The Comics Were you a fan of Iron Man before the Iron Man movie came out??

[Super Freak]

I had a working knowledge of Iron Man before seeing the film. I knew of his origin, which is one of my favorite superhero origins because it was startlingly tragic to me when I read it as a child. However, I mostly knew of him through the Avenger books. I was also aware of him from various animated series and video games.

 

[kedrell]

Been a fan since 1980 or so. Never collected his books much but had more exposure to him through the Avengers. Always liked the concept of the character as well as his origin. But the only book I collected regularly was the Hulk.

 

[Chris B]

Yes. While I've always generally liked superheros and comic book, with a preference for Marvel, Iron Man is really the only character that I am really passionate about. Iron Man, along with Transformers, were pretty much my childhood passions.

 

[Chris Wallace]

It's an easy question to answer I think. Before I saw it,I was already a fan of Iron Man going back to the 1990s.

What about you guys and gals?? If this thread shouldn't be in this forum,then I apologize because I am honestly not sure at all where it should be. If it has to be relocated then so be it.

Absolutely not. And I'm not now. Granted, I enjoyed his stuff around the end of "Heroes Reborn", but he never was like one of my top 10 heroes. And the events of "Civil War" really turned me against him, seeing him for what he's truly always been-as nothing more than a manipulative, self-serving *****ebag. His support of the SHRA, his betrayal of his longtime comrades & supposed friends, the way he duped Spider-Man & ruined his life, no, I am not a fan of Shell-head, DESPITE my thoroughly enjoying the movie. I just know how to separate the two. My perception of the comics doesn't always sway my desire to see a movie. Sure, I love seeing movies based on characters that I'm really into spidey, but I can just as easily be lured to the theater by a movie that can sell itself on its own merits, without me having any preconceived notions about it. I never read "V For Vendetta" until after the movie came out. I'm not really into the Punisher but the 2004 flick will always have a place on my DVD shelf. I wasn't really into Batman before June 1989. In fact, I-like many people-thought the Adam West show to be a completely true & accurate portrayal of him at that time. I rarely read an issue of FF but loved both of those movies. (& I don't read Silver Surfer at all) I had touched a number of Blade comics that I can count on my fingers prior to 1988. And I have yet to read a single issue of "Hellboy".
There are other examples, too-more than I can probably name in a single post.

 

[C.A.P.]

Yeah been a fan for I don't know how long, way before the movie came out.

 

[kakashi]

I was aware of the character.I've bought iron man issues on and off in the 90's...wasn't really fan of the character until after CIVIL WAR.

Iron man: director of SHIELD is definitely one of the most underrated book marvel has. It's MILES above anything Brubaker done on Captain America in my opinion.

 

[Arach Knight]

Is the book enjoyable despite Tony Starks position more or less as a man who sits on top of his high horse? I can't even read Mighty Avengers without the stink of his irresponsible nature, permeating my subconcious. When he was selfish and had drinking problems...I could muster that. Everybody missteps now and then. But it seems like Tony has currently sped ahead at full force, on the path to being intolerable. He is so manipulative and unreliable.

First he tries to quell Registration legislation by hiring Titanium Man to make Super Heroes look necessary. When that fails he just gives up that ideal and instantly swaps it out for the ideal of the legislators. It is especially hard to stomach such a thought when even a person armed with a light knowledge of Iron Man, knows that he spent a few years dodging questions about dual identities.

He went as far as having other people don the armor, just to protect his identity and now he suddenly forgets what that felt like and decides that others who perhaps feel even stronger about secret ID's, should just give themselves up? I don't think I could find the character readable. Every wednesday, I attempt to pick up something Iron Man related. I even debated buying Favreau's mini series about Tony in Vegas. But I just keep thinking about how much of a licensed villain Tony is. That is what he is. The government has licensed him to more or less be a villain. What's worse, is that Tony actually believes himself to still be conducting himself in the interest of the greater good.

Am I just bitter or am I truly missing some impressive stories and character interpreations in the current run of Iron Man? Because at the moment, i'd rather they have assassinated Tony Stark instead of Steve Rogers.

 

[Chris Wallace]

I'm in FULL agreement, AK.

 

[dru-zod2501]

I've been into IM since I first saw the 90s cartoon when I was little.

