Sat, May 17 2008
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Published May 03, 2008 12:13 am - Comics Corner is published Fridays in pop, The Norman Transcript's weekly entertainment and pop culture section. 'Iron Man' a flawed, fascinating high-flying hero Comics Corner column By Jeff Johncox THE NORMAN TRANSCRIPT (NORMAN, Okla.) NORMAN, Okla. — I’ve always been a fan of Iron Man.
I always equated him with Batman, but Marvel’s more disturbed, drunker version. Last month, Iron Man celebrated his 45th anniversary. Way back in 1963, Stan Lee, Larry Lieber, Don Heck and Jack Kirby created the character, so, yes, he even predates the Black Sabbath song (although the song’s story is about a time traveler who comes back to save mankind from a terrible event, but is transformed into metal and turns on the people who don’t trust him because of his appearance). Tony Stark is one of the most complicated comics frontmen ever. Stark, a billionaire genius whose weapon designs are sometimes misused by the government, becomes Iron Man when he’s attacked by a rogue terrorist group. Shrapnel in his heart has him on his deathbed when fellow captured scientist Yin Sen helps him design an iron suit that keeps him alive. Stark uses the suit to escape, goes back home and decides to help people rather than continue to provide weapons for the government. An Air Force pilot he met after he escaped, James “Rhodey” Rhodes, becomes his confidant, as does his secretary Pepper Potts and his chauffeur, Happy Hogan. Many versions of the suit have come and gone, but one thing has always remained the same: Stark is all about protecting the people. Even when the “Civil War” storyline turned him into a villain to many Marvel readers, Iron Man has always put the good of the people ahead of his own. In the film, which opens Friday, there’s a scene where Stark even mentions protection people from his own designs. And the character was always deep. When villainous Obadiah Stane committed a hostile takeover of Stark International, Stark became a homeless alcoholic. Stane made his own suit, known as Iron Monger (this is apparently the plot of the film), and Stark had to build a next-generation model to defeat the new threat. During this time, Rhodey donned the Iron Man guise for an extended amount of time, and eventually became Iron Man’s partner War Machine. Complicated history? Yes. Deep history? Absolutely. 
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