration side. Tony also convinced Spider-Man to show the whole world his identity. They begin to hunt down heroes who on the anti-registration side who have gone rogue, led by Captain America. Tony also worked with Mr. Fantastic to build a prison in the The Negative Zone to hold rogue superhumans, but many heroes begin to question the methods of Iron Man and Mr. Fantastic when a Thor clone they created kills Bill Foster, the second Goliath, a friend on the anti-registration side, the combined trauma of witnessing Foster's death, the firsthand view of the Prison 42 and a heated fight with Captain America causes Spider-Man to see the error of his ways. He publicly admits his mistake and joins Captain America's anti-reg forces much to Iron Man's anger. Further questions about their motives arise when it is discovered that they are using former villains to hunt down anti-registration forces. When the anti-registration heroes decide to attack the Negative Zone, it triggers the final battle of the Civil War. While Iron Man is facing off against Captain America his armor is shut down by the Vision. Captain America begins savagely beating Iron Man until he realizes the damage that the war has caused. Captain America then decides to surrender in order to prevent any more bloodshed but still refuses to register. Afterwards, Maria concedes her position as Director of S.H.I.E.L.D.

While Captain America was being brought into SHIELD custody he was shot by Crossbones, later revealed to be working for the Red Skull. Many of the anti-registration heroes even go so far as to presume Iron Man to be involved with regards to Steve’s death. While Iron Man was grieving over Steve’s dead body in a SHIELD facility, Wolverine breaks in and tells Stark that if I ever found him to be involved in any way to Steve’s death, he will personally kill him.

Later, Iron Man decides that there must always be a Captain America and that the dream must live on. He asks the newly resurrected Hawkeye if he would like to take over the mantle. Hawkeye refuses and eventually Bucky is given the role.

World War Hulk

For More Information: World War Hulk

As stated, before the start of the Civil War, Iron Man and several other members of the secret group of heroes known as the Illuminati deemed the Hulk a threat to Earth due to the destruction which accompanied his many rampages. The Illuminati lured the Hulk into a space-faring vessel and launched him into outer space in order to send him to a world where his power would not be a threat to the sanctity of innocent lives. The World War Hulk story occurs upon his return as the Hulk seeks revenge on Iron Man and the other Illuminati members.

Tony Stark is the first hero to confront the Hulk upon his return, hoping to prevent any further loss of life on Earth. Donning a modified "Hulkbuster" armor, Iron Man engages the Hulk in combat in Manhattan (whose population was previously evacuated to safety by S.H.I.E.L.D. upon Stark's orders). Iron Man makes an attempt to use specially designed nanobots to deactivate the Hulk's powers, but this proves unsuccessful due to the nanobots being sabotaged beforehand by a member of the Initiative. His new Hulkbuster armor and Stark Tower are destroyed in the battle that ensues. While being held captive in Madison Square Garden arena, Tony Stark manages to contact Dum Dum Dugan via his extremis enhanced powers and informs Dugan of a last resort plan to prevent the Hulk from attacking the rest of the world. The plan is to send the entirety of Manhattan into the Negative Zone. The plan would have the affect of killing himself, the Hulk, the Warbound, and all heroes and agents on the island. He trusts Dugan to know if and when he should execute the plan. Stark is later seen fighting with his fellow Illuminati members in the arena, defeating a gigantic tentacle monster. After the battle, the Hulk forces Tony and Mr. Fantastic to face off in combat via the obedience disks implanted into each of them. Mr. Fantastic defeats Tony, and the Hulk orders him to kill Stark. It was in that instant that the Sentry came in the arena and begin to battle the Hulk and after Hulk goes on a berserker rampage over the wounding of his friend, Rick Jones, by his fellow Warbound, Miek, Stark orders his satellite to fire a gamma inducing energy onto the Hulk, thus knocking him unconscious.

Murder Inc.

For More Information: The Invincible Iron Man

Mayhem in Philippines

Swiftly dealing with the entirety of the members of AGM, Iron Man faced their leader, MODOK, and had little trouble into dispatching him to space, and shutting down their operation. Concerned that all the members of AGM lacked passion, and zealotry, he was certain that they were not the ones behind the massacre. The prediction proved accurate once again, when, during an honorary ceremony in , another set of repulsor technology infused suicide terrorists, this time disguised as monks, caused mass destruction, and killed all the members of the country’s heroic squad.

Evaluation

Once there to investigate, Iron Man, War Machine and Pepper confirmed Tony’s suspicions, with more clues that the technology was repulsor based, but also improving and growing at a significant rate. The man behind it all was none other than Ezekiel “Zeke” Stane, the teenage son of Tony’s old adversary, Obadiah Stane (a.k.a. the Iron Monger). Who, with the use of cheap Stark based technology equipment he acquired from black market exchanges, was methodically trying to destroy Tony’s operations from the root, and most importantly, end his Tony’s life.

Putting the investigation for the culprit of the two suicide bombings aside for a while, Tony and Pepper attended a charity gala at Tony’s penthouse in. After a small argument, Pepper stepped outside the building, with Tony coming after her. He was then stopped by Zeke Stane himself, who had managed to sneak in the building. Distracting Tony for a while, he achieved his true goal: another set of suicide bombers entered the building, and everyone inside was caught up in a huge explosion.

Pepper Potts At The End Of The World

For More Information: The Invincible Iron Man

Man on Fire

Managing to activate the Extremis under sheath, and call his armor from the other room in virtually no time, Tony not only managed to escape, but also see the figure of Zeke Stane, sarcastically smirking at him, at the exact point of the detonation. Searching for Pepper, he located her through her Stark ID badge, buried under the debris. As he watched the ambulance carrying Pepper away from the scene, Tony was stunned to see another survivor: Zeke Stane himself. Tony was certain that Stane was the man behind the attacks, but had no substantial proof of it. Stane on the other hand, escaped the medical facility he was kept in after causing significant mayhem. It was revealed that Stane had undergone a procedure enabling him to store far greater amounts of energy to his body, and channeling the energy as a weapon through his hands, but the intense amounts of heat, caused his skin to burn out. As a solution, Zeke decided it was time to create a uniform in order to absorb and redirect the energy from his body.

Ezekial Stane is ready for battle!

Uneasy solutions

In the meantime, Tony was informed that Pepper’s condition was critical – a shrapnel penetrated her chest cavity, and was closing into her heart. Adding the other injuries she sustained during the explosion, made an operation about the removal of the shrapnel, impossible. Determined to save Pepper, Tony awaited for her to regain consciousness in order to explain the situation, and offer her a solution: adding a derivation of the repulsor that kept him alive after his own accident years go, to her chest, to prevent the shrapnel from reaching her heart, while she was recuperating. Later on, Tony went to , where another explosion took place. At that time, and while giving Maria Hill insight about his past with Zeke’s father, Obadiah, Tony started to suspect that Zeke had been using parts from his own original technology to achieve what he had done. Scanning the site for Starktech, he found one more damaged repulsor, what came to be Zeke’s trademark, until that point. Tony’s search came to an abrupt end after he was attacked by remote controlled androids, commanded by Chinese agents, while accused of unauthorized access. Defeating them without much trouble, Tony headed back to Pepper’s side, where the doctor informed him that all went well. Little did Tony know that Zeke Stane had managed to complete his suit by that point, and was setting up the final pieces in order to retract his revenge against him.

Neutron Bomb Heart

For More Information: The Invincible Iron Man

It's all part of the plan.

Tony then asked for confirmation that the various pieces of equipment found on land sites were originally created by him before being modified, and repurposed, from Reed Richards: Reed confirmed it, while the duo was playing chess on multiple boards at once. Tony knew then that his suspicion was correct all along: Zeke Stane needed him to complete his plans – he did not invent something for himself, he merely build upon Tony’s tech. While continuing their game, Tony explained that he started learning chess in order to understand better Obadiah Stane, and eventually beat him in his own game. When Reed questioned him on how he intended to beat Zeke, a younger, dangerous and quite possibly smarter, opponent than him, Tony responded that Zeke was not smarter than he is: his attachment to original Stark was proof of that. His attacks in various sites had been escalating, just distractions and tests of his true cause. Before Reed could shape one final question, he came to realize that Tony had checkmated him on every single table, simultaneously. After doing so, Tony cryptically said that that is how he intended to beat Stane, before leaving the room. Intending to bail out Stane, and certain that he would, sooner, or later, be in need of his technology once again, Tony gave a piece of his original armor to a friend, a collector of superhero related items, with the instruction to immediately sell it on the black market. Tony had placed a tracer on the armor.