 

[dru-zod2501]

Is the book enjoyable despite Tony Starks position more or less as a man who sits on top of his high horse? I can't even read Mighty Avengers without the stink of his irresponsible nature, permeating my subconcious. When he was selfish and had drinking problems...I could muster that. Everybody missteps now and then. But it seems like Tony has currently sped ahead at full force, on the path to being intolerable. He is so manipulative and unreliable.

First he tries to quell Registration legislation by hiring Titanium Man to make Super Heroes look necessary. When that fails he just gives up that ideal and instantly swaps it out for the ideal of the legislators. It is especially hard to stomach such a thought when even a person armed with a light knowledge of Iron Man, knows that he spent a few years dodging questions about dual identities.

He went as far as having other people don the armor, just to protect his identity and now he suddenly forgets what that felt like and decides that others who perhaps feel even stronger about secret ID's, should just give themselves up? I don't think I could find the character readable. Every wednesday, I attempt to pick up something Iron Man related. I even debated buying Favreau's mini series about Tony in Vegas. But I just keep thinking about how much of a licensed villain Tony is. That is what he is. The government has licensed him to more or less be a villain. What's worse, is that Tony actually believes himself to still be conducting himself in the interest of the greater good.

Am I just bitter or am I truly missing some impressive stories and character interpreations in the current run of Iron Man? Because at the moment, i'd rather they have assassinated Tony Stark instead of Steve Rogers.

wow, ok... Tony did many questionable things leading up to and after the war, but the act is about protection not just over the right to privacy. I was pro-reg, still am, and still believe Tony's the best qualified to lead

 

[Arach Knight]

Yeah but lets see what "protection" has led to...

1)The death of Captain America
2)The destruction of New York and Manhattan (World War Hulk)
3)The death of 1 million uninvolved people on the planet Saakar
4)Secret socities operating above the super hero community and world government bodies (the Illuminati)
5)A Skrull invasion (Illuminati)
6)An out of control Sentry (World War Hulk).
7)The death of Bill Foster
8)Meta human prison that violates human rights (inclusive of those noted for heroic service, but defiant of registration).

That last one especially stings. That's like a cop not using his real name when he is a cop. And then because he refuses to give the government his name, they put him in prison and torture him. If you can support that idea in a fictional universe, I dread the thought of how you view real world politics. I'll give Tony credit for still trying to do the super hero thing. He still fights villains and believes in the American government. He is still an Avenger.

Once you get past those shallow qualifications, Tony Stark has truly become a merchant of death. He is a tyrant, traitor, murderer (by association, action and inaction) and over all jerk. With all this focus on retconning Spider-Man, they need to retcon Iron Man. Or at least make him a Skrull. Because at this point, anyone who sees this funny yet intelligent playboy in the movie, is going to be disappointed when they see the self serving jerk that scums up the comic pages. It sends out serious mixed messages.

 

[Chris Wallace]

Yeah but lets see what "protection" has led to...

1)The death of Captain America
2)The destruction of New York and Manhattan (World War Hulk)
3)The death of 1 million uninvolved people on the planet Saakar
4)Secret socities operating above the super hero community and world government bodies (the Illuminati)
5)A Skrull invasion (Illuminati)
6)An out of control Sentry (World War Hulk).
7)The death of Bill Foster
8)Meta human prison that violates human rights (inclusive of those noted for heroic service, but defiant of registration).

That last one especially stings. That's like a cop not using his real name when he is a cop. And then because he refuses to give the government his name, they put him in prison and torture him. If you can support that idea in a fictional universe, I dread the thought of how you view real world politics. I'll give Tony credit for still trying to do the super hero thing. He still fights villains and believes in the American government. He is still an Avenger.

Once you get past those shallow qualifications, Tony Stark has truly become a merchant of death. He is a tyrant, traitor, murderer (by association, action and inaction) and over all jerk. With all this focus on retconning Spider-Man, they need to retcon Iron Man. Or at least make him a Skrull. Because at this point, anyone who sees this funny yet intelligent playboy in the movie, is going to be disappointed when they see the self serving jerk that scums up the comic pages. It sends out serious mixed messages.

You didn't list the ruination of Spider-Man.
The SHRA is unconstitutional, (the method of enforcing it was even moreso)it's the superhero equivalent of the Patriot Act, & it's just an example of the government throwing legislation at a problem to quell the angry masses instead of taking any real action. Heroes didn't kill those 800 people, no matter how reckless & overzealous they may have been; Nitro did. But nothing was being done to reign in the villains, other than handcuffing the only people capable of doing so. Do you truly think anything good would ever come of superheroes being forced to reveal their identited? Do you truly think any lives would be saved as a result? What about all the cops & soldiers who HAVE government-regulated training & STILL make fatal mistakes? Hell, how many government-trained SHIELD agents stupidly got themselves killed when they accompanied Wolverine to take down Nitro?

