Iron Man (Ultimate Marvel character)

Last updated
Iron Man
Iron Man (Ultimate Marvel character).jpg
Publication information
Publisher Ultimate Marvel (Marvel Comics)
First appearance Ultimate Marvel Team-Up #4 (July 2001)
Created by Brian Michael Bendis
Mike Allred
(based upon the original character by Lee, Lieber, Heck & Kirby)
In-story information
Alter egoAntonio "Tony" Stark
Team affiliations Stark Industries
S.H.I.E.L.D.
Ultimates
New Ultimates
Partnerships Captain America
Thor
War Machine
Abilities

Iron Man (Antonio "Tony" Stark) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is the Ultimate Marvel version of the superhero Iron Man, who first appeared in the fourth issue of Ultimate Marvel Team-Up , written by Brian Michael Bendis and drawn by Mike Allred. He later appeared in the Ultimates and often appears in other Ultimate Marvel titles.

Contents

In the Ultimate Marvel Universe, the character is a wealthy industrialist, billionaire playboy, genius inventor, business tycoon and world-renowned scientist, who created the Iron Man armor, an exo-suit with high-tech equipment and superhuman capabilities, which grants the wearer with abilities, such as super-strength, flight, enhanced durability and the ability to fire weaponized energy blasts and beams. Like his mainstream counterpart, he has a drinking problem, being commonly depicted as a charismatic and womanizing alcoholic, with a snarky and sarcastic sense of humour, who suffers from a life-threatening affliction; in this case an inoperable brain tumor. With a life expectancy anywhere between six months and five years, he chose to become a philanthropist and superhero, deciding to use the remaining time he has left to live, for a noble purpose. Another major difference from his mainstream counterpart is that this version of Iron Man has an Italian mother hence why he is called "Antonio".

While the character is yet to be featured in his own ongoing series, Stark's early life and origins were initially explored in the Ultimate Iron Man miniseries written by science fiction author Orson Scott Card. However, this origin story is no longer considered canon in the Ultimate Marvel Universe and was retconned as only being a fictional Japanese anime version. [1] On the other hand, the character's adult years have been covered mainly by Mark Millar (in his Ultimates work) and Warren Ellis.

Fictional character biography

Ultimates

In the limited series The Ultimates , when Tony Stark first hears that Nick Fury is assembling a team of superheroes, he volunteers his services. After helping defeat the Hulk, Stark develops a friendship with Thor and Steve Rogers. Though he has many great accomplishments, during the first volume of the Ultimates, he remains unsure of himself, clearly shown when he's heavily beat down and throws up in his own helmet. He acts arrogant, but also constantly doubts his own abilities. In the last issue he seems to decide that he can't continue fighting until a soldier asks, "If you don't do it, who will?". Later, he fights against the X-Men in Ultimate War , captures the Rhino in Ultimate Spider-Man , and fights along with Spider-Man himself in the Ultimate Six storyline.

Stark also appears in Ultimate Wolverine vs. Hulk , where he supports Wolverine being sent to kill Bruce Banner. Stark also criticizes the law being used to stop the Hulk, during which he mockingly suggests creating a Superhero Registration Law referencing the mainstream Stark's support of the Superhero Registration Act. The Ultimate Galactus trilogy also shows the first signs of an early friendship between Stark and Reed Richards (despite the age difference), in addition to him successfully sneaking aboard a Kree spacecraft in Ultimate Secret, and killing a clone of the Silver Surfer in Ultimate Extinction.

The Ultimates 2

In The Ultimates 2 , Tony Stark quickly falls in love and proposes to Natasha Romanova. Just prior to proposing, Stark gives her a black suit of armor, almost identical to his own. The flight test of the suit includes flying over her homeland, where Stark had paid the three million inhabitants of her hometown to stand in a field, spelling out his proposal, which she immediately accepts. When the Liberators invade America, Natasha shoots Edwin Jarvis and then tries to get Stark, at gunpoint, to transfer much of his fortune to her. However, Stark has ultimate control of the nanites in her bloodstream that allows her to interface with her armor. Using these nanites, Stark incapacitates Romanova and retrieves the enemy plans from her mind with the intention of fighting back against the Liberators. He takes "Iron Man 6", a massive helicarrier-sized ship armed with dozens of laser cannons and machine guns, and wipes out the air force of the Liberators in Washington, D.C. (as well as his opposite Liberator number Crimson Dynamo). He then heads to New York to aid the heroes there. After the battle Stark agrees to finance the now independent Ultimates, and seemingly very quickly gets over Natasha's betrayal with the help of a pretty blonde.