Once contact was made, and Zeke did buy the spare part of the armor, the tracer-tech went online, and was located by SHIELD. Noticing that the tracers pointed out to four different sites – Long Island, Valencia, Tokyo and Los Angeles, it became clear that Zeke Stane did not only intend to kill Tony, but also destroy the most crucial Stark facilities and cripple Tony’s company, all in one blow.

Code Black

For More Information: The Invincible Iron Man

Zeke triumphant?

Finally, the day which Stane was waiting for arrived: with a squad of suicide bombers, he personally infiltrated Tony’s company in , all the while he dispatched others to the other three key locations. Tony, fully aware of Stane’s scheme, headed for , while ordering code black: the immediate evacuation of all personnel from each company. The one in occurred too late, though. Stane ordered the hit to commence earlier than anticipated, costing the life to fifty-eight people. Intending to put an end to Stane’s actions, Tony entered the field while trying to pass unnoticed by Stane – only to find himself failing. A brutal fight commenced, with Stane slowly gaining the upper hand. Realizing that his opponent could very well be superior to him, Iron Man fought valiantly, nonetheless, only to find himself in the losing end, with Zeke decapitating him. Or did he?

Irrational Actors

For More Information: The Invincible Iron Man

Painful Price

Knowing that with the evacuations half completed, more lives would be at stake had Stane decided to order the other hits swiftly after the one in , Tony remotely controlled an empty armor to fight off Stane, while he was closing in to the facility himself. It was then that, in a stroke of genius, he proved what he meant in his earlier conversation with Reed Richards: He needed to be in four places at once. He needed to be an army. And by using the spare units in his armory, he did just that. Using the armors to contain damage, help in the evacuations, locate and prevent the suicide bombers from going off, and stopping Stane from giving the OK for the bombings to proceed, he handled every task at hand successfully. In the meanwhile, Stane, realizing he had been played, and gave the OK for the hits to start, while fighting off multiple older armors. It was at that point that Tony finally arrived at the scene, landing on top of Stane himself, and bracing for the final fight. Quickly immobilizing him, Tony asked him to cal off the hits, but Zeke refused. Holding yet another ace up his sleeve, Tony had planted devices in each location, to unleash electromagnetic pulses, and thus shutting down every piece of Stark equipment, from regular computers and advanced suits of armor, to even the suicide bombers. The fight continued without armors, neither for Tony, nor for Stane, with Iron Man finally putting Zeke down, mano-a-mano. With the entire crisis avoided, Iron Man could not help but think that Stane actually provided him with a fifth nightmare: what kind of a man he had to become, in order to stop his four nightmares from coming true, and the price with which those actions came to pass.

The Mighty Avengers

Iron Man as the Director of SHIELD is also given access to form a government sponsored Avengers team. He meets up with Ms. Marvel and tells her that she is to be the team leader. Together they become the poster boy and girl for the registration side and handpick the Avengers using the compiled database.

Iron Man visits Thor in Asgard to both ask him to register and became an Avenger again. Thor defeats Tony and causes his armor to malfunction. He states that he no longer complies to man’s laws and that if Iron Man ever came to Asgard again he would get an even worse welcome next time. Tony then asks him how is get back home where Thor tells him to walk.

In assembling the Avengers, Iron Man states that they need a “Thor” and a “Wolverine” to which Carol that she knows someone who is both a Thor and a Wolverine. They go together to recruit Ares, God of War who is doing construction work. Iron Man threatens him to register with the government and join the Avengers and that if doesn’t comply he will get a beating along with his cover being blown amongst his coworkers. Ares states that Tony is bluffing and that he can’t defeat him. Tony wonders how Ares will fare against multiple opponents at Iron Man's level or above. Ares is somewhat amused by Tony’s attitude and states that if he will match his pay in the Avengers, then he will join.

Iron Man and Ms. Marvel also select the Wasp, Wonder Man, Black Widow, and the Sentry (whom Iron Man states needs guidance although Carol is initially opposed to the idea). Together, they confront some very serious threats such as Ultron and Doctor Doom. The team is later disbanded in the aftermath of Secret Invasion, and Tony becomes a wanted man.

Secret Invasion

For More Information: Secret Invasion

Tony Stark survives but is later confronted while in the hospital by Spider-Woman who reveals a dead Skrull that had been impersonating Elektra. Tony has Spider-Woman join his Avengers squad, and gathers the Illuminati in order to inform them of the impending invasion. Fellow Illuminati member, Black Bolt, is also revealed to be a Skrull, but is killed by Namor. Afterwards a squadron of Skrulls attack. The Illuminati are forced to kill the Skrulls during the ensuing battle. In the aftermath, the Illuminati members realize they can no longer trust even each other since they cannot tell who is real and who is a Skrull importer. They go their separate ways, hoping to defeat the Skrulls on their own terms. Tony also wonders if Captain America during Civil War was a Skrull.

When an unidentified flying object lands in the Savage Land, Stark summons the Avengers to go and investigate. However, the unregistered heroes beat them to it and Iron man arrives just as soon as Luke Cage is about to open the door to the spaceship. Stark tells Cage to back off and that he is to be arrested. Luke Cage states that Stark’s repulsor beam can’t hurt him and that the real Stark would know that, implying that Iron Man is a Skrull. The two Avengers teams are about to go into a brawl, but Jarvis revealed to be a Skrull imposter deactivates Iron Man armor which electrocutes Tony inside. Meanwhile, the door to the spaceship opens and various heroes emerge sporting their classic incarnations.

The emerged heroes accuse the ones standing outside to all be Skrulls. This quickly turns into a battle but the characters get scattered once a dinosaur rampages through. Iron Man tells Ms. Marvel to head back to the city as he suspects that this was a successful trap to get the Avengers far away from the main action. Ms. Marvel states that she can bring him back as well but he states that it will be faster if she goes alone. Carol flies off and Iron Man heads towards his lab in the Savage Land to repair his armor.

He is followed into his lab by Spider-woman, who reveals her herself to be the Skrull Queen Veranke. She states that Stark is a Skrull sleeper agent and he has done his job well preparing for the invasion. In efforts to break him, she kisses him telling him that he volunteered for this and that she promised to personally end his misery once his mission was completed. Just when she is about to kill him, Black Widow and Wolverine break in and save Stark whereas the Queen decides to retreat.

Black Widow injects the defeated Stark with a dose of adrenaline and questions him about where his allegiance lies. He states that sleeper agent or not, he doesn’t believe in the Skrulls ideology and will fight against them. Meanwhile, Mr. Fantastic is able to build a new Skrull detecting device as the previous ones proved to be outdated in use against them. He arrives on the Savage Land and scans the proximity of the area which reveals that all the heroes that emerged from the spaceship to be Skrulls. They are quickly defeated and the heroes return back to the city to confront the final climactic battle of the Invasion.

Iron Man gathers some of his old equipment and rushes off to Central Park where the Skrull force has united for a final confrontation. He calls for the Avengers to assemble but they are also united with the rogue Avengers, Nick Fury, Thor, Captain America and even villains such as the Thunderbolts and the Hood. During the battle, Norman Osborn is able to get the killing shot on the Skrull Queen, which literally becomes the shot heard around the world thanks to media coverage of the event. Public opinion of Osborn changes into that of a patriot and a war hero whereas Iron Man's becomes synonymous to failure.

