One of the important celebrations coming in 2023 will be Iron Man’s 60th anniversary!
It’s a big time for Shellhead! Recently, his Iron Man initial film was inducted into the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress. Can the sequels be far behind? And the coming year will feature a big birthday party for Tony Stark, and part of that comes in the form of a five-issue mini-series called I Am Iron Man.
A recent news release about the book, which will debut in March, said: “I AM IRON MAN is pure Golden Avenger action brought to you by writer Murewa Ayodele and artist Dotun Akande. This dynamic pair of rising stars have already showcased their talents in MOON KNIGHT: BLACK, WHITE, & BLOOD #1, the AVENGERS UNLIMITED INFINITY COMIC, and will soon again in IRON MAN #25. Now, they’ll help Marvel Comics celebrate one of its premier super heroes with this glorious collection of missions from every major Iron Man era! There is no better way to mark Iron Man’s milestone than seeing him fight his way through intense showdowns as the Earth’s mightiest hero that fans adore! Kaiju battles under the sea, alien invasions in the desert, a rescue mission in outer space, and more are to be expected in this incredible new series.”
Starting in the Silver Age and continuing through the 90s, today, and beyond, the mini-series will tell stories never seen before! We’ll see Tony as a hopeless romantic, a genius inventor, a war hero, a billionaire, an Avenger, and a person!
Mr. Ayodele had something interesting to include:
“Iron Man has been my favorite character in all of fiction for years now. I’ve loved the character for so long that I had written a proposal for this series even before Dotun and I broke into comics. So, we are super grateful that Marvel made our wildest dreams come true by giving us this opportunity to tell stories that celebrate 60 years of the awesome existence of Tony Stark… Every issue of I AM IRON MAN is set in an iconic era of Iron Man, explores some deep emotional wounds of Tony Stark, is adrenaline-pumping with exciting set pieces, and is rendered in beautiful illustrations by Dotun Akande (my favorite comic book artist and best friend). It’s the series for Iron Man fans and anyone that has ever wanted to get into Iron Man comics.”
What about the artist, Mr. Akande?
“Working on an Iron Man title—and an anniversary series for that matter—is a dream come true. That dream is a little over a decade old now. Every single line of artwork is a decade-long itch scratched and a very personal love letter to Tony Stark (Iron Man), his creators, other inspiring and amazing storytellers that have worked on his comics, and his very passionate fans. Luckily for me, I found an equally enthusiastic fan of the character in my best friend, Murewa. We have a series of exhilarating, heroic tales we’re sure will be enjoyed by both Iron Man stans and new readers. It’s going to be a thrilling ride. Steel yourself.”
Armor up and blast off through some of Iron Man’s greatest triumphs and most breathtaking battles when I Am Iron Man hits the stands in March!
As a long-time comics reader, I remember taking in that initial adventure for Tony. He was across the ocean, injured by a bomb blast. For years, he needed the armor plate to keep his heart going. Then he fought alcoholism and other personal struggles, like trying to keep his identity as Iron Man, supposedly his own bodyguard, a secret.
Iron Man did have his high and low points in the comics. For example, during one period, Tony was turned into a very young tech expert who was trying to work his way up. Fortunately, that didn’t last long!
Honestly, I think the most important development for Iron Man was the casting of Robert Downey, Jr., as Tony Stark for the movies. He humanized the character, making him relatable and also someone who could lead and be funny or arrogant at the same time.
Once that initial film hit the theaters, Iron Man’s comics sold better! Yes, we’ve even had a woman of color take on being Iron Maiden recently, but Tony still is the most popular and strongest “Iron” character around!
Rumor has it that Mr. Downey, Jr., will be back playing the role sometime soon. We’ll just have to wait and see!
In the comics, he’s always been a leader of the Avengers if not THE leader at times. When I read Tony in the comics, I hear Downey’s voice saying the words!
For those who may not know, that song titled “Iron Man” in which the famous words are said, “I Am Iron Man,” was performed by Black Sabbath back in 1970.
People may not remember, but the initial Iron Man armor was grey and cumbersome. It was easier for him to fly than walk in it, seems to me! Of course, the color actually made me think of “iron” as well! It wasn’t long before the armor turned yellow, making it easier to see on the comic page! (Hey, wasn’t the Hulk grey as well when he debuted?)
Then he stylized the armor, turning it red and yellow as well as much lighter so he could walk and fly in it better! And that was just the beginning!
He soon could choose from space armor, hydro armor, the “Silver Centurion” version (that reminded me of the Coca Cola can of the day), a Hulkbuster suit, blue “arctic” armor, a stealth model, and many more. In fact, I see a total of 72 different suits of armor according to the Marvel.com website!
Besides starring in videogames, Iron Man has had animated adventures! A younger version of Tony starred in Iron Man: Armored Adventures. Of course, he’s been in every cartoon version of the Avengers that’s been on the air or on cable, so those count!
He also appeared in The Incredible Hulk TV show in 1996 as well as Spider-Man in 1994.
His friend James Rhodes has been War Machine in various incarnations as well!
So, what does the future hold for Mr. Stark and Iron Man?
The challenge with Shellhead is keeping his technology current with new developments. As materials in armor continue to become more and more streamlined and moved forward, we’ll see Iron Man become bigger or smaller depending on his needs as a hero.
I’ve always wondered why Tony doesn’t make his armor more remote-controlled to keep his body safer. Naturally, he wants to be part of the action, so he doesn’t do that currently! He could always place his consciousness into robotic armor as well in the future!
It’s probably not what some readers would prefer, but keeping an eye on technology developed for war and attacks will likely be the best way to predict what Iron Man’s armor will look like in the next 60 years!
What do you think? What will Iron Man’s future look like? And what changes would you like to see take place in Tony Stark and Shellhead? What should Marvel do with this character to move the company forward? Feel free to share your opinions below!
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Wayne Hall creates the Wayne's Comics Podcast. He’s interviewed Scott Snyder, Greg Capullo, John Layman, Kyle Higgins, Phil Hester, Jimmy Palmiotti & Justin Gray, David Petersen, Christos Gage, Mike Grell, and Matt Kindt. On this site each week, he writes his "Comics Portal" column (general comics comments and previews) and reviews comics.