Iron Man: Beneath the Armor

Rating All Ages Genre fan book Author Andy Mangels Publisher Del Rey

Anyone who’s read Marvel Comics knows the name Iron Man. He has become an Iconic Character for the Marvel Universe, along with Spider-man, Captain America, and the Phoenix. But who is the man behind the mask? What kind of life has he lived, and what brought him to fight his friends and allies in the Marvel Civil War? Unless you’ve been lucky enough to be reading the series non-stop for the last 45 years, you’ve probably missed out on a few details. Andy Mangels takes readers on an in-depth look at not only the life of one of the most powerful men in the Marvel Universe, but the minds of the creative team that have shaped the core of his life.

Iron Man: Beneath the Armor is separated into seven main chapters. Chapters 1 and 2 cover the early years of Iron Man, from 1963 to the early 80’s. Here the reader is introduced to the creation of Tony Stark, and the events that lead to his invention of the Iron Man Armor. From the change to the easily recognizable red and gold armor, to Tony Starks fall into Alcoholism, all are discussed by the creative teams and bring not only a greater knowledge of the characters life, but a richer sense of the meaning behind that life.

Chapters 3 and 4 cover the 80’s to mid 90’s, and represent a period of the Iron Man time line that can only be described as Chaotic. From the loss of the Stark Fortune to the creation of multiple specialty armors, the comics were a turbulent path for Tony Stark, who found himself hitting rock bottom, trying to crawl back to the top, only to die and be replaced by a younger version of himself (wibbly-wobbly, timey-whimey). While this time period marked the creation of the first Computer generated comic book (Iron Man Of-course), a toy line, and a cartoon series, in 1996 the end was drawing near and everyone was certain that Iron Man would soon become just another suit in the Marvel Museum of Antiquity.

As Tony Stark was killed off in 1996, along with most of the major Superheroes of the Marvel Age, Chapters 5, 6, and 7 cover the resurrection of the Iron Man franchise to it’s current glory. Here readers learn about the Heroes Reborn universe, a pocket dimension created by Franklin Richards, and the events that would lead to the House of M universe and, finally, the great Marvel Civil War. Chapter 7 also brings readers into the Marvel Ultimate Universe, as well as providing information on the upcoming Iron Man Movie staring Robert Downey Jr. (A better man for the role you could not find). In addition to 7 information packed chapters, a Character Bios section has been added to the book to provide more specialized information on all the major characters in the life of Tony Stark. Every friend, villain, and girlfriend is detailed in these pages, allowing readers to truly understand the complexity of the story that has been woven after 45 years. My only complaint, small that it is, is that She-Hulk was left out. Considering how much of a force Tony Stark has been on her life in the recent months, it seems strangely out of place for a book that has done such a great job on so many levels to leave this particular relationship out.

Closing up the book are several pages of Computer Generated Renderings of the more popular Iron Man Armors with descriptions of their features, abilities, and creations. This book boasts that you will “Find out all there is to know about this classic character”, and I’m here to tell you that it exceeds in every way possible.