Geek Syndicate Issue 6 | Page 48

Geek Syndicate
The suits in the movies have their own history and design alongside a merchandising range. The Mark I was of course the suit Downey’s Stark used to escape in Afghanistan. The Mark II featured flaps such as you’d find on an aircraft. However, it froze when Tony flew too high. Leading to the creation of the Mark III – the first in the film to feature the classic read and gold. The Mark V was the suitcase suit in Iron Man 2, and it was red and silver. That film also introduced the triangular arc reactor design from the Mark VI. The Avengers featured the Mark VII, which could self-assemble around Stark. Iron Man 3 features the Mark 42, as well as [spoiler alert] a whole variety of the specialist suits from the comics including Stealth Armour, Hulkbuster Armour and Space Armour. beit a very rich and gifted man – and not a super-powered man, alien or supernatural presence, Marvel has a rich and complex character that it isn’t hard to relate too and very easy to like. Like many of us today who can’t live without our smart-phones and tablet computers Iron Man is a human with the enhancements of technology.

Ian Simpson

Conclusions
As can be seen, there is a striking relationship between Iron Man’s evolution and society’s relationship with technology. The last forty odd years has also seen a progression of business ethics, politics, international conflict and social responsibility. All these have been reflected in the pages of Iron Man comics, the small screen animations and the silver screen films. Marvel and particularly the writers of Iron Man have understood that society needs heroes to hold up its mirror, so that it may take a good look at itself. With Tony Stark, who is just a man – al-

Arms Manufacturer Comes Good. Iron Man: Director of SHIELD

48

Image © Marvel, 2008