Once, the Skrull Queen is murdered, the Skrulls begin to lose faith in the prophecy that states Earth to be their new home. They begin to retreat but many are thwarted by the Skrull Captain Marvel who doesn't believe in their ideology and War Machine whom is sent by Iron Man. While destroying Skrull ships, War Machine finds many of the replaced heroes during the Skrull infiltration such as Elektra, Hank Pym, Spider-woman, Mockingbird and Dum Dum Dugan. War Machine is able to safely transport them back to Earth.

Secret Invasion does not end without its casualties however and one of the most notable Avenger, the Wasp dies while attempting to use the size changing device that the Skrull Pym gave her. Iron Man attends her funeral and gives a speech honoring her memory and stating that far too many of their best have fallen in recent years including Steve. Hank Pym, however, cuts Tony’s speech short by interrupting and stating that he is very much responsible for their deaths. He also states why it is so that Tony hasn't died; Tony has no answer but feels his lost just the same. Finding this to be an opportune moment, Osborn also attending the funeral offers membership to Hank for his new Avengers. Hank curses him out in public and leaves.

Dark Reign

For More Information: Dark Reign

In the aftermath of the Secret Invasion, S.H.I.E.L.D. is disbanded and replaced with the agency known as H.A.M.M.E.R. Both Tony and Maria Hill lose their positions in favor of Osborn. On Tony's last day, Osborn questions him about the Superhuman Registration database and how he could access it. Stark tells Norman that he would be breaking the law and thus would need to get proper authorization first. Frustrated, Norman tells him to leave his office.

Later, Stark has a conversation with Maria Hill and Pepper Potts discussing what Osborn is up to. He states that he deleted the Registration Database from the computers and that if Norman tries to access it all of his systems will get a virus. However, he tells that another instance of the database exists within his brain and that he has a plan to get rid of it but needs their help.

Tony tells Pepper to put down Stark Industries and sends Maria Hill on an errand to retrieve a jump drive from FuturePharm, a pharmaceutical subsidiary and then deliver its contents to Captain America. In the meantime Tony works towards slowly deactivating his brain. Osborn calls for Tony to appear in public and answer accusations that he throws at him, and then for his lack of appearance issues an arrest warrant and order for H.A.M.M.E.R. to seize all of Stark’s assets.

Before leaving for her assignment, Maria Hill has sex with Tony. When she wakes up, she finds a note from Tony telling her to blow up her armory and notices that Stark has already gone off with one of his older suits. Meanwhile, Pepper is frustrated about the state of the company and in her anger destroys a mirror only to discover a secret passageway leading to a secret armor that Tony has designed for her. With the armor, Pepper escapes capture from H.A.M.M.E.R. and Tony, Pepper and Hill, all three become fugitives on the run from H.A.M.M.E.R. and Osborn.

During his run, Tony is continually forced to downgrade his armor as he loses the skills to monitor his more advanced armors. He also stages a fight with War Machine to make sure that Rhodey is not hunted, as well as runs into Namor who plans to deliver him to Osborn. Tony manages to escape and goes into Russia where the Crimson Dynamo (former enemy turned ally) buys him some time. Frustrated by Dynamo’s denial to allow H.A.M.M.E.R. into his country, he sends Madam Masque who has a history with Tony to find and kill him. Masque finds him with Pepper, whom she holds hostage with a gun on her head and asks Tony to tell her if he has ever loved her.

Tony stated that he used to but that he no longer does. However, since he has lost most of his memories he cannot recall enough of his past. While they are talking, Pepper manages to break free and tells Tony to run. They exchange a momentary kiss and Iron Man leaves Pepper as Rescue to deal with Madam Masque.

Tony then finds refugee in Afghanistan and switches into his oldest armor. Norman Osborn finally manages to confront him and as the Iron Patriot severely beats him in camera. This changes public perception as well as what most of the heroes had thought about Tony. Doctor Donald Blake arrives to cure Tony’s vegetable state.

Also during Dark Reign, Loki impersonated the Scarlet Witch and chose Iron Man to join a new Avengers team. Although he helped on the first mission, he left the team and made Hank the team leader and wished him well.

Stark Disassembled.

For More Information: Stark Disassembled

Stark: Disassembled

After the events of " World's Most Wanted" , Tony Stark is beaten to within an inch of his life, thanks to the Iron Patriot, including a skull fracture and a concussion. The most serious issue is that he's in a persistent vegetative state. His body no longer knows how to breathe on its own. He is in a hospital, in Broxton, Oklahoma, on life support. Osborn wants to pull the plug and kill Stark, but he's unable to due to Tony having a living Will, which grants life or death decisions to his personal physician, Dr. Donald Blake. Blake is at Tony's bedside along with Pepper Potts, Maria Hill, and Captain America. It is revealed that Stark 's body went into the vegetative state on its own, to prevent Osborn from getting any information from Stark, namely the identities of all Registered super-heroes, and the ever-exclusive Repulsor Technology. Stark pre-recorded a transmission into the Rescue armor, that details the steps needed on how to bring back, or "Reboot" Stark.

The first step involves taking the Repulsor battery out of Pepper, and into Tony. This is referred to as the "Heart" of the operation as the battery will fuel Tony's biology. The next step involves the data that Maria Hill recovered. The data was a hard drive that plugs into Stark's neck. Prior to upgrading to the Extremis armor, Tony backed himself on the hard drive. This serves as the "Brain" of the operation. The final step involves starting up the Repulsor generator. War Machine assists with the stripping of parts from the Rescue armor, specifically, the cables for channeling the Repulsor current. Tony is wheeled to the top of the hospital roof. The Shield of Captain America is placed near Stark , with the cables connected from the Shield to Tony's chest. Dr. Blake transforms into the Mighty Thor, and calls upon a lightning bolt on Cap's Shield. The Shield absorbs the lightning and the current flows from the Shield onto Tony. The operation is unsuccessful, and Stark is still in a coma. Afterwards, Captain America calls a consult, Dr. Stephen Strange to offer his alternative methods.

Meanwhile, inside Tony's mind, we are given the image of a barren wasteland. Tony is trying to dig up something. He is joined by a couple , Howard and Maria. Every time Stark begins to dig, they are found by machines of his own design and they are blasted. Everything goes white, and the dream begins again and again, with Stark digging a little closer. Eventually, Stark and company are able to dig up an iron chestplate. Fearing the machines, they travel to a empty house. Tony puts on the chestplate, but nothing happens. Howard and Maria are found by the Starktech machines and are captured. Stark escapes capture by hiding in an underground bunker. He is then greeted by Dr. Strange, in astral form, who pledges to help bring Tony back , as "the world needs its Iron Man".

Considering Stark's current state a victory and no longer seeing him a threat, Norman Osborn orders The Hood and his gang to call off their hunt. Madame Masque doesn't accept this and enlists the services of Thunderbolt Ghost, to sneak in and pull the plug on Stark.

Dr. Strange continues to help Tony find himself inside his own mind, asking Tony to repeat the words, "I am Iron Man" over and over again. The two then journey to the bureaucrat to help Howard and Maria. Ghost then locates where Tony's body is being held, shooting Rhodey in the chest as he makes his way to Stark. Tony and Strange then run into one of the Stark sentries, Tony then ask if Strange was scared, which replies by saying that he wasn't actually there, and ask if Tony likes feeling afraid, which Tony tells him that he hates that feeling and fires off a Uni-Beam, destroying the sentry. Tony then looks at Strange, telling him "I am Iron Man." Tony and Strange then make their way to a large complex, Strange then hears something like thunder and disappears. Tony then continues on, but runs into a group of people, who are walking in a pile of blood, that he knows, two of which were Happy Hogan and Yin Sen. Tony then makes it to the top, finding Howard and Maria inside, telling him to take a seat, that this is who they are, who he is, his legacy. Tony then tells them that he's not like them, not anymore, telling them that he chooses his own path, Tony is then consumed by a bright light.

