Will Marvel's latest superhero movie usher in a new "Iron' age?
Most people, even those who haven't touched a comic book in decades, could probably tell you that Superman's weakness is Kryptonite, Spider-Man got his powers from a radioactive spider and Batman beats up bad guys in Gotham City.
Ask about Iron Man, though, and you'll get a lot of responses like: "What, you mean the Black Sabbath song?"
Iron Man, the superhero, has been a mainstay in the Marvel Comics universe since Stan Lee, Don Heck and Jack Kirby created him in 1963. But despite 45 years of popularity with comic-book fans, he hasn't entered the wider public consciousness.
Marvel hopes that will change this week, when its big-budget action film "Iron Man" opens nationwide Thursday. The film is the first comic book adaptation that Marvel produced on its own, after farming out its best-known characters -- Spider-Man, the X-Men -- to other movie studios.
It might seem risky for Marvel to launch its movie studio with a relatively unknown character, but comic fans believe the film will be a big draw.
"Iron Man is something different," said Mike Wall, manager of the flagship Graham Crackers Comics store in Naperville. "With the armor and all his gadgets, he's like a modern-day knight. The character should translate pretty well to film."
Of course, it doesn't hurt that the movie boasts a cast that includes Robert Downey Jr. as the title character and Jeff Bridges, Terrence Howard and Gwyneth Paltrow in supporting roles. Plus, "Iron Man" will be the first big popcorn movie of the summer season.
Still, it would be nice to know something about the guy before plunking down $10 to see a movie about him, right? So here it is, True Believer: The Guide to Iron Man for Non-Comic-Book-Geeks:
Meet the Man
So just who is Iron Man? The man behind the mask is Tony Stark, a wealthy and brilliant weapons inventor/manufacturer with a taste for the playboy life.
As told in Iron Man's first comic book appearance -- 1963's "Tales of Suspense" No. 39 -- Stark was injured and taken prisoner while checking on his weapons in a Vietnam combat zone. (Based on the trailer, it looks like the setting has been changed to the Middle East.)
Stark's captors tried to force him to create weapons for them, but instead he built a suit of armor that allowed him to escape. The suit worked so well that Stark refined it when he arrived home and decided to use it for the cause of good.
In true Marvel Comics fashion, Stark is a flawed character, both physically and otherwise. His original capture left him with a heart injury, and he struggles with alcoholism even as he tries to save the world.
"I think Tony Stark is one of Marvel's better characters, and Iron Man stories have always had a slightly more dramatic edge to them," Wall said. "So far, it looks like the movie version will be pretty true to Stark's character, which is good."
Power suit
In the classic version of Iron Man, Stark doesn't have any super powers, but James Bond would suffer from gadget envy after seeing Iron Man's tricked-out suit.
Iron Man's signature weapons are the "repulsor rays" that come from his gloves, but that's just the beginning. Jets in his boots allow him to fly. An arsenal of lasers, missile launchers and flamethrowers adorns his body. His helmet functions as a state-of-the-art communications center. Oh, and the suit also gives Stark superhuman strength.
Battling bad guys
The villain who appears in the film is Obadiah Stane, a ruthless competitor of Stark's played by Jeff Bridges. In the comics, Stane waged a relentless industrial espionage campaign against Stark, eventually donning a suit of armor himself in an effort to destroy him.
Other villains in Iron Man's comic-book rogue's gallery include The Mandarin, an evil genius whose rings have mystical powers, and Crimson Dynamo, one of many armored bad guys.
"If they do it right, I could see 'Iron Man' turning into a huge franchise," Wall said. "He's been around a long time, so there are plenty of characters and villains to choose from."