Iron Man
Back to Biographies
Iron Man was introduced by Marvel Comics in the comic book Tales of Suspense #39 in March 1963. The creators were Stan Lee, Larry Lieber, Don Heck, and Jack Kirby.
What are Iron Man's powers?
Iron Man possesses a wealth of powers through his powered armor suit. These powers include super strength, the ability to fly, durability, and a number of weapons. The primary weapons used by Iron Man are rays that are shot from the palms of his gauntlets.
Who is Iron Man's alter ego and how did he get his powers?
Iron Man gets his superpowers from his metallic suit of armor and other technologies invented by his alter ego Tony Stark. Tony is a genius engineer and wealthy owner of a technology company. Tony built the Iron Man suit when he was kidnapped and suffered an injury to his heart. The suit was meant to save his life and help him escape.
Tony also has an improved artificial nervous system which gives him greater healing powers, super perception, and the ability to merge with his suit of armor. Outside of his armor he has been trained in hand-to-hand combat.
Who are Iron Man's Enemies?
The list of foes that Iron Man has battled over the years is long. Here is a description of some of his main enemies:
- Mandarin - Mandarin is Iron man's archenemy. He has superhuman abilities in the martial arts as well as 10 rings of power. The rings grant him the powers such as Ice blast, flame blast, electro blast, and matter rearranger. These powers together with his martial arts skill make Mandarin a formidable foe. Mandarin is from mainland China.
- Crimson Dynamo - The Crimson Dynamo's are agents of Russia. They wear power suits similar to, but not as good, as the one Iron Man wears.
- Iron Monger - The Iron Monger wears armor like Iron Man. Obadiah Stane is the original Iron Monger.
- Justin Hammer - Justin Hammer is a businessman and strategist who wants to take down Tony Stark's empire. He uses henchmen and helps steal and build armors similar to Iron Man's for his foes to use.
Other enemies include Ghost, Titanium Man, Backlash, Doctor Doom, Firepower, and Whirlwind.
Fun Facts about Iron Man
- Tony Stark was based off of millionaire industrialist Howard Hughes.
- Stark has a piece of shrapnel near his heart. His magnetic chest plate keeps the shrapnel from reaching his heart and killing him. He must recharge the chest plate every day or die.
- He also built specialized suits for other environments like deep sea diving and space travel.
- He graduated from MIT with multiple degrees when he was 21 years old.
- He is friends with Captain America.
- Robert Downey Jr. played Iron Man in the movie version.
Back to Biographies
Other Superhero bios:
Batman
Fantastic Four
Flash
Green Lantern
Iron Man
Spider-man
Superman
Wonder Woman
X-Men