Back in the real world, Strange and Maria try to hold off Ghost from killing Stark, but Ghost stabs Strange in the chest, and goes forward and begins to try to choke Stark to death. He is then stopped again by Maria, who he easily defeats, but Pepper Potts then claims that she is calling H.A.M.M.E.R. as they speak. Tony then wakes up, taking Ghost's "Ghost Phone" and tells him that he number to Stark Industries Seoul was 82-2-738-1059, saying "It's funny the things you remember." Tony then uses the phone and sends Ghost to that number.

Captain America then arrives, asking Dr. Lisk how Stark was, Lisk then ask Cap if anyone knew how old that back-up Tony used to reboot himself was, saying that there's data missing. That when he talked to Stark, he told him that Cap was back, but didn't specifically say he had died, he then tells Captain America that there are simply things Tony Stark doesn't know. Pepper and Maria then find Tony on the computer, looking up things from the Civil War to Captain America's assassination, and about other recent things, shocked by what he is learning.

Siege

For More Information: Siege

Tony Stark was recovering from his reboot in Broxton, Oklahoma under the care of Dr Donald Blake when Norman Osborn's strike force assaulted the floating city of Asgard. When Captain America showed up to fight Osborn, the young avenger Speed ran to deliver Tony's armor to him.

After donning an older Iron Man suit Tony arrives at the battle and permanently shuts down the Iron Patriot armor that Osborn had stolen from him. After the arrival of the Void, Tony used his armor to crash the HAMMER Helicarrier into the Sentry/Void, reverting him to Bob Reynolds. This gives Thor the break he needed to bring down the Void for good. during the aftermath, Tony stops Moonstone from escaping and oversees the imprisonment of Norman Osborn.

Resilient

For More Information: Stark Resilient

Bleeding Edge armor

After his reboot Tony, now with no company, decides to start a new company named Stark Resilient. Thor offers to give him treasures to fund his new venture, however he rejects it hoping to start from scratch. After working with Reed Richards on his new upgraded suit he pulls Stark from making government weapons.

Pepper becomes his new CEO and informs business men that he wants to use his Repulsor technology to change the world and remove the need for oil and other fossil fuels. However he tells them that if that don't get on board he will ruin them. Angered by this Peppers has a helicopter leave Tony forcing him to use his new armor.

Meanwhile the Hammer girls Sasha Hammer and Justine Hammer plan to fill in the gap in military technology left by Stark Industries with their own Detroit Steel, and not in a nice way. To make sure that Stark's new company doesn't get in their way, they hire Spymaster to kill Stark Resilient while it's still in its crib. They also buy and sell old Stark Tech and H.A.M.M.E.R. weaponry and use some of it to fake a terrorist attack in Tokyo so their Detroit Steel could "defeat" these terrorists and come out victorious. Meanwhile making Iron Man and War Machine, who flew over there to see what 's going on, look ridiculous in front of the cameras. Though they do not come home empty-handed: Tony recognized the youngest Hammer girl, Sasha, as an accomplice to Ezekiel Stane who destroyed Stark Industries and nearly killed Tony.

Meanwhile at the home front Stark Resilient has gathered a few misplaced geniuses to build him an Electric race car working on Repulsor technology from scratch in six weeks. And Pepper Pots wants her own repulsor disc back in her chest and an armor suit to become the heroine Rescue once again. Tony is initially against this, but it seems he promised her this before his mind-wipe, so he does what she asks and Pepper becomes Rescue once again. Tony hosts a gala in name of Stark Resilient and invites both Hammer girls. After an appearance together with Pepper, Tony takes off with Sasha Hammer.

Heroic Age and Fear Itself

In the aftermath of Siege, the super human registration act was repealed thanks to the efforts of Steve Rogers, who now took over the position of the overthrown Norman Osborn. Iron Man reunited with Thor and Steve Rogers and rekindled their relationship while setting their past differences aside. Iron Man and Thor were assigned to Avengers along with Bucky Barnes as Captain America while Steve Rogers headed the Secret Avengers. Iron Man was slightly troubled that he may not be able to take orders from Steve, but Steve told him that Maria Hill would oversee the Avengers.

On the day the Avengers formed they were attacked by Kang who thrashed Avengers Tower and stated that the time stream was out of flux due to the actions of their children. Although, the Avengers were reluctant to believe him and dismissed it as a trap, they decided to confirm just in case. Iron Man along with the help of Marvel Boy were able to build a time-traveling device and the Avengers split into two groups: one that traveled into the future to investigate and another that stayed behind to handle troubles in their current time.

Iron Man traveled to the future and met his future version as well as Maestro who was an older Hulk. They worked together to figure out a way to fix the time stream. Tony was surprised at how much his older version was fascinated with time travel and that frankly he didn’t share the same hobby. Realizing the only way to fix the time stream was for Kang to defeat Ultron, Iron Man went to Ultron who was powered with the Destroyer armor and reasoned with him to surrender. After Ultron realized the severity of the issue, and that his reign was not worth leaving the time stream out of order where Kang would continue to challenge him endlessly losing, he decided not to fight back and lost the battle. This fixed the time stream.

The Avengers’ next dire mission put them up against the Hood who had escaped from jail and attained the knowledge of the Infinity Gems. The Hood began collecting the gems and with two gems he easily defeated the Red Hulk. The Red Hulk, then went to the Avengers and asked for help. Upon hearing the nature of the crisis, Iron Man ran out half way into the Avengers meeting and contacted the members of the Illuminati, who were each responsible for the safeguarding of one of the gems, himself included.

The group met and decided that the best course of action was to make sure that each of their gems was secure and that they will need their immense gifted powers in their confrontation with the Hood. As soon as they were about to leave and head to their duties, the Avengers arrived at their doorstep having tailed Iron Man and demanded answers to what they knew.

The Illuminati realized they had no choice but to come out clean. Steve Rogers realized that this sort of scheme to secretly keep an immense source of power to be of Iron Man machination. He blamed Iron Man for this entire turn of events and threatened Tony that if he couldn’t do anything about their current situation he would be kicked out of the Avengers.

While the Avengers and the Illuminati were having this confrontation, the Hood was at work gathering more Infinity Gems and thus attaining more power. When Iron Man was returning to the location where he had secured the Reality Gem, (the Avengers still tailing him and thus slowing down the process to remove the protocols he’d set up to guard the gem) they found the Hood who was just grabbing the gem. He easily defeated all of the Avengers and went to increase his collection.

Avengers #12

While the Avengers were down, Dr. Strange used the powers of his Infinity Gem and transformed himself into Thanos and tried to buy some time for the Avengers. Iron Man, along with the help of Thor, Namor and the Red Hulk were able to use the power of the Infinity Gems they had left and were able to defeat the Hood. Iron Man used his gem and told all the gems to no longer exist. However, this was really not the case, and the Illuminati met secretly once more but inducted Steve Rogers amongst them making him in charge of safeguarding one of the gems.

On the day Tony was to public display his car, he was attacked by H.A.M.M.E.R. and Detroit Steel. He found out that the drones were controlled by a cell phone application and with the help of his team was able to shut them all down. Tony was then able to focus on battling Detroit Steel who was trying to make his own publicity stunt by defeating Iron Man which would prove that the U.S. Government would be getting a better deal from H.A.M.M.E.R. than they ever did from Stark (as Stark had rejected to make anything for them) However, the battle proved fruitless for Detroit Steel and Iron Man was able to save the day. However, this was only a minor setback to H.A.M.M.E.R. who were able to form a partnership with both Ezekiel and the Mandarin for preparation towards their next confrontation.

Having saved the day for now and his new company starting to shape up, he went to a local Alcoholics Anonymous meeting at the behest of Pepper to inspire confidence to those suffering from the condition. Things seemed to be going well for Tony but Doctor Octopus challenged him telling him that he had a bomb that would detonate most of the city if he didn’t comply to his request.

When Iron Man went to the location he met Doctor Octopus and recalled their early years as classmates. He challenged Iron Man to either remedy his current health condition or publicly admit defeat that he was unable to solve such a case. Tony stated that Octavius' past actions were catching up with him and that he needed to see a doctor which he wasn’t.