Ultimates 3 and Ultimate Human

Ultimate Power marks the first appearance of the independent Ultimates, fighting against an alternate universe Squadron Supreme. This soon follows with the start of Ultimates 3 which sees Stark becoming a full-blown alcoholic. A sex tape that he made with Natasha during their time together also makes it into the public, causing a PR nightmare for the rest of the Ultimates. In Ultimate Human , which was published around the same time, the focus is on Bruce Banner as he pleads with Stark to cure him of his Hulk affliction just before Ultimatum , which dealt with Magneto's attempt at complete destruction.

New Ultimates and Ultimate Armor Wars

After Ultimatum, the Ultimate Comics: Armor Wars mini-series featured Iron Man racing across the world to find his stolen armor in order to save the remains of his enterprise. In Ultimate Comics: New Ultimates , he began a relationship with Carol Danvers and fought against the returning Loki. In the pages of Ultimate Comics: Spider-Man , he was also involved with Captain America and Thor in training Spider-Man to become a better hero. During this time, his brother Gregory Stark became the new financial manager for the new Avengers team in Ultimate Comics: Avengers , which also featured Rhodey (Tony's former best friend) and a new Black Widow.

Ultimate Comics: The Ultimates

In Ultimate Comics: The Ultimates , Tony Stark is among the central characters and a leading member of the Ultimates. In "The Republic is Burning", he saves a now mortal Thor from the destruction of Asgard. With his Asgardian brethren exterminated by the Children of Tomorrow and Yggdrasil drained of the Odinforce, Thor is no longer a God and Stark takes it upon himself to help Thor resume his role as a God of Thunder. He reveals that he has been keeping Thor's harness and hammer (pieces of EUSS technology that gave him his powers in The Ultimates and The Ultimates 2) and gives it back to the mortal Thor, with some modifications. Stark joins Nick Fury's latest Ultimates roster alongside Thor, Spider-Woman, Hawkeye, Black Widow and Falcon.

Following the reunification of the United States, Tony Stark builds a new red-white-and-blue version armor under the name " Iron Patriot " which is badly damaged in a confrontation with the Dead Hand Hydra terrorist group, and is later cut in half during repairs by the Black Knight.

Ultimate Comics: X-Men

In Ultimate Comics: X-Men , following the establishment of the mutant nation of Utopia, Tony Stark is appointed as a liaison between Utopia and the United States by President Steve Rogers. Within Utopia, Stark assumes the role of business affairs and military consultant for the fledgling nation. With Kitty's help, he fakes an explosion in one of Utopia's greenhouses that seemingly destroys the 'super seed' developed by the mutants. Later he promises Kitty that once the attention has shifted away from Utopia, he will start releasing the seeds through back channels and have them freely distributed in accordance to Kitty's wishes.

Return

When the Maker collaborated with High Evolutionary to destroy the Superflow that kept the different universes separate in order to merge them into one reality, the Ultimates members Captain America, Iron Man, Giant-Man, Wasp, and Hulk were revived where they were to help Eternity fight the First Firmament. [2] When Earth-616's version of the Ultimates arrived on Counter-Earth to confront Maker about his actions, he ordered the Earth-1610 Ultimates to attack. As both versions of Ultimates concluded that there is no reason to fight each other, Maker killed the Earth-1610 Captain America for disobeying his orders. Upon Maker being defeated, both Ultimates helped Eternity to defeat the First Firmament. Afterwards, Ultimate Iron Man and the remaining members of the Earth-1610 Ultimates left to pursue Maker. [3]

Other versions

Secret Wars (2015)

During the Secret Wars storyline, a variation of Ultimate Iron Man resides on the Battleworld domain known as the Kingdom of Manhattan where he co-exists with a variation of his Earth-616 counterpart. [4]

Ultimate Universe

During the "Ultimate Invasion" storyline, Maker escaped to Earth-6160 and remade it into his own image. In this reality, Howard Stark operates as Iron Man, Tony Stark still exists, but as a teenager, and Obadiah Stane is his business partner, with both leading Stark/Stane, one of the North American Union's largest corporations and regarded as essentially running the technocratic power bloc. Obadiah is mentioned as being the public face of the company while Howard leads research and development, with both men and the corporation itself having a reputation of innovators and forces of progress.

