FAQ

For this list only the creators of the characters first appearances are listed. As with all comic book characters, Iron Man and his supporting cast have had several reinventions and different contributions from different writers. Theses include different iterations in different mediums that all have added different concepts to the overall mythology of the characters.

Theirs Anthony Edward "Tony" Stark, referred to as Tony Stark on screen. He made his first appearance in the comic story "Iron Man Is Born!" Tales of Suspense #39 (March 1963) by writers Stan Lee & Larry Lieber and artists Don Heck & Jack Kirby.

Virginia "Pepper" Potts, referred to as Pepper Potts on screen. She made her first appearance in the comic story "The Icy Fingers of Jack Frost!" from Tales of Suspense #45 (September 1963) by writers Stan Lee & Robert Bernstein and artist Don Heck.

Colonel James Rupert "Rhodey" Rhodes/War Machine, referred to as Rhodey Rhodes or War Machine on screen. He made his first appearance as James Rhodes in the comic story "At the Mercy of My Foes Friends!" from Iron Man #118 (January 1979), whilst he's identity of War Machine first appeared in the comic story "Personal Demons" from Avengers West Coast (Volume 2) #94 (May 1993). The character was created by writer David Michelinie, writer/artist Bob Layton and artist John Byrne.

Dr. Aldrich Killian, who made his first appearance in the comic story "Extremis (Part I of VI)" from Iron Man Volume 4 #1 (November, 2004) by writer Warren Ellis and artist Adi Granov.

Maya Hansen, who made her first appearance in the comic story "Extremis (Part I of VI)" from Iron Man Volume 4 #1 (November, 2004) by writer Warren Ellis and artist Adi Granov.

Harold Joseph "Happy" Hogan, referred to as Happy Hogan on screen. He made his first appearance in the comic story "The Icy Fingers of Jack Frost!" from Tales of Suspense #45 (September 1963) by writers Stan Lee & Robert Bernstein and artist Don Heck.

Eric Savin, who made his first appearance in the comic story "Rise and Shine (Part 1) - New York" from Marvel Comics Presents #26 (August, 1989) by writer Doug Moench and artist Paul Gulacy.

Ellen Brandt, referred to as Brandt on screen. She made her first appearance in the comic story "Man-Thing!" from Savage Tales #1 (May 1971) by writers Roy Thomas & Gerry Conway.

J.A.R.V.I.S. (Just A Rather Very Intelligent System) is based on the comic book character of Edwin Jarvis. Edwin Jarvis made his first appeared in the comic story "Captain America" from Tales of Suspense #59 (November 1964) by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby.

Jack Taggert, referred to on screen as just Taggert. He made his first appearance in the comic story "Stark Wars, Chapter VI: The Day the Hero Died" from Iron Man #230 by writers David Michelinie & Bob Layton and artist Mark D. Bright.

and Bruce Banner makes an uncredited cameo appearance, in the comics he is also The Hulk. He made his first appearance in the comic story "The Hulk" from The Incredible Hulk #1 (May 1962) by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby.

Still suffering from posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) following the events in The Avengers (2012), Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) deals with his insomnia by spending his sleepless nights designing new prototypes of the Mark-42 Iron Man suit. The suits come in handy when the mysterious Mandarin (Ben Kingsley), a villainous terrorist, steals TV broadcast time, threatens the United States as well as President Ellis (William Sadler), stages a devastating attack on the Chinese Theater in Los Angeles, and sends Tony's Malibu mansion tumbling into the ocean. When Tony and Colonel James Rhodes (Don Cheadle) finally track down the Mandarin, Tony discovers that an event from 1999 is also connected to the present terrorist attacks.

Iron Man 3 is the third movie in the Iron Man film series, preceded by Iron Man (2008) and Iron Man 2 (2010). The character of Iron Man is based on a comic book of the same name created by Marvel Comics editor Stan Lee and artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby. Iron Man first appeared in issue #39 of Tales of Suspense (March 1963). The story for Iron Man 3 was based on "Extremis", a six-issue story arc from the comic book series Iron Man (vol. 4), published in issues 1 through 6, in 2005 and 2006, by Marvel comics. The screenplay for Iron Man 3 was written by American filmmaker Shane Black (who also directed) and British screenwriter Drew Pearce.

The reason for this is not directly referenced in the film and is left to the viewer's interpretation. It has been noted that the star in the center of the shield has been replaced with an "A", the symbol for anarchy. Kevin Feige has said that the Mandarin uses "symbolism of various cultures and iconography that he perverts for his own end." A popular theory is that he is attempting to twist the ideals the shield represents. This fits in with the speech that he gives in the film: "Ladies, children, sheep... Some people call me a terrorist. I consider myself a teacher. Lesson number one: Heroes, there is no such thing."

After Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow), whose Extremis powers allowed her to survive the fall, kills Aldrich Killian (Guy Pearce), Tony orders JARVIS to destroy the Iron Man suits as proof that he's going to spend more time with Pepper and less time in his lab. The next day, Vice President Rodriquez (Miguel Ferrer) and Trevor Slattery (Ben Kingsley) are arrested. In a voiceover, Tony explains that he was able to cure Pepper and to undergo surgery to remove the shrapnel embedded near his heart. Happy Hogan (Jon Favreau) awakes from his coma, and Harley Keener (Ty Simpkins) comes home from school to find his garage laboratory rebuilt, replete with a brand new potato gun. In the final scene, Tony tosses his old chest arc reactor off the cliff where his mansion used to stand. "My armor?", he asks. It was never a distraction or a hobby. It was a cocoon. And now I'm a changed man. You can take away my house...all my tricks and toys. One thing you can't take away: I am Iron Man.

Yes: Tony Stark can be seen lying on a sofa in a doctor's office. It is revealed that the voice over in the beginning was the start of a movie-length flashback: Stark has told the entire story to his friend Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo), wanting to get it off his chest, even though Banner isn't exactly a doctor of psychology and had nodded off.

He can be seen at the Miss Chattanooga pageant as one of the judges. He is briefly shown on a video monitor holding up a white sign with his critique of one of the contestants.

"Something To Fight For" by Joseph Trapanese

The future of the Iron Man series is uncertain, now that Tony Stark's arc has been completed with his death in Avengers: Endgame and him appearing in ten films.