Superman flies, Batman broods, Spider-Man shoots webs. But Iron Man, while known and loved by a cult of fanboys, has not planted as big a boot in pop culture. Until Friday, anyway, when the first big summer movie opens. If you don't know Iron Man from Ironside, here's your cheat sheet for what looks like the next big superhero franchise.
Born: Marvel Comics' "Tales of Suspense" in March 1963. Co-creator Stan Lee wanted a businessman superhero, and modeled Tony Stark, a ne'er-do-well weapons manufacturer, loosely on the young Howard Hughes. In the movie, he's a lovable party-boy-patriot.
Hardware: Originally Stark was wounded and captured in the Vietnam War, and he built an iron robot suit to escape his captors. In the movie, Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) does all that in current-day Afghanistan. And the suit is now "gold titanium alloy."
Powers: Stark has "only" brains, money and sex appeal, but the suit is nearly invulnerable, flies and has "repulsor rays" built into the palms.
Nemesis: Obadiah Stane (Jeff Bridges). In the comics, he's an evil business rival; in the movie, he runs Stark's weapons company. Either way, don't trust him.
The song: Black Sabbath did a famous 1970 heavy metal song titled "Iron Man," but it's not about the character. The movie paid to use the famously heavy guitar riff in all the ads and the closing credits, thus making people believe there is more of a connection.
— Phil Kloer
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