The Guardsman is the name of several characters appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The first incarnation of the Guardsman, Kevin O'Brien, first appeared in Iron Man #43 (November 1971). The second incarnation, Michael O'Brien, was introduced in Iron Man #97 (March 1977). The codename has also been used collectively for a squad of armored agents serving as security at the Vault, as well as for a unit deployed by Alchemax to hunt extraterrestrial threats.
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The Guardsman debuted in Iron Man #43 (November 1971), created by writer Gerry Conway and artist George Tuska.[1] Characters adopting the Guardsman codename subsequently appeared in several Marvel series, including The Vision and the Scarlet Witch (1985),[2]King in Black: Planet of the Symbiotes (2021),[3]Cult of Carnage: Misery (2023),[4] and All-New Venom (2025).[5]
Fictional character biography
Kevin O'Brien
The first Guardsman is Kevin O'Brien.[6] Created by writer Allyn Brodsky and Don Heck, the character first appeared in Iron Man #31 (November 1970).[7]
Kevin O'Brien was born in Chicago. He became an engineer and inventor working for the newly opened Lakani Island plant of Stark Industries who came to the attention of Tony Stark when he invented a stun-ray that managed to harmlessly disperse a crowd of violent protestors. Tony invited Kevin to transfer to the main plant on Long Island, and he accepted. Despite a careless streak that once caused the laboratory he was working in to explode, he became a close friend of Tony and was soon appointed head of Stark Industries' research department.[8]
On several occasions, Kevin assisted Tony and the supposed bodyguard Iron Man, notably against the Spymaster and the assistants the Espionage Elite, saving Tony's life on more than one occasion. Tony then decided to reveal to Kevin his secret identity of Iron Man, and to build for him a second suit of armor for use in the event of an emergency. That emergency would come a short time later, when Iron Man and girlfriend Marianne Rodgers were taken captive by the superhuman madman Mikas the Soulfather. Putting on the armor before being fully tested, Kevin fell prey to a malfunction in the cybernetic circuitry controlling the armor which apparently stimulated the regions of the brain where rage and jealousy originate.[9]
Kevin found himself seized with a sudden attraction for Marianne and became extremely jealous of Tony's power, looks, and fortune. At the same time, Simon Gilbert, then Chairman of the Board of Stark Industries' stockholders, grew alarmed that Tony was moving out of munitions production and mapped strategies with the board to seize controlling interest in the firm from Tony as principal stockholder. Clad in armor and calling himself the "Guardsman", Kevin offered to aid the board in their plot against Tony.[10] As a show of support, he agreed to quell a protest rally outside the plant. The Guardsman aimed his repulsor rays at the crowd, injuring four protestors. Sickened by what he did, Kevin turned on the renegade board members, physically assaulting them. However, seeing Tony with Marianne caused him to once again become unbalanced, and he went outside to vent his rage on the growing crowd of protestors. Tony donned the Iron Man armor and engaged the Guardsman in battle to prevent him from doing any more damage. Losing, the Guardsman sought refuge in an experimental tank. In an attempt to stop him without hurting him, Iron Man's repulsor rays were trained on the vehicle and accidentally hit its fuel supply. The tank exploded, killing Kevin.[11]
Michael O'Brien
The second Guardsman is Michael O'Brien.[12] Created by writer Len Wein and artist Herb Trimpe, the character debuted in Iron Man #82 (January 1976).
