History ComicBook / IronMan

* Foil: To Steve Rogers, playing the selfish cynic to Steve's old-fashioned idealist.

*** Jennifer Walters, in her own comic, encountered a completely amoral lawyer, the head of Tony's legal department who chose to be known simply as 'Legal' and displayed absolutely not a shred of morality either way.

Following the event ''ComicBook/CivilWarII'', Tony put away his suit in order for a new hero to take over--15-year old Riri Williams, an African-American girl who built her own suit of armor in her dorm room at MIT. Another title, ''Infamous Iron Man'', sees Doctor Doom also putting on the Iron Man armor. Tony would later return to being Iron Man and reestablishing another company, ''again''. In January of 2020, Marvel released the title ComicBook/IronMan2020 , which stars Tony’s brother Arno Stark.

*** Riri Williams, as Iron Man / Ironheart is the actionest of action girls.

-->-- '''Tony Stark''', ''Iron Man: Extremis''

-->-- Tony Stark, ''Iron Man'' vol. 4 #1

->''"So in the movie, Tony Stark, head of Stark Industries, is a powerful genius billionaire industrialist sex-magnet. Apparently that's not enough for him, so he decides to add 'superhero' to the list as well."''
-->-- '''Green Goblin''', ''[[WebVideo/ImAMarvelAndImADC Goblin Bloggin]]''

* TimTaylorTechnology: In the earliest issues, the function of the [[YouKeepUsingThatWord "transistors"]] Tony developed was to provide ''more power'' -- "My tiny transistors are '''so''' powerful that they can increase force of '''any''' device '''a thousandfold!'''"

* AffirmativeActionLegacy: Following ''ComicBook/CivilWarII'', with Tony in a regenerative come, a new hero had to take over--15-year old Riri Williams, an African-American girl who builds her own suit in her dorm room at MIT.

Tony Stark was a MillionairePlayboy and industrialist until a battlefield explosion left him with a damaged heart that threatened to kill him. Captured by the enemy forces, he is forced into manufacturing weaponry to aid them. Instead he secretly designed and built a suit of armor ''[[MemeticMutation in a cave, with a box of scraps]]'' to keep his heart beating and to escape from his captors, and in the process became the superhero known as Iron Man. The character first appeared in ''Tales of Suspense'' #39 (March, 1963), created by writers Creator/StanLee, and Larry Lieber, along with artists Don Heck and Creator/JackKirby. He has served as the protagonist of several series since that time. Notable classic storylines include "Demon in a Bottle", which deals with his alcoholism, and "Armor Wars", where he goes on a vendetta after his technology is stolen and reproduced.

In recent years, Iron Man was featured in ''Invincible Iron Man'' -- a rather character-driven title that deals with the troubles of Tony Stark, as well as the politics of Iron Man. The writer Matt Fraction modeled the plot after the movies to some extent to make it a feasible jumping on point for new fans. In 2012, Fraction and Salvador Larocca's five year run ended so that Volume 4 could launch as part of "Marvel NOW", with Kieron Gillen and Greg Land switching from ''ComicBook/UncannyXMen''.

Tony returned back to Earth just in time to have his morality inverted during ''ComicBook/{{AXIS}}'', setting up the nine-issue maxi series ''ComicBook/SuperiorIronMan'' which took him to San Francisco in a silver Symbiote suit, [[TookALevelInJerkAss acting all kinds of jerk-ish]]. He also served as a prominent figure in ''ComicBook/JonathanHickmansAvengers'', serving simultaneously as a member of the Avengers and Illuminati to save the world from colliding into [[ComicBook/UltimateMarvel another universe]] -- and [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt failed]]. This brings us to ''[[ComicBook/SecretWars2015 Secret Wars]]'', which sees the "Armor Wars" story revisited -- set in the Technopolis domain -- depicting a reality in which wearing an armored suit became mandatory for all citizens.

** As the head of Stark Enterprises' legal department, Bert Hindel was assigned by Tony to protect his technology by legal means after it was stolen by Spymaster and then resold by Justin Hammer during the ''Armor Wars'' arc. Unfortunately, Hindel completely fumbled the ball, forcing Tony to resort to attacking everyone who was using his stolen tech and forcibly deactivating it. Tony fired Hindel for his poor performance... and then when he was shot and nearly killed by [[{{Yandere}} Kathy Dare]], Hindel reappeared as her defense attorney. He tried to portray her as an innocent victim reacting to Tony's [[BlatantLies drunken abuse]], with the hope of parlaying the trial into a lucrative book deal. Unfortunately, he [[EpicFail screwed up once again]] when Tony's new lawyer introduced testimony from Dare's psychiatrist, and Dare ended up being confined in a mental institution.