 

[dru-zod2501]

Yeah but lets see what "protection" has led to...

1)The death of Captain America
2)The destruction of New York and Manhattan (World War Hulk)
3)The death of 1 million uninvolved people on the planet Saakar
4)Secret socities operating above the super hero community and world government bodies (the Illuminati)
5)A Skrull invasion (Illuminati)
6)An out of control Sentry (World War Hulk).
7)The death of Bill Foster
8)Meta human prison that violates human rights (inclusive of those noted for heroic service, but defiant of registration).

2-7 are just your beefs with Stark, not with the Act, and could've happened whether or not the law was passed. 8 sucks, but they are still violating the law.

You didn't list the ruination of Spider-Man.

The SHRA is unconstitutional, (the method of enforcing it was even moreso)it's the superhero equivalent of the Patriot Act, & it's just an example of the government throwing legislation at a problem to quell the angry masses instead of taking any real action. Heroes didn't kill those 800 people, no matter how reckless & overzealous they may have been; Nitro did. But nothing was being done to reign in the villains, other than handcuffing the only people capable of doing so. Do you truly think anything good would ever come of superheroes being forced to reveal their identited? Do you truly think any lives would be saved as a result? What about all the cops & soldiers who HAVE government-regulated training & STILL make fatal mistakes? Hell, how many government-trained SHIELD agents stupidly got themselves killed when they accompanied Wolverine to take down Nitro?

if the "reckless & overzealous" new warriors had their heads somewhere other than firmly up their asses they might have had their **** together enough to stop Nitro.

heroes getting training for their powers and skills is a bad thing? you can't drop someone into a combat zone and expect them to "learn on the fly."

The battles will still go on, people will still get hurt, property will still get damaged, that won't change but with the act maybe they can do things smarter

 

[Arach Knight]

How was #7 a beef with Stark? Bill Foster died, defending himself and the civil liberties of others. He died for American ideals while combating an act that was designed to erradicate those ideals liberties. If there was no SHRA, there would be no Avengers and Secret Avengers. There would have been no fight, no clone Thor and Bill Foster would be alive today. His was the most sensless death in the entire series.

 

[Lobo]

No I wasn't. And while I LOVED the film, I still could not care less about his comic book adventures.

 

[Crowforge]

Love the movie, love the suit in comics and on screen, hate Tony Stark.

 

[Chris Wallace]

2-7 are just your beefs with Stark, not with the Act, and could've happened whether or not the law was passed. 8 sucks, but they are still violating the law.



if the "reckless & overzealous" new warriors had their heads somewhere other than firmly up their asses they might have had their **** together enough to stop Nitro.

heroes getting training for their powers and skills is a bad thing? you can't drop someone into a combat zone and expect them to "learn on the fly."

The battles will still go on, people will still get hurt, property will still get damaged, that won't change but with the act maybe they can do things smarter

I didn't say getting the training was a bad thing; having it forced upon them is. Plenty of heroes have doen JUST FINE without the government training them or breathing down their necks.
And again, the SHIELD agents had government training & they couldn't stop Nitro either. So your argument about the Warriors possibly being able to do it is without merit.

 

[Chris Wallace]

How was #7 a beef with Stark? Bill Foster died, defending himself and the civil liberties of others. He died for American ideals while combating an act that was designed to erradicate those ideals liberties. If there was no SHRA, there would be no Avengers and Secret Avengers. There would have been no fight, no clone Thor and Bill Foster would be alive today. His was the most sensless death in the entire series.

You forgot to list the clone/cyborg Thor in the list of atrocities, too.
It's hard to be a fan of Iron Man behind sights like this.

Or this.

 

[kakashi]

Is the book enjoyable despite Tony Starks position more or less as a man who sits on top of his high horse? I can't even read Mighty Avengers without the stink of his irresponsible nature, permeating my subconcious. When he was selfish and had drinking problems...I could muster that. Everybody missteps now and then. But it seems like Tony has currently sped ahead at full force, on the path to being intolerable. He is so manipulative and unreliable.

First he tries to quell Registration legislation by hiring Titanium Man to make Super Heroes look necessary. When that fails he just gives up that ideal and instantly swaps it out for the ideal of the legislators. It is especially hard to stomach such a thought when even a person armed with a light knowledge of Iron Man, knows that he spent a few years dodging questions about dual identities.

