10 Secrets about Iron Man

10) Iron Man Is An Alcoholic One of the most quintessential Iron Man storylines appeared in the 1979 story arc ’Demon in a Bottle’, which saw the pressures of crime fighting drive Tony Stark into alcoholism. In an interview with fansite ’Comic Book Movie’, Iron Man 3 director, Shane Black, and writer, Drew Pearce, revealed that Stark’s alcohol problems were featured in their original script. However, this storyline was cut by Disney, due to pressure from mommy bloggers, who disapproved of alcohol in movies marketed to kids. 9) Who could hate Iron Man? Many of Stan Lee’s early superheroes were everyday people with everyday problems. But, when Lee first conceived Iron Man, he did so with the intent to see if he could win over traditionally liberal comic book readers with a character that represented everything they hated. Launched during the height of the Cold War, whilst opposition against the US military and their involvement in Vietnam was building, Iron Man’s first storyline placed him in Vietnam as a weapons manufacturer, making money by providing weapons to the army. But Lee’s strategy for Iron Man’s lasting appeal was simple, ‘shove him down [the reader’s] throats and make them like him’. 8) Made for the role It’s hard to imagine a Marvel Cinematic Universe in which Robert Downey Jr wasn’t cast to play Iron Man, but he almost didn’t get the role due to his reputation as a recovering drug addict. However, Iron Man director, Jon Favreau [Fav Raw], saw Downey’s personal struggles as the very reason he’d make the perfect Iron Man, stating “the character seemed to line-up with Robert in all the good and bad ways. And the story of Iron Man was really the story of Robert’s career.” Marvel movies starring Downey have since earned $4 billion at the global box office, making Favreu’s casting decision one of the best in blockbuster history. 7) Iron Man Armor Tony Stark is constantly creating new and improved versions of his Iron Man suit, with at least 53 different models existing in the comics and a whooping 45 versions of the suit appearing in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. As well as Iron Man’s Hulkbuster armor, which was seen in Avengers Age of Ultron, Iron Man also has Thorbuster armor. First appearing in a 2003 comic, Iron Man made a suit to defeat Thor powered by the same Asgardian energy crystal that powers Thor’s hammer. Other, more inventive, versions of the Iron Man suit include his Stealth armor, which renders Iron Man invisible and his Space armor, which allows him to fly into outer space. The suit is equipped with life support, a food supply and practical waste removal systems. Handy. 6) Robert Downey Jr’s Money Thanks to his role as Iron Man, in 2015 Robert Downey Jr became the highest paid actor in the world, for the third consecutive year. According to the 2015 Forbes list, his annual earnings of $80 million are the highest ever recorded for an actor. After the success of the first Iron Man film, Downey signed a lucrative profit sharing deal with Marvel to ensure he gets a percentage of future box office profits for every film he reprises the role. In addition to receiving a cut of Captain America 3's profits, there's a clause set in Robert Downey Jr.'s contract that will put him in line for another pay out if the film breaks the franchise's record. 5) Floating Timeline When Iron Man first appeared in the Marvel comics in 1963, it was during the height of the Cold War. His origin story stated that Tony Stark built the Iron Man suit with scientist Ho Yinsen whilst captured during the Vietnam War, justifying Iron Man’s position as an anti-communist hero. However, over the years Iron Man’s origin story has updated to ensure the character has remained relevant against contemporary political threats. During the 90s, Iron Man’s origin story was reimagined to take place during the Persian Gulf War. Whilst more recently his origin story has been set during the war in Afghanistan. 4) Howard Hughes Stan Lee, based Tony Stark, the ‘Genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist’, on business tycoon, Howard Hughes. During his lifetime Hughes was one of the most financially successful people in the world, who amongst other achievements, was known for developing new weapon technologies. However, according to Iron Man director, Jon Favreau, Robert Downey Jr based his own portrayal of Iron Man on rocket scientist and modern day renaissance man, Elon Musk, the co-founder of Tesla and Paypal. 3) Captain America taught him how to fight Without his Iron Man suit Tony Stark is just a normal man. However, in the ‘Demon in a Bottle’ storyline, Stark is taught hand to hand combat by no other than Captain America. To take on the role of Iron Man, Robert Downey Jr had to seriously weight train to get the sculpted body of the playboy billionaire. Already an avid student of Chinese martial art Wing Chun, Downey has since adapted the self-defense training into his daily routine. To get into shape for the first Iron Man film, Downey undertook a disciplined workout routine for 9 months, eating more than 5,000 calories a day, eventually pilling on 10kg of pure muscle. 2) Iron Man, Busy Man Iron Man was one of the founding members of the Avengers when the comic first launched in 1963. Along with Thor, Ant-Man, The Wasp and the Hulk, the collection of superheroes united to defeat Thor’s brother, Loki. As well as being a founding member of the Avengers, in 2003 Tony Stark was even made the Secretary Of Defense by the president of the U.S, but he was forced to resign when Scarlet Witch used her powers to cause Stark to drunkenly insult members of the United Nations. In 2013, the Guardians of the Galaxy series was relaunched. To attract comic book fans to this fresh series, Marvel added Iron Man to the intergalactic team. 1) Genius Billionaire Playboy Philanthropist As of 2013, Forbes estimates that Tony Stark is the 4th richest fictional character, with a net worth of a whooping $12.4 billion. That would make him richer that the richest person in Australia, Blair Parry-Okeden, or former Google CEO Eric Schmidt. Website ‘Go Banking Rates’, estimates that an enormous $8.46 billion dollars of Stark’s net worth has been invested into building his Iron Man suits. But even with his expensive gadget collection, Stark is still estimated to be $3 billion richer than the Dark Knight, otherwise known as billionaire industrialist Bruce Wayne. Source: Forbes, Go Banking Rates, The Celeb Worth