Armor all: "Iron Man" movie suits

Hey folks! Sorry about the lack of updates yesterday. I was too busy at work and just did NOT have any time to post anything!

So expect a LOT of posts today! Let's start off with some sneak peeks at the various armours that will be featured in the Iron Man movie!


ARMOR ALL: ‘IRON MAN’ MOVIE SUITS
Check out the suits Robert Downey Jr. dons in ‘Iron Man’

By Rickey Purdin

Posted December 10, 2007 9:20 AM

While most comic films feature only one version of superhero garb per leading man, “Iron Man” pulls out all the stops with three confirmed models of Ol’ Shellhead’s mechanical outfit. Each one plays a different role in Tony Stark’s war on crime and luckily (unlike the Dark Knight in “Batman Forever”), there’re no nipples!

MARK I
Initially constructed by Stark out of spare industrial parts after he’s kidnapped by terrorists, this clunky robot-looking suit provides Stark’s escape and packs a flame-thrower, rocket launcher and a tough outer shell. When one attacker sneaks up to shoot Stark in the back of the head at point-blank range, the bullet ricochets off and back into the jerk’s own noggin!

“We got the Mark I out which we took a little bit of leeway with because in the [comic] books it really doesn’t make sense that he would make that out of spare parts,” laughs “Iron Man” director Jon Favreau. “But we wanted to keep the personality of it. Everyone was like, ‘Holy sh--, that’s so cool!’”

MARK II
Seen for a split second in the “Iron Man” trailer and only from the shoulders up, this “evil” version of the armor stands somewhere in terms of design between the clunkier Mark I and the sleeker Mark III. Towering in size at about 8 feet tall, this version’s weapons system hasn’t been fully displayed. But what makes it evil? Gwyneth Paltrow, seen overshadowed by the suit during a display of sneak preview footage at San Diego Comic-Con, knows all too well.

“That’s Iron Monger,” the actress says with a smile. Looks like at some point, the film’s main villain, Obadiah Stane, follows in his comic book namesake’s footsteps and dons the Mark II to become Iron Monger.

MARK III
More closely resembling the suit worn by Iron Man in today’s comic books, this so-sleek-it’s-practically-a-jet version packs a powerful high-five thanks to gauntlets on the palm that emit repulsor rays and boots augmented with flight enhancers that allow for high-speed, mid-air maneuverability. Favreau says he wanted an authentic suit instead of a special effects extravaganza and it paid off after fans saw the final version.

“They were like, ‘Wait, it’s not a fake. It’s a real suit with a real guy!’” boasts the director. “Of course we could do different stuff in CG than it can for real, and that’s what becomes [a] difficulty. You don’t want [him] to be moving around like Robocop and then he flies through the air and looks like Spider-Man.”