Meanwhile, Stark Resilient was also attacked by Electro and Sandman, who were sent by Doctor Octopus. However, Pepper proved to be quite a match for them and they ended up having to retreat. At the base, Doctor Octopus told Tony to beg him, which he humiliatingly complied with realizing that lives were at stake for the mere pleasure of the mad man. Doctor Octopus recorded the scene and let Tony go and stated that he had been outsmarted and that there really wasn’t a bomb to diffuse.

Tony flew back to his office to see if everyone was alright. Upon the positive turn of events, Tony and Pepper decided to enjoy themselves and were staring into the sunset when they witnessed something fast falling from the sky. Upon hearing that there were multiple such occurrences of such an event around the world, Tony went to Paris to investigate where one of the hammers had fallen and told Pepper to hire Bethany Cabe who dismissed the idea stating the Tony just wanted another redhead in his office. Tony told her that it was because she was resourceful and capable woman.

When Iron Man arrived in Paris, he witnessed the horrors of a ghost town. Everyone in the city had been turned into solid rock and Stark scanned to see if there were any survivors. Iron Man soon confronted the Grey Gargoyle who had been favored by the Serpent as worthy of being a hammer wielder. He fought back but his efforts proved futile. During the battle, Tony crashed into lots of sculptures, and vomited in his suit. He decided to retreat and call for assistance but on his way back he learned of Bucky death and was one of the few people looking over his dead body. When Thor and Steve arrived, they decided upon a course of plan and Tony sacrificed his dignity by drinking once more to gain an audience with Odin. He will be forging an Asguardian sword to aid him in the fight to come.

Personal Data

Characteristics

• Height: 6'1" (6'6" in armor)
• Weight: 225 lbs (previously without armor) (250 lbs with armor)
• Eyes Color: Blue
• Hair Color: Black

Status

• Identity: Publicly KNown
• Place of Birth: Long Island, New York
• Citizenship: USA
• Education: PhDs in Physics and Electrical Engineering
• Occupation: Adventurer, CEO of Star Resilient, founder of the Maria Stark Foundation, former director of S.H.I.E.L.D.,CEO of Stark Industries, Stark International, Stark Enterprises, Stark Solutions, and Circuits Maximus, US Secretary of Defence, Computer technition, inventor
• Known Relatives: Howard Anthony Walter Stark (father, deceased), Maria Collins Carbonell Stark (mother, deceased), Morgan Stark (cousin), Edward Stark (uncle, deceased), Isaac Stark Sr., Isaac Stark Jr. (ancesters, deceased)

Powers and Abilities

Armored Avenger

Tony Stark's intellect allows him to constantly upgrade his armor designs. Stark recently had to inject himself with the Extremis techno-organic virus to save his life. The effects are that now the inner layers of the Iron Man suit can be stored in the hollows of his bones, and he can control the suit with his mind through direct brain impulses. He can also remotely connect to just about any communication device, including satellites and computers, across the world. Stark can even regenerate organs due to the enhancement. Extremis also allows Stark to interface with his armor in a faster and more efficient manner as well, thus dramatically increasing his response time. Without his armor Tony Stark is considered to be above peak human and has displayed superhuman capabilities such as super human reflexes, His speed, strength and agility without his armor is now considered to be at peak human levels.

Iron Man's abilities are constantly changing because of his constant technological upgrades on the armors. In general terms, he has super strength due to the build of his armor. The exact amount of strength is unknown, but it seems that he can lift and press over 100 tons.

The armor is very durable, capable of withstanding tremendous amounts of punishment. Tony Stark's armor has a muscularly aligned matrix of crystallized iron enhanced by magnetic fields over layers of other metals like titanium, which grants him endurance capable of withstanding high caliber bullets with ease. He can withstand rockets, torpedoes and such, although he does take damage. The armor also enables Iron Man to fly at high speeds, exceeding the speed of a jet airplane, due to the rocket propelled boots that are placed on the bottom of the armor's boots.

Iron Man's suit has many power sources, such as solar converters, electrical batteries and an on-board generator that uses beta particle absorption as a fuel source. The suit is also able to convert nearby energy sources, such as heat or kinetic energy into electricity, or even drain electrical energy directly into the batteries for recharge. Although the suit has some open holes to allow the wearer to breathe normal air, it can be sealed off, allowing the pilot of the suit to go underwater or into space by granting its own life support and limited air supply systems.

As mentioned, Tony Stark controls the suit mostly by movement as if the armor is his skin and through the Extremis upgrade(before it started to fail), essentially making the suit an extension of his own body. In addition to this however is an internal artificial intelligence operating system that provides strategies, background information on opponents, and on surroundings and the current status of the suit.

The Extremis upgrade gave him a healing factor and enhanced abilities and could expel the inner-most armor layer in his body then "will" the rest of the Extremis armor to attach to him

Stark also has equipped the suit with numerous weapons over the years, making the suit more powerful each time. The most often used weapons are the repulsor rays (magnetically channeled beams of super-heated plasma) that are fired from Iron Man's palms or gauntlets. Other weapons that are built into the armor include the uni-beam projector in its chest (controlling the full range of the electromagnetic spectrum from blinding searchlights to cutting lasers), pulse bolts that pick up kinetic energy along the way, so that they hit harder the further they have to travel, an electromagnetic pulse generator and energy shield, the generation of ultra-freons, the creating and manipulating of magnetic fields, sonic blasts, and a holographic generator to create decoys.

Tony Stark has also created many specialized models of the armor. Other models that are in his possession include a model for deep-sea diving, for stealth, space travel, etc. He has also enhanced the armor on a few occasions for unique circumstances. For example, Tony Stark has modified suits like the "Hulkbuster" heavy armor, composed of add-ons to his so-called modular armor, designed to enhance its strength and durability to allow it to take on the Incredible Hulk in combat. One time, when Stark had to face Thor, he made an armor modeled on the Destroyer and used a mystical power source.

While the Iron Man suit is very durable, high amounts of lighting or electricity can make the suit overload, as well as magnets, as this would happen to a regular machine.

Tony stark is effectively a genius, able to constantly create new and improved technologies and make upgrade after upgrade to his suit of cybernetic armor. Iron Man is able to harness his intelligence and ingenuity in order to allow him to defeat more powerful foes and escape their dangerous traps and machinations. Stark is also a powerful leader, able to command the loyalty and respect of others. Stark has been expertly trained by Captain America in hand-to-hand combat, making him a formidable opponent even without the power suit.

For more information on Iron Man's various armors see: Iron Man Armor.

Iron Man/War Machine

One of the most requested and sought after battles in the Marvel Universe has always been War Machine vs Iron man. We've seen them battle only a few times but it's not always been

Iron Man Vs War Machine

James Rhodes in the War Machine armor, in Iron Man vol. 2 it's been Parnell Jacobs.

• Avengers: The Terminatrix Objective #2 (1993)
• War Machine #8 (1994)
• Iron Man #310 (1994)
• Marvel Action Hour: Iron Man #2 (1994)
• War Machine #22 (1994)
• Iron Man #11 (1998) Parnell as War Machine
• Iron Man #12 (1998) Parnell as War Machine
• Iron Man #19 (1998) Parnell as War Machine
• Iron Man #20 (1998) Parnell as War Machine
• U.S. War Machine 2.0 #2 (2003)

Alternate Realities

Earth-1610

For More Information: Ultimates, Ultimate Iron Man

Iron Man Earth-1610 (ultimate)

Earth-1610: The Iron Man of the Ultimate universe is a member of the Ultimates, that universe's version of the Avengers. In the Ultimate Universe, Antonio "Tony" Stark is a wealthy industrialist and a brilliant inventor. Like the original Marvel Universe Tony, he has a dependency on alcohol and a life-threatening affliction. In this case however, his condition is an inoperable brain tumor which could kill him at anytime. For that reason he decides to use his remaining time to the best of his ability, becoming a philanthropist and superhero using the armor he creates.