He went as far as having other people don the armor, just to protect his identity and now he suddenly forgets what that felt like and decides that others who perhaps feel even stronger about secret ID's, should just give themselves up? I don't think I could find the character readable. Every wednesday, I attempt to pick up something Iron Man related. I even debated buying Favreau's mini series about Tony in Vegas. But I just keep thinking about how much of a licensed villain Tony is. That is what he is. The government has licensed him to more or less be a villain. What's worse, is that Tony actually believes himself to still be conducting himself in the interest of the greater good.

Am I just bitter or am I truly missing some impressive stories and character interpreations in the current run of Iron Man? Because at the moment, i'd rather they have assassinated Tony Stark instead of Steve Rogers.

I think you're just bitter. It would be pointless for me to recommend the iron man books to you since it's obvious you hated the character.

Incidently, all those things you've mentioned that Tony has done...all those character flaws..those are the things that made me suddenly liked him as a character. Before civil war,i really didn't give a rat's ass about iron man.

before reading Civil war, i was expecting to root for cap and his buddies. but as the story moves along,Tony Stark character becomes more and more interesting to me. I like the fact that he turned out to be a manipulative s.o.b.

I looooved what he done to spidey!

In fact, the only thing that would've make me like the character even more if it turns out that he was somehow responsible for captain America assasination. If that happens, Iron man..the cap killer would be my fav Marvel character

 

[Ironfan72]

Man, how did this turn into hate Iron Man thread, first World War Hulk happened thru the actions of all the members of the Illuminati, not just Iron Man, Cap was killed by someone else, blaming Iron Man is a coup out, and don't blame Iron man for ruining Spider man, blame the current story Brand New day for ruining Spidey.
Plus, don't blame Iron Man, blame the writers, not the fictional character.
Both on going series are very good, Iron Man: Directer of Shield is easily one of the best reads in all of comics, Invincible Iron Man just started, juries still out on that one as yet.
It's a shame you take such a negative stand against one of Marvel's greatest hero's because of some of his action's, whether you agree or disagree with what Tony Stark as done over the last year, he i easily one of the most complex and interesting characters in comics today and your missing a great read and one of the best times in the characters 45 year history.

 

[Chris Wallace]

Man, how did this turn into hate Iron Man thread, first World War Hulk happened thru the actions of all the members of the Illuminati, not just Iron Man, Cap was killed by someone else, blaming Iron Man is a coup out, and don't blame Iron man for ruining Spider man, blame the current story Brand New day for ruining Spidey.
Plus, don't blame Iron Man, blame the writers, not the fictional character.
Both on going series are very good, Iron Man: Directer of Shield is easily one of the best reads in all of comics, Invincible Iron Man just started, juries still out on that one as yet.
It's a shame you take such a negative stand against one of Marvel's greatest hero's because of some of his action's, whether you agree or disagree with what Tony Stark as done over the last year, he i easily one of the most complex and interesting characters in comics today and your missing a great read and one of the best times in the characters 45 year history.

Cap wouldn't have been killed if he hadn't been in custody. He never would have been captured had Tony not betrayed his longtime allies & formed an army against them. Ergot, Tony is responsible. Even he blames himself, as evidenced by his attempt to IMMEDIATELY find a replacement.
"Brand New Day" was done to undo the aftermath of Spidey's public unmasking, which was another of Tony's brilliant ideas.
And TOny has always been self-serving & manipulative, loyal only to himself. The events of Civil War just made this fact clearer.

 

[Ironfan72]

Yeah, I keep forgetting that Stark pulled the trigger, and Cap was on the losing side in Civil War. Civil War can be looked at the fact that Cap also betrayed his allies and formed a army against the US government.
Also isn't more likely that Stark isn't the one who killed Cap or is it due more do to poor book sales? Iron Man has never been cancelled in his 45 years of published title's and I can't tell you how many times Cap's title has been cancelled, re-started, then cancelled again, etc, etc.
Remember at the end of the day it is a fictional character written by writers telling a story that didn't actually happen.
I'll revisit this after Secret Invasion when all of Stark's self-serving actions help save earth and everyone on it from a Skrull invasion, you know, with a stronger Shield, Superhero's being trained to use their powers effectively, it's only self-serving when no one else benefits from those actions.
And was it Iron Man's fault that Spidermans identity was revealed and they had to re-boot the series of was it due to the sales of Ultimate Spider man kicking the crap out of all the other Spider man titles and all the fans complaining about Parker being Married, blah, blah.