Michael O'Brien was also born in Chicago, Illinois. Some months after Kevin's death, when the details of the incident came to public light, Michael, a sergeant in the New York City Police Department, decided that the official investigation exonerating Iron Man's actions was a cover-up. Reopening the investigation without official sanction, O'Brien confronted Tony Stark, interrogated several employees, and declared his intention of proving that Stark was responsible for his brother's death.[13]
O'Brien finally hired Harry Key, an unscrupulous private investigator, to get him inside the Long Island plant. There, O'Brien located the Guardsman armor and put it on, determined to use it to bring Iron Man to justice. However, the malfunction in the cybernetic circuitry that affected his brother's brain also affected his brain and he flew into a rage, seeking to kill Iron Man. Iron Man confronted his attack and finally convinced him that the armor was causing him to act insanely. O'Brien collapsed on rebelling against his own urge to kill Iron Man. Stark took O'Brien into custody rather than press criminal charges, hoping to convince the man of his innocence in Kevin's death. While Stark worked on a new set of armor, the Japanese mutant Sunfire attacked the plant. Stark was unable to put on his new armor since it had not yet cooled, and unable to find any of his spare suits of armor since a saboteur had stolen them. Hence, he was forced to put on the Guardsman armor to fight off Sunfire. O'Brien witnessed Stark's heroic attempts to save lives over a video monitor, aware that Stark was risking a major heart attack by the strenuous activity. Escaping his confinement, O'Brien decided that he was wrong about Stark and determined to help him by donning the now-cooled Iron Man armor. Thus clad, he was mistaken for the real Iron Man and kidnapped by the Mandarin. Stark discovered an old set of Iron Man armor that the saboteur had overlooked and went to China to rescue O'Brien. Upon rescuing him, Stark chose to reveal his true identity to O'Brien before he went off to battle the Mandarin. O'Brien flew back to New York where he took custody of the Guardsman armor once more.[14]
After Iron Man defeated the Mandarin, Stark fixed the malfunction in the Guardsman armor's circuitry so it was safe to wear.[volume&issueneeded] Michael O'Brien was determined to use the armor to vindicate both his brother's and his own senseless actions. When Stark International was taken over by the criminal Midas, the Guardsman joined with a number of Stark's other friends and allies to battle Midas' men. He was turned to gold by Midas' power, but was later restored to flesh.[15] Having quit the police force, O'Brien interviewed for the position of security director at Project Pegasus, the government energy research facility, after its previous director Quasar had quit. With a high recommendation by Stark, O'Brien got the job.[16] Sometime later, while guarding the Project, O'Brien's Guardsman armor was damaged in a battle with the subhuman Lava Men.[16] It was later repaired at the Project's expense. O'Brien, as the Guardsman, has been living and working full-time in the Project since his appointment and has performed his duties capably.[volume&issueneeded]
Later, he was the security chief at Avengers Island.[17] He also participated in the Iron Legion against Ultimo, wearing a re-creation of the Silver Centurion armor.[18]
Ozkar Waters
A new Guardsman, Ozkar Waters, appears during the King in Black tie-in miniseries Planet of the Symbiotes. He is a mercenary for Alchemax and father of Bren Waters (the new host of the Toxin symbiote).[19]
Other known Guardsmen
Current members
Harold "Harry" Bright[20] - member of the Vault Retrieval Team
James "Jim" Cunningham[21] - tried not to panic during the mass breakout of the Vault
Scott Washington (Hybrid)[31] - also known as Guardsman 6, became known as Hybrid when the Riot, Phage, Lasher and Agony symbiotes merged with him after he was paralyzed in a gang shootout[32]
Powers and abilities
The Guardsman armor provides its wearer with enhanced strength, increased speed, offensive weaponry, and flight capabilities.[33]
Reception
Darby Harn of Screen Rant included the Guardsman among the best Iron Man comic characters not yet adapted into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, noting that his "iconic" armor—originally designed by Tony Stark—ties him closely to Iron Man's mythos. Harn highlighted the character's long-standing rivalry with Stark, describing their fallout as an interesting aspect of the Guardsman's history. While multiple individuals have taken on the Guardsman identity, Harn compared his backstory to that of Mysterio in the MCU and suggested the character could serve as an intriguing antagonist for Iron Man’s successors in live-action.[34]
In other media
Television
The Guardsmen appear in the Iron Man episode "The Armor Wars, Part 2". They serve as security for the Vault alongside Hawkeye until Iron Man breaks in to disable the Guardsmen's armor.[citation needed]
Michael O'Brien (voiced by Brian Drummond[35]) is Stark International's security chief under Obadiah Stane. While he does not initially wear a powered suit of armor for most of his appearances, he eventually pilots the Crimson Dynamo suit in the episode "Seeing Red" and the Iron Mongermech in "Enter: Iron Monger."[36] In the latter episode, he refuses to kill Iron Man while the hero was aiding a civilian and is subsequently fired by Stane for showing mercy.[37] Near the end of the second season, he reappears as Howard Stark's bodyguard.
The Guardsmen appear in the episode "Armor Wars" as criminals and former Maggia enforcers, consisting of Force, Shockwave, and later Firepower, who were hired by Stane to become Stark International's commercial mascots and masquerade as superheroes by causing disasters to stop. Upon learning their armors are based on stolen specs for that of Iron Man's, Pepper Potts exposes the Guardsmen as criminals while Iron Man and War Machine defeat them, though Stane escapes suspicion by claiming not to have had any knowledge of the Guardsmen's pasts.
In 2010, Hasbro released a Vault Guardsman action figure as part of the Iron Man 2 film tie-in toy-line.[45] In 2021, another Vault Guardsman action figure was released as part of the Marvel Legends action figure line.[46][47]
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