In the Ultimate Iron Man limited series, it's revealed that the reason for Tony's unprecedented brilliance is that his body contains a regenerative virus which caused him to grow extra neural tissue throughout his body, effectively expanding his brain. However, a side-effect causes him constant pain, which is mitigated by alcohol one reason why he drinks so heavily. On the upside, the virus also lets him regrow lost limbs and organs with incredible speed, as long as he has enough protein available. His skin is also impregnated with a "bacterial armor" that makes him resistant to impact, though it apparently isn't fireproof. The bacteria would eat the skin of anyone who can't regenerate in minutes, which is why he hasn't mass-produced the design.

Super-Human

While forming the original Ultimates, Tony Stark along with Nick Fury are present for the thawing out of Captain America. He goes on to recruit Hank Pym and his wife Janet as they take on their first mission, to stop a rampaging Hulk in Manhattan. Iron Man slams into the Hulk after Giant Man is taken down. Hulk gets up and practically tears Tony from his armor. Tony retaliates with his thought scramblers to buy a quick moment. This buys Wasp some time to get inside Hulk’s head to deliver her sting. Tony hosts a dinner which Captain America and Thor attend. They discuss the Ultimates when Tony reveals his brain tumor to them. He also presents Cap with a gift, his helmet from World War II.

Homeland Security

Tony, Nick Fury and Captain America check in on Wasp who was hospitalized after a domestic dispute with Hank. Later on at the Triskelion, Fury introduces Hawkeye, Black Widow, Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch to the rest of the team as the newest members. He briefs them on their next mission, the Chitauri, shape shifting aliens who had infiltrated the Nazis have been found.

The Ultimates and an army of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents head to Micronesia to attack a base but were setup and are taken out by an explosion. The Chitauri launch their invasion and Wasp is taken captive from the hospital by their leader Herr Kleisser. Wasp gets a call out to Tony who saved the group with his force field. The Ultimates teleport to Phoenix, AZ for their final stand against the invasion. Tony catches a large ship and uses all of his power to slow it down and change it’s course to avoid a town. He succeeds but drains all of his power and has to plug into the local grid for a recharge. The Hulk is then brought in to finish Herr Kleisser while Tony handles the Chitauri’s last resort bomb. He comes to the resolution that he can’t disable it and has Thor teleport it to another dimension. Kleisser is defeated and the invasion is stopped.

Earth-2149

For More Information: Marvel Zombies

Iron Man Earth-2149 Zombiverse.

In the Marvel Zombies reality Iron Man has been turned into a zombie as have most of Earth's heroes. Iron Man is one of the main characters of the Marvel Zombies storyline. Iron Man appears to be one of the uninfected heroes in the S.H.I.E.L.D Helicarrier where the uninfected had met to hear Nick Fury's plan to save Earth from the virus. Iron Man is infected with the virus and he joins the infected zombies on the rampage to find food and consume it. He appears to be one of the zombies left in the Earth after everything was consumed and is one of the zombies to see Silver Surfer come to Earth to tell them that Galactus was coming to eat the planet. The zombies attack him and Iron Man loses his bottom half of his body during the fight but is thrown into the fray by Wolverine. After Silver Surer is subdued, Iron Man becomes one of the few to feast on the Silver Surfer and soon is able to fly again since he had gained a portion of the Surfer's powers. He is one of the zombies seen fighting Galactus, and he retreats to think of a plan to defeat Galactus. He thinks of making a machine where it combines all the zombies new Silver Surfer powers and unleash against Galactus. Iron Man, along with Hulk and Giant Man, build the machine while Galactus is fighting the others. They complete it and the zombies that had gained the Surfer's powers combine their powers into the machine and shoot a beam of the energy at Galactus. Galactus staggers a bit and they shoot a couple more until Galactus falls. Iron Man is one of the zombies that fight the villain zombies to see who would eat Galactus. The heroes easily win and they feed on Galactus, who was becoming conscious and Iron Man becomes one of the few who had gained Galactus's powers. He is seen appearing in an alien world flying with the zombies that had gained Galactus's powers. Later, Iron Man and the zombies are returning to Earth after forty years of consuming the universe. They return to Earth to see that there are still survivors and they attack the remaining survivors. They face opposition from Spider-Man and Luke Cage along with the survivors. Iron Man was the one who had breached the facility they were in and battles Forge, T'Channa (controlled by Colonel America's brain), and several acolytes. The zombies swarm in after the breach has occurred. Giant Man realizes his hunger had disappeared and and tells all the zombies that their hunger is gone. The zombies realize it too and they agree that they stop attacking and spare the survivors. However, an enraged Hulk appears and is hungry for food. Hulk assaults the survivors, but the zombie heroes intervene to save the survivors. Iron Man fights Hulk, but ultimately is killed by Hulk.

Earth-20051

For More Information: Avengers & The Infinity Gauntlet, Marvel Adventures Avengers, Marvel Adventures Iron Man

In the Marvel Adventures reality Iron Man is a member of the Avengers along with Captain America, Spider-Man, the Hulk, Wolverine, Storm and Giant Girl. He also has many solo adventures against villains from his own rogue's gallery.%26nbsp%3B

Earth-2020

For More Information: Exiles #83

Earth-2020

The Iron Man that was a member of the Weapon X team that appeared in Exiles was from this reality. He was one of the few Weapon X members that returned to his home reality alive at that time.

Earth-9997

For More Information: Earth X, Universe X, Paradise X

In the Earth X reality Tony Stark is one of the few remaining humans. In this universe he founded the Iron Avengers.

Earth-5012

For More Information: Marvel Team Up

This version of Iron Man is known as Iron Maniac. His armor resembles that of Doctor Doom, He killed Magneto, and he is more of a villain than a hero.

Earth-982

For More Information: A-Next

In the MC2 reality Tony Stark is retired, but he created Mainframe in order to take his place in the Avengers.

Earth-398

For More Information: Avengers

Anthony Stark of Earth-398 was known as Iron Knight and was a member of the Queen's Vengeance.

Earth-8410

For More Information: Machine Man, Iron Man 2020

In this reality Iron Man is Arno Stark, nephew of Tony Stark. He calls himself Iron Man 2020.

Earth-311

For More Information: Marvel 1602

In the year 1602, there is a Spanish Iron Man named Lord Iron, who became a prisoner in Jerusalem during the English-Spanish war, where he had to make weapons and is also being tortured by David Banner, the Hulk in this universe

Earth-295

For More Information: Age of Apocalypse

In the Age of Apocalypse, Tony is a member of the Human High Council. The injury on his heart was caused by a mutant in this reality.

Earth-12

For More Information: Exiles #14

In this reality, Iron Man is the friend of Mimic, the member of the Exiles.

Earth-355

For More Information: Avengers #355

In this reality, Iron Man is killed by Black Panther, who is called Coal Tiger.

Earth-2189

For More Information: Exiles #47

In this reality, Iron Man died defending his reality against Namora, who plans on invading that earth.

Earth-9200

For More Information: Hulk Future Imperfect

In this reality where the Hulk is now called the Maestro and rules the world, Iron Man was one of the superheroes that was killed during the Maestro's rise to power.

Earth-691

For More Information: Guardians Of The Galaxy

Tony is horrified by the invasion of the Martians and threw all of his armor into space, where it was found by a group of aliens and they used the armor to become pirates calling themselves the Stark. They battle the Guardians Of The Galaxy.

Earth-2122

For More Information: Excalibur #21 and Excalibur #22

In the Crusader X, where the British still control North America, Tony Stark is a freedom fighter of the group called the Sons of Liberty.

Earth-58163

For More Information: House of M

Iron Man Earth-58163 House of M.

In the House of M, Tony is still the owner of Stark Industries and is the winner of the Sapien Death Match, a reality TV show where humans will fight with powerful armor. Magneto became grateful to Tony and his teammates when they prevented a terrorist plot to commit genocide on hundreds of mutants using a "Gene Bomb".

Earth-2301

For More Information: Marvel Mangaverse

In the Marvel Mangaverse, Tony fought Namor and then disappeared. He was replaced by his twin sister, Antoinette "Toni" Stark, a former SHIELD agent. When she was killed by the Hulk, Tony appeared again and is now in the familiar armor. He explained that he had cancer in the spinal cord and is in life support inside the armor.