During an event of international leaders in The City at Latveria that is crashed by a clone army from the future, Howard is knocked out when Obadiah's armor explodes upon him being killed by a Vision clone. Upon being awoken by the Maker, Howard witnesses as the supposed genetic ancestors of the clones are herded and vaporized, causing the surviving clones to be erased since their bloodline ceases to exist. He is then shown the Immortus Engine as the Maker persuades him to help out as he believed that Howard made it. [5]

Sometime after Obadiah's funeral, Howard learns about the nature of the different leaders' rule and the existence of the Maker's Council as some of them give Howard some condolences. In a flashback to Obadiah's funeral, Tony advises Howard to fight back. As the Maker takes Howard into the depths of The City to work on the Immortus Engine, Howard meets Reed Richards who wears a Doctor Doom-like mask and suit. [6] Howard and Reed plot against the Maker by shutting down the forcefield surrounding The City, allowing Kang's armies to invade. Howard shuts down the damper of the Immortus Engine and causes an explosion that engulfs Kang's armies and the Maker. As The City's power conduit surges and closes The City up, Howard reacts in disappointment when he sees who Kang is upon unmasking him. [7]

In other media

Television

Film

Video games

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kang the Conqueror</span> Fictional supervillain in Marvel Comics

Kang the Conqueror is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in The Avengers #8. Kang the Conqueror is most frequently depicted as an opponent of the Avengers and the Fantastic Four. A time-traveler, several alternate versions of Kang have appeared throughout Marvel Comics titles over the years, such as Rama-Tut, Immortus, Scarlet Centurion, Victor Timely, Iron Lad, and Mister Gryphon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ultimates</span> Marvel Comics series

The Ultimates is a fictional superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics and created by writer Mark Millar and artist Bryan Hitch, which first started publication from The Ultimates #1, as part of the company's Ultimate Marvel imprint. The series is a modernized re-imagining of Marvel's long-running Avengers comic-book franchise, centering around a task-force of super-humans and special agents organized by the U.S. government to combat growing threats to the world. The tale chronicles their progress as they bond and slowly learn to work together, despite their differing natures and personalities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thor (Ultimate Marvel)</span> Comics character

In the Ultimate Marvel universe, Thorlief "Thor" Golmen is a fictional superhero based on the Marvel Universe version of Thor, who is the Asgardian God of Thunder and a founding member of the Ultimates. Also known as "Ultimate Thor", Golmen is an anarchist who discovers he is the reincarnated form of the Norse warrior god Thor. The "Ultimate" redesign of the character reduces the number of Thor's powers, and reduces the character's reliance upon his hammer. Perhaps most significantly, the Thunder God's long-established personality is drastically altered, changing him from an eager and willing divine combatant into an ecocentric, arguably unstable, and reluctant warrior.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Iron Lad</span> Comic book superhero

Iron Lad is a fictional superhero character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He is an adolescent version of Kang the Conqueror, armed with a bio-metal suit that responds to mental commands. He is named after his ancestor of the same name.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edwin Jarvis</span> Character in Marvel Comics

Edwin Jarvis is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Jarvis is most often depicted as a supporting character in the titles Iron Man and The Avengers. He is the loyal household butler of the Stark family. Since the 1990s, the character has appeared heavily in media adaptations of Iron Man and Avengers stories.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stark Tower</span> Marvel Comics location

The Stark Tower Complex is a high-rise building complex appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, USA, the complex is named after its owner Tony Stark, who is the alter ego of the superhero Iron Man. The structure is composed of a 93-story Main Tower flanked by a 35-story South Building and 55-story North Building. Located at the top of the Main Tower was the Watchtower of the superhero The Sentry, but it has been replaced by Heimdall's observatory.

Justin Hammer is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is depicted as a villainous entrepreneur, head of Hammer Industries and a frequent adversary of the superhero Iron Man. He is the reason why many of Iron Man's supervillain enemies have access to extremely advanced technology and why these foes use their equipment for violent crimes instead of profiting by bringing the designs to market. These villains are his underworld mercenaries, secretly armed and contractually obliged to fulfill missions against Hammer's competitors and enemies, such as Tony Stark.

<i>Civil War</i> (comics) 2006–2007 Marvel Comics crossover storyline

"Civil War" is a 2006–07 Marvel Comics crossover event. The storyline consists of an eponymous seven-issue limited series, written by Mark Millar and penciled by Steve McNiven, and various tie-in books. The storyline builds upon previous Marvel storylines, particularly "Avengers Disassembled", "House of M", and "Decimation". The series' tagline is "Whose Side Are You On?"

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Iron Spider</span> Fictional armor in the Marvel Universe

The Iron Spider is a fictional powered exoskeleton used by several characters in Marvel Comics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Iron Monger</span> Comic book character

Iron Monger is an alias used by multiple fictional characters, supervillains appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The first character to use the alias is Obadiah Stane, who first appeared in Iron Man #163. The Iron Monger armor first appeared in Iron Man #200.

