Real name: Anthony "Tony" Stark
Occupation: Billionaire industrialist
Identity: Secret
Legal Status: Citizen of the United States with
no criminal record
Place of Birth: Long Island, New York
Group affiliation: Avengers
Base of operations: Seattle, Washington; New York City
First appearance: Tales of Suspense #39 (1963)
Height: 6'1"
Weight: 225 lbs.
Eye color: Blue
Hair color: Black
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Current Look
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Synopsis:
Inventor. Businessman.
Ladies' man. Super hero. Gravely injured by an act of industrial sabotage,
billionaire genius Tony Stark saved his own life by designing a life-sustaining
shell -- the hi-tech armor that is the invincible Iron Man. Today, the
world thinks Iron Man is an employee -- Stark's personal bodyguard. In
this dual role, he faces corporate intrigue and super-powered menaces.
Iron Man is a modern-day knight in shining armor, fighting injustice wherever
it rears its ugly head!
Powers: None (see weapons for details)
Weapons:
Iron Man's armor enables him to lift about 70 tons under standard operating
conditions. The suit incorporates various offensive weapons, including
repulsor blasters and a uni-beam, and grants its wearer a degree of
invulnerability and the power of flight.
History:
Tony Stark -- brilliant industrialist, inventor and CEO of Stark Industries,
a weapons and munitions enterprise -- was struck in the chest by shrapnel
while tending to business interests abroad. Wounded, he was taken prisoner
by the Asian warlord Wong Chu and coerced into developing a powerful
weapon in exchange for an operation that would save his life. Instead,
Stark erected a small laboratory with the help of fellow prisoner Ho
Yinsen and realized the latter's design for an electrically powered,
transistorized suit of iron armor equipped with heavy weaponry.
Transformed thereafter
into the invincible Iron Man, Stark defeated his captors. Having won
his freedom, he went on the offensive -- exposing spies, bringing criminals
to justice and opposing any individual or force representing a danger
to national security. Stark was instrumental in establishing S.H.I.E.L.D.
-- the Strategic Hazard Intervention Espionage Logistics Directorate,
a worldwide intelligence and peacekeeping organization -- while Iron
Man became a founding member of the Avengers, Earth's Mightiest Heroes.
All the while, Stark was required to wear the armor's chest-plate to
keep the shrapnel from stopping his heart.
Wishing to retain
a certain degree of anonymity, Stark devised a cover story that cast
Iron Man as his paid bodyguard. Initially, he donned the armor solely
to battle criminals who threatened Stark Industries. Stark matured into
a true champion only when he realized his creation could serve the greater
good. Since shedding his selfish preoccupation with the protection of
his own interests, he has battled numerous foes as Iron Man -- including
the Mandarin, the Iron Monger and Whiplash. But Stark's greatest nemesis
has been alcoholism. A threatened takeover of Stark Industries, compounded
by personal problems, led him to seek solace in a bottle. Although Stark
managed to recover quickly from his first serious bout with alcohol
abuse, the compulsion to drink remains a constant temptation.
Through the years,
Stark has refined the design of his armor. From a bulky, transistorized
iron shell, he eventually evolved a relatively lightweight, integrated-circuit,
magnetically polarized suit with human-looking, articulated musculature.
However, Stark has retained possession of his outmoded armor and prototypes.
One of his suits even became sentient and tried to replace him as Iron
Man -- a battle that ended with Stark receiving a new mechanical heart.
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