He design a giant-sized mecha for the Avengers, first, was a robot that is composed of transforming vehicles but was destroyed by the Hulk. The second robot was only a single unit and it battle the Galactus spores before being destroyed along with the Avengers by Doctor Doom.

Earth-983

For More Information:

On another Earth, the Red Skull assassinated Hitler and won World War II for the Axis powers. He eventually turned his power over to a young Victor Von Doom who used the power of the cosmic cube to enslave and keep any resistance under control in the world. In this world, Tony Stark's father, Howard worked along side the Red Skull until he stepped down from power. Tony used his advanced technology to serve his world's Dr. Doom and eventually created an armor and became known as the "Iron Nazi". With his armor he was able to match any hero who opposed him or Doom's power. He was eventually defeated by Mainframe who used his superior technology to over power his armor and shut him down. He escaped and hasn't been seen since but he is apparently butting heads with his world's Reed Richard's over control of Doom's armies.

Other Media

Television

The Marvel Super Heroes

For More Information: The Marvel Super Heroes

Iron Man's first appearance on television and in animation was starring in the recurring Iron Man segments of the 1966 series The Marvel Superheroes Show.

Guest Appearances

Iron Man appeared on Spider-Man and his Amazing Friends in the early 1980's, and guest starred on both Spider-Man the Animated Series and The Incredible Hulk animated series in the 1990's voiced by Robert Hays. He also guest starred on Avengers: United They Stand at the end of that decade. He has since made an appearance on the Fantastic Four: Worlds Greatest Heroes episode 'Shell Games' voiced by David Kaye.

Iron Man The Animated Series

Marvel Action Hour: Iron Man the Animated Series

For More Information: Iron Man The Animated Series

Iron Man starred in his own animated series beginning in 1994 which ran for two seasons and was a part of the Marvel Action Hour along with The Fantastic Four animated series. Tony Stark was voiced by Robert Hays (Airplane) and the show featured the team Force Works as featured in Marvel Comics of the time.

Iron Man Armored Adventures

Iron Man: Armored Adventures

For More Information: Iron Man Armored Adventures

This series is a retelling and re-envisioning of the Iron Man franchise, it's most similar to the Ultimate Iron Man in regards to Tony (voiced by Adrian Petriw) creating the Iron Man armor as a young teen. It is currently airing and has it's own toy line currently in stores. The show came back for a second season which will have Tony, and friends, looking for the last five rings of the Mandarin.

Iron Man gives MODOK a shock

The Super Hero Squad Show

For More Information: The Super Hero Squad Show

Iron Man appears as the leader of the Squad and is voiced by Tom Kenny. He's portrayed more as a softy and usually sleeps in his suit.

Iron Man in Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes

The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes

For More Information: The Avengers Earth's Mightiest Heroes

Iron Man is one of the main characters is the new Avengers series, The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes. Here, voiced by Eric Loomis, Tony Stark is a founding member of the team and current leader. The show airs on Disney XD and had 20 micro-episodes released online prior to the shows premiere. This versions personality and origin closely resemble those of the Iron man films with Tony possessing a sharp irreverent wit and having his identity known to the public as well as his biggest goal (at the beginning of the series) being the destruction of stark weapons technology that has fallen into the wrong hands. He also possess absolute belief in science and it's ability to explain away magic. Like the comics he funds the avengers out of his own pocket and has a strong resentment against S.H.E.I.L.D (though he also has a love hate relationship with Maria Hill) He is strong friends with Hank Pym, enough so that he teases him about flirting with wasp though they clash with the ideology and goals of the Avengers. He also has a strong bond with Captain America even taking to heart one of Caps lessons about not forgetting the past while looking to the future. He respects Thor but often clashes with him over the existence of magic and his relationship with Black Panther is similar to that of the comics. He is often frustrated by the Hulks destructive behavior and trades friendly barbs with hawkeye.

Marvel Anime: Iron Man

Poster for Marvel Anime: Iron Man, Featuring Iron Man and Iron Man Dio

Iron Man is the first show from a production deal between Marvel and the Japanese anime studio Madhouse. The series consists of 12 episodes, was directed by Yuzo Sato, and written by Warren Ellis. The show premiered on Animax in Japan in late 2010, and will be aired in the US on G4 in early 2011.

Ultimate Spider-Man

Iron Man appears in the show as a member of the Avengers.

Film

Invincible Iron Man The Animated Movie

The Invincible Iron Man (2007)

For More Information: The Invincible Iron Man In this movie, Iron Man was never called Iron Man although he was called the Iron Knight by some. Tony Stark raises a ancient Chinese city in China. However, the excavation site was continuously attacked by the jade dragon. Tony stark then travels to china to investigate but he is captured by the jade dragon and he is saved by Rhodes and Yin Sen, and tony has a shrapnel in his heart just like in the comics. Yin Sen then explains that the dragons are trying to prevent the mandarin, a Chinese ruler from returning from death. If the four rings of the mandarin is brought together, the mandarin will be resurrected and returned to life and the world will be in danger of the mandarin. The Invincible Iron Man, released on DVD in 2007 to mixed response from fans.

Iron Man (2008)

For More Information: Iron Man

Iron Man Poster (2008)

In this film, Tony Stark is played by Robert Downey Jr. The film is an adaptation of the retconned Iron Man origin that had him abducted in the Middle East by Islamic radicals. Another doctor, who was also a captive, conducted the surgery on him to save his life, but was unable to remove some of the shrapnel from within his chest. He uses components that were intended to make a weapon to complete a new core that would save his life. The first armor that he made is similar to the original suit of armor from the comics. At the end of the movie, he starts to try and tell the pres the classic bodyguard excuse, but in a surprise move admits he's Iron Man to the press. The villain of the film was Obadiah Stane (Jeff Bridges). The movie was released on May 2, 2008 and was rated PG-13. The film was a hit at the box office and comic fans alike.

Click here to continue

The Incredible Hulk (2008)

For More Information: The Incredible Hulk

Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) had a cameo appearance after the credits of the HULK reboot movie, The Incredible Hulk(2008). He approaches General Ross and makes mention of a special team they are putting together. This is eluding to the Avengers movie that is planned for release in 2012. Though The Incredible Hulk was released before the Iron Man sequel, the continuity of these events take place after the Iron Man 2(2010).

Iron Man 2 (2010)

For More Information: Iron Man 2

Iron Man 2 Poster (2010)

The world is aware that billionaire industrialist Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) is the armored superhero Iron Man. Though under pressure from the government, media, and the military to share his technology, Tony is unwilling to divulge the secrets behind the Iron Man armor because he fears the information will fall into the wrong hands. Among other worries is his discovery that the mineral that at the core of his personal Arc Reactor is slowly killing him and no other mineral exists as a replacement. With Virginia "Pepper" Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) and James "Rhodey" Rhodes (Don Cheadle) at his side, Tony forges new alliances and confronts powerful new adversaries, such as Justin Hammer (Sam Rockwell) and Ivan Vanko/ Whiplash (Mickey Rourke). Click here to continue

Paramount Studios revealed around Christmas 2009 that they had decided to distribute Iron Man 3, which if it follows Jon Favreau's original plan will have the Mandarin as the main villain. Iron Man will also be in The Avengers film being written and directed by Joss Whedon, and it is rumored that Iron Man will appear at least briefly in either the Thor or Captain America films to precede The Avengers, possibly both. Marvel Studios has not commented on these rumors as of January 1st 2010.

Robert Downey Jr is Tony Stark in The Avengers

In the summer of 2010 the Walt Disney Company, which now owns Marvel Entertainment, bought out the distribution rights for Thor, Captain America, The Avengers, Iron Man 3, and indeed all future Marvel projects from Paramount Studios. In late 2010, Jon Favreau announced his departure from the Iron Man film franchise, instead choosing to direct other films for Disney such as the upcoming Magic Kingdom feature film. Iron Man 3 is slated for a May 3rd, 2013 release with Shane Black taking over as director.