 

[Arach Knight]

Chris got to it before I had to say it. As for Captain America, the Brubaker run had been a major success. Also, Captain America was cancelled, because of the platform he was created on. It is hard to continue to market a character that is supposed to be this jingoistic super patriot. World War II was over and Cap was one of the largest propaganda tools of the time. But he did make a come back. Also, I don't know how you can say Iron Man never had a cancelled book.

Tales of Suspense #39-99 (March 1963 - March 1968)
Iron Man and the Sub-Mariner (April 1968)
Iron Man Vol. 1, #1-332 (May 1968 - Sept. 1996)
Iron Man Annual #1-15 (1970-1994)
Iron Man Annual '98-2001
Giant-Size Iron Man (1975)
Iron Man: Crash (1988)
Iron Manual (1993)
Iron Man 2020 (Aug. 1994)
Age of Innocence: The Rebirth of Iron Man (Feb. 1996)
Iron Man Vol. 2, #1-13 (Nov. 1996 - Nov. 1997)
Iron Man Vol. 3, #1-89 (Feb. 1998 - Dec. 2004)
Iron Man: The Iron Age #1-2 (Aug.- Sept. 1998)
Iron Man: Bad Blood #1-4 (Sept.- Dec. 2000)
Iron Man Vol. 4, #1 - (Jan. 2005 - Present) (this series was officially titled as The Invincible Iron Man in the comic's legal indicia; Retitled Iron Man: Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. from issue 15 onwards on covers only; the comic book would not officially be retitled until issue 29 (June 2008) in the comic's legal indicia).[19]
Iron Man: Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. Annual #1 (Jan. 2008)

Iron Man has had plenty of relaunches of titles.

 

[Ironman24]

Stark will probably turn out to be a Skrull anyway,lol. I agree that playing the blame game isn't right, each side was wrong during Civil War, Captain America should never have raised a army against the US government, over what was essentially the right thing to do. Iron Man was wrong for doing some of the things he did, it made for a decent story, not a great one, but decent, personally, I don't miss Captain America, to much of a boy scout, the Ultimate version is much better.
As for Spider man, there is so much wrong with that title they had to pull a DC and reboot it, the reveal was one of many bad stories that needed dumped, of course again, Spider Man is another character I don't care for so don't care.
For anyone to judge Iron Man based off of one story is sad, the title is very good and at it's best, if you've never read Iron Man and don't understand the character, then your in no position to judge based off a snap shot, IMO. :iron man

 

[Ironman24]

Chris got to it before I had to say it. As for Captain America, the Brubaker run had been a major success. Also, Captain America was cancelled, because of the platform he was created on. It is hard to continue to market a character that is supposed to be this jingoistic super patriot. World War II was over and Cap was one of the largest propaganda tools of the time. But he did make a come back. Also, I don't know how you can say Iron Man never had a cancelled book.

Tales of Suspense #39-99 (March 1963 - March 1968)
Iron Man and the Sub-Mariner (April 1968)
Iron Man Vol. 1, #1-332 (May 1968 - Sept. 1996)
Iron Man Annual #1-15 (1970-1994)
Iron Man Annual '98-2001
Giant-Size Iron Man (1975)
Iron Man: Crash (1988)
Iron Manual (1993)
Iron Man 2020 (Aug. 1994)
Age of Innocence: The Rebirth of Iron Man (Feb. 1996)
Iron Man Vol. 2, #1-13 (Nov. 1996 - Nov. 1997)
Iron Man Vol. 3, #1-89 (Feb. 1998 - Dec. 2004)
Iron Man: The Iron Age #1-2 (Aug.- Sept. 1998)
Iron Man: Bad Blood #1-4 (Sept.- Dec. 2000)
Iron Man Vol. 4, #1 - (Jan. 2005 - Present) (this series was officially titled as The Invincible Iron Man in the comic's legal indicia; Retitled Iron Man: Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. from issue 15 onwards on covers only; the comic book would not officially be retitled until issue 29 (June 2008) in the comic's legal indicia).[19]
Iron Man: Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. Annual #1 (Jan. 2008)

Iron Man has had plenty of relaunches of titles.

relaunch's aren't out right cancellations, Iron Man didn't dispair for a year then get relaunched, like Captain America. Iron Man has never stopped being published.