Stark Industries, later also known as Stark International, Stark Innovations, Stark Enterprises and Stark Resilient, is a fictional multi-national conglomerate appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Frans Robert Bernstein, Stan Lee, and Jack Kirby, the company first appeared in Tales of Suspense #39. Stark Industries is depicted as being owned and run by businessman and namesake Tony Stark, who is also known as Iron Man, and was founded by Tony's father, Howard Stark, from whom he inherited the company.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Iron Man's armor</span> Fictional powered exoskeleton worn by the comic book character Iron Man

Iron Man's armor is a fictional powered exoskeleton appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. It is built and worn by billionaire Tony Stark when he assumes the identity of the superhero Iron Man. The first armor was created in-story by Stark and Ho Yinsen, and was designed by artist Jack Kirby, first appearing in Tales of Suspense No. 39.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Iron Man in other media</span> Marvel Comics version of Iron Man in other media

The Marvel Comics character Iron Man has appeared in various other media since his debut in Tales of Suspense #39. Iron Man has been the focus of three animated series, two Japanese animated projects, and a direct-to-DVD animated feature. An Iron Man live-action feature film starring Robert Downey Jr. as the character and directed by Jon Favreau was released in 2008, with Downey also appearing as the character in the two sequels Iron Man 2 and 3, in a cameo in The Incredible Hulk, and as a main character in several other films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) including The Avengers, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Captain America: Civil War, Spider-Man: Homecoming, Avengers: Infinity War, and Avengers: Endgame.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Howard Stark</span> American comic book character by Marvel

Howard Stark is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is usually depicted as a background character in stories featuring Iron Man and stories featuring Captain America. He is the founder of Stark Industries. Throughout the character's publication history, he has been featured in several incarnations of comic book series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Iron Patriot</span> Fictional character appearing in the Marvel universe

The Iron Patriot is a patriotism-themed exoskeleton used by several fictional characters appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics.

Ultimate Comics: Avengers is a comic book published by Marvel Comics that began in August 2009 as part of the relaunch of the Ultimate Universe under the "Ultimate Comics" imprint. It is a direct follow up to the events of "Ultimatum." The series was written by Mark Millar, creator of The Ultimates and Ultimate X-Men, and co-creator of Ultimate Fantastic Four.

Arno Stark is the name of two similar fictional characters appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, appearing as a counterpart of the superhero Iron Man from the multiverse. The first of these characters is best known as Iron Man 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">J.A.R.V.I.S.</span> Fictional artificial intelligence appearing in the MCU

J.A.R.V.I.S. is a fictional character voiced by Paul Bettany in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) film franchise, based on the Marvel Comics characters Edwin Jarvis and H.O.M.E.R., respectively the household butler of the Stark family and another AI designed by Stark. J.A.R.V.I.S. is an artificial intelligence created by Tony Stark, who later controls his Iron Man and Hulkbuster armor for him. In Avengers: Age of Ultron, after being partially destroyed by Ultron, a common misconception is that J.A.R.V.I.S. is given physical form as the character Vision, physically portrayed by Bettany. Different versions of the character also appear in comics published by Marvel Comics, depicted as AI designed by Iron Man and Nadia van Dyne.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tony Stark (Marvel Cinematic Universe)</span> Character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe

Anthony Edward Stark is a fictional character primarily portrayed by Robert Downey Jr. in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) media franchise —based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name— commonly known by his alias, Iron Man. Stark is initially depicted as an industrialist, genius inventor, and former playboy who is CEO of Stark Industries. Initially the chief weapons manufacturer for the U.S. military, he has a change of heart and redirects his technical knowledge into creating mechanized suits of armor, which he uses to defend Earth.

<i>Ultimate Invasion</i> Marvel Comics limited series

Ultimate Invasion is a four-issue American comic book limited series written by Jonathan Hickman, drawn by Bryan Hitch and colored by Alex Sinclair. The first issue was published by Marvel Comics on June 21, 2023. The storyline shows Maker manipulating a new Earth called Earth-6160.

References

  1. ↑ Ultimate Avengers VS New Ultimates #2
  2. ↑ Ultimates 2 Vol. 2 #9
  3. ↑ Ultimates 2 #100
  4. ↑ Ultimate End #1
  5. ↑ Ultimate Invasion #2. Marvel Comics.
  6. ↑ Ultimate Invasion #3. Marvel Comics.
  7. ↑ Ultimate Invasion #4. Marvel Comics.
  8. ↑ "Avengers World". Avengers Assemble. Season 2. Episode 26. September 20, 2015. Disney XD.
  9. ↑ "CBR - the World's Top Destination for Comic, Movie & TV news". 28 August 2023.
  10. ↑ "Newsarama | GamesRadar+". 25 August 2023.
  11. ↑ Aguilar, Matthew (February 28, 2021). "Marvel's Avengers Reveals Ultimate Iron Man Skin". Comic Book. Retrieved April 2, 2021.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.