Video Games

Captain America And The Avengers

For More Information: Captain America and the Avengers

Iron Man is selectable as a playable character in Captain America and the Avengers for the NES.

Marvel Super Heroes War Of The Gems

For More Information: Marvel Super Heroes War of the Gems

Iron Man is a playable character in Marvel Super Heroes War of the Gems for the SNES.

Marvel Super Heroes

For More Information: Marvel Super Heroes

Iron Man fires all guns blazing in Marvel vs Capcom 2

Iron Man is a playable character in Capcom's fighting game based in the marvel universe called Marvel Super Heroes.

Marvel vs. Capcom 2: New Age Of Heroes

For More Information: Marvel vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes

Iron Man returns as a playable character in this Capcom fighting game based on the marvel and capcom universes.

Iron Man And X-O Manowar In Heavy Metal

For More Information: Iron Man and X-O Manowar in Heavy Metal

He is one of the main characters in the game Iron Man and X-O Manowar in Heavy Metal.

Various Iron Man costumes in MUA

Marvel Ultimate Alliance

For More Information: Marvel Ultimate Alliance

Iron Man is a playable character in the game Marvel Ultimate Alliance. John Cygan provides the voice work for Iron Man in the game.

Iron Man

For More Information: Iron Man

Iron Man is the primary character in the game of the same name. The game is based on the blockbuster movie. Like the movie Robert Downey Jr. provides the voice work for Iron Man.

Iron Man in Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2

Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2

For More Information: Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2Iron Man comes back for the sequel to Marvel Ultimate Alliance. Once again Iron Man is a playable character but is voiced instead by Crispin Freeman.

Marvel Super Hero Squad

For More Information: Marvel Super Hero Squad

Iron Man appears as a playable character in the game adaptation of the show of the same name, Marvel Super Hero Squad. Tom Kenny who provided the voice work for Iron Man in the television program reprises his role for the game.

Iron Man 2

For More Information: Iron Man 2Iron Man 2 is based on the blockbuster movie of the same name. Unlike it's predecessor though Robert Downey Jr. does not reprise his role as Iron Man although he does lend his likeness to the role. Instead Iron Man is voiced by Eric Loomis.

Iron Man readies for an attack in Marvel vs. Capcom 3

Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds

For More Information: Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds

Iron Man returns for another Marvel vs. Capcom game. Eric Loomis once again provides the voice work for Iron Man.

Novels

Iron Man

THE ORIGINAL HEAVY METAL HERO Millionaire industrialist Tony Stark's genius for designing and building high-tech, ultradestructive weapons for America's armed forces has inspired critics to dub him the modern-day Leonardo da Vinci as well as "merchant of death," a moniker he embraces with cool arrogance. But when he's ambushed and kidnapped in the middle of a war zone, Stark comes face-to-face with his own mortality . . . and his true destiny. Now, thanks to him, enemy forces are about to meet their maker. And the world of warfare is about to meet its future a weapon of mass destruction that walks and talks. When man and machine unite, it can only mean one thing: It's time to stand ready or stand back, but don't stand in the way, or else risk the mighty metallic fury of... Written By: Peter David Publisher: Del Rey (April, 1998) ISBN-10: 034550609X ISBN-13: 978-0345506092

Iron Man 2

"I am Iron Man." With those words, billionaire industrialist Tony Stark revealed his secret identity. Now a famous high-tech superhero, he uses his powers to protect mankind. Yet things are not going well for Tony Stark. The U.S. military demands control of the most powerful weapon on earth--the Iron Man suit. His beautiful new assistant has a strange, mysterious agenda while his best friend, Rhodey, has betrayed him. And Tony is hunted by a vengeful Russian criminal armed with a lethal technology that may be stronger than Tony's suit. But even as he fights his demons, the hero faces his greatest threat--one that no armor can defend against... Written By: Alexander Irvine Publisher: Grand Central Publishing (April, 2010) ISBN-10: 0446564583 ISBN-13: 978-0446564588

Iron Man: Femme Fatales

MORE DEADLY THAN THE MALE Millionaire industrialist Tony Stark has rejected the lucrative munitions trade that put his company on the map. But he can't just turn away when the antiterror organization known as S.H.I.E.L.D. asks him for help in its battle against the sinister forces of HYDRA. As the next step in its quest for global domination, the international terrorist cabal is plotting to use cutting-edge technology in a devastating attack on New York City. The source of their advanced weaponry: Stark Industries. Against such fearsome firepower, the city's only hope lies with the agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and with the ultimate human weapon: the golden avenger known as Iron Man. But when the man behind the metal mask falls prey to the schemes of two tantalizing temptresses, both as stunning and seductive as they are lethal, a fatal chink in his armor is revealed a flaw that could lead to his downfall and the city's doom. Written By: Robert Greenberger Publisher: Del Rey (September, 2009) ISBN-10: 0345506855 ISBN-13: 978-0345506856

Iron Man: Operation A.I.M.

The product of A.I.M., MODOK--the Mental Organism Designed Only for Killing--is out to copy an energy chip Iron Man used to defeat Baron Strucker, but the chip is only the first tool needed to make the ultimate weapon, and Iron Man must recruit his fellow heroes to stop MODOK before its too late. Written By: Greg Cox Publisher: Berkley (December, 1996) ISBN-10: 1572971959 ISBN-13: 978-1572971950

Iron Man: Steel Terror

Tony Stark -- the Invincible Iron Man - faces the challenge of his life when he and Earth's mightiest heroes, the Avengers, are faced with the threat of Ultron, the villainous super robot that can never be destroyed. Ultron's hatred for humanity reaches its peak when he creates a doomsday weapon that will wipe out all living creatures across the Earth! When some of his teammates are injured by Ultron's robot warriors, it's up to Iron Man to save the planet before it's too late. Alone and outmatched, Iron Man must fight the robotic madman and his steel henchmen, as the fate of the planet hangs in the balance! Written By: Dean Wesley Smith Publisher: Pocket Books (October, 1996) ISBN-10: 0671003216 ISBN-13: 978-0671003210

Iron Man: The Armor Trap

When millionaire industrialist and scientist Tony Stark is kidnapped, his corporation turns to Stark's best friend, War Machine, to fulfill the ransom before Stark is forced to make a war suit for his crazed captor. Written By: Greg Cox Publisher: Boulevard Books (July, 1995) ISBN-10: 1572970081 ISBN-13: 978-1572970083

Iron Man: Virus

THE ONLY HOPE AGAINST THE ULTIMATE DECEPTION In the clear blue skies above Long Island, two airplanes collide. Tony Stark watches the scene in horror and wishes he had the technology that is almost within his reach a new hyperintelligent instant control system that could have given the aircraft advance warning. But Stark, an obsessive, increasingly troubled recluse, doesn't know that his invention has been compromised. In fact, the collision was a carefully crafted hit on Madame Hydra, the final stage in Arnim Zola's plan to seize control of HYDRA and get rid of Iron Man once and for all. The cunning adversary has already infiltrated Stark Industries security to develop a version of the instant control mechanism that will take over the armored suit and turn it against Stark and S.H.I.E.L.D. While Tony races to track down the source of the intrusion, Zola unleashes direly ingenious computer viruses and the ultimate secret weapon: a murderous clone army based on Stark's most trusted friend. A puppet master of self-replicating terror, Zola is plunging a city into a war that threatens to consume all in its wake. Written By: Alexander Irvine Publisher: Del Rey (January, 2010) ISBN-10: 0345506847 ISBN-13: 978-0345506849

Spider-Man: Doom's Day Book Two - Sabotage

Book two of the Spider-Man Team-Up trilogy, book one teamed up with the Incredible Hulk and book three follows our friendly neighborhood Spider-Man's team-up with the Fantastic Four. Written By: Pierce Askegren & Danny Fingeroth Publisher: GP Putnam (March, 1997) ISBN-10: 1572972351 ISBN-13: 978-1572972353