* CurbStompBattle: If Tony's on the receiving end of one, chances are good that in the next issue he'll deliver one right back with an upgraded armor. The battles with Firepower at the end of the ''Armor Wars'' arc, Ultimo in Iron Man #299-300 and Mallen in the ''Extremis'' arc are textbook examples. The conclusion of his first fight with Titanium Man is one from the comic's early history.

** The ''ComicBook/WhatIf'' issue "What If Iron Man Lost the Armor Wars?" (v2 #8) had an outlaw Tony Stark teaming up with some of his armored foes to get back at Justin Hammer, who'd caused his downfall [[ForWantOfANail because Ant-Man couldn't stop the "pest control" in the TransCorp computers]].
* EpicFail: Bert Hindel's attempts to legally protect Tony's technology during the Armor Wars arc...and his later attempt to get revenge on Tony after he was fired by portraying [[{{Yandere}} Kathy Dare]] as an innocent victim of [[BlatantLies Tony's drunken abuse]].

* KnightTemplar: When Tony's technology was stolen by Spymaster and then resold by Justin Hammer, Tony became determined to get it back and prevent it from hurting anyone... no matter what the cost. This led to the ''Armor Wars'' story arc, and Tony eventually even {{Lampshaded}} the fact that he was verging on this trope.

** Tony has often fallen into this for what he [[IDidWhatIHadToDo judges is the greater good]]. Not surprisingly, this has lead to... strained relations with his friends and allies over the years. See ''Civil War'' and ''Armor Wars'' for the most prominent examples.

* WhatTheHellHero: Not in those exact words so much, but Hawkeye's reaction to Iron Man's actions in the Armor Wars. Also, the [[ComicBook/IncredibleHulk Hulk]] when Tony tried to pick a fight with him (see WrongGenreSavvy below).

[[caption-width-right:350: Above: Model 51, one of many Iron Man armors. Below: Tony Stark, the guy who wears them.]]

** His words to Mallen's corpse after decapitating him with a repulsor ray: "Damn you. Damn you for making me do that."

** There have been periods where he was literally trapped inside the armor, once when he was paralyzed he needed the suit to walk. Another time while fighting to keep his technology out of the wrong hands he had a rather vivid nightmare of being consumed by his own technology as a reflection of how much he depends on it to keep him alive. Then, ironically enough, at one point the armor was in fact killing him.

* LightIsNotGood: The Superior Iron Man suit looks like an {{Apple}} product, given its white, silvery design. But the man inside is a greedy, extremistic, self-righteous douchebag.

The Iron Knight. The Armored (or Golden) Avenger. The Man In a Can. The Ol' Shellhead. [[Film/TheAvengers2012 Genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist...]] Go ahead, hum that Music/BlackSabbath song.

* HauledBeforeASenateCommittee: In the 1960s, Stark is faces this situation and it takes so long that the batteries of his hidden chestpiece/external pacemaker run low and he collapses from his heart condition. When an attending doctor opens his shirt, it is finally exposed to the world that Tony Stark is a ''very'' sick man.

Tony returned back to Earth just in time to have his morality inverted during ''ComicBook/{{AXIS}}'', setting up the nine-issue maxi series ''Superior Iron Man'' which took him to San Francisco in a silver Symbiote suit, [[TookALevelInJerkAss acting all kinds of jerk-ish]]. He also served as a prominent figure in ''ComicBook/JonathanHickmansAvengers'', serving simultaneously as a member of the Avengers and Illuminati to save the world from colliding into [[ComicBook/UltimateMarvel another universe]] -- and [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt failed]]. This brings us to ''[[ComicBook/SecretWars2015 Secret Wars]]'', which sees the "Armor Wars" story revisited -- set in the Technopolis domain -- depicting a reality in which wearing an armored suit became mandatory for all citizens.

* BlackBestFriend: James "Rhodey" Rhodes, aka War Machine (and occasionally Iron Man).

* PowerCrystal: On the chest and palms, function as Repulsor Beam emitters.
* PowerGlows: The Repulsor Beam emitters glow when in use.
* PowerOfTheSun: Most of Stark's Iron Man armors have a solar energy collection function that can keep them working on a basic level in situations where there is no other power source to access for recharging, but it's mainly an emergency backup that cannot seriously provide enough power fast enough for combat.

* PoliticallyIncorrectVillain:
** Mallen is rather open about how he thinks the KKK is a force of good.
** The original depiction of Wong Chu and the Mandarin were ''very'' politically incorrect, given the YellowPeril thing.