The Iron Man Demystified  

Created by Rakesh Prabhakara



Six months before the release, when I watched the trailer of the Movie “The Iron Man”, I was knocked out by the special effects and the CGI (Computer Generated Imagery). The conception and the storyline deserved no criticism. Unlike other Hollywood movies likes Terminator Salvation, Star Trek and X-Men Wolverine, there wasn’t much of blood and gore, the movie was straight forward, urbane and joyous. However, hidden amongst us are exemplary critics who would want to go a step further in order to make sure the movie is worth their silence after leaving the theatre room. To add to that, I happened to find revealing images of the Iron Man Suit.

Shot primarily in California, unlike in New York which has been the home ground for numerous super heroes, the director aimed for a more naturalistic feeling in lieu of the background effects being Skyscrapers and swish locales, with stunning locations like the Hill top Malibu house, vehicle assembly building at Kennedy Space Center, Edward Air Force Base, Caesar’s Palace at L.A and many more.

Following are the artistic imprints of the interiors and exteriors of Malibu House:













The main character being Anthony "Tony" Stark/Iron Man is a billionaire industrialist, genius inventor, and consummate playboy, CEO of Stark Industries and a chief weapons manufacturer for the U.S. military. The son of a Manhattan Project engineer, Howard Stark, he is an engineering prodigy, having built a circuit board at four years old and an engine at six, as well as graduating from the M.I.T summa cum laude at the age of 17. He takes charge of Stark Industries at the age of 21 from Stane, who had been in control of the company since Howard's death.

MARK I or MK I
:



Let me maneuver towards his “Iron Man Suit” models: Iron Man's armor is the fictional powered exoskeleton worn by the character Tony Stark when he assumes his superhero role of Iron Man.

The Mark I design was intended to look like it was built from spare parts: particularly, the back is less armored than the front, as Stark would use his resources to make a forward attack. The armor was also designed to only have its top half worn at times. The Embassy Visual Effect created a digital version of the Mark I. The following image is a slightly modified version of MK I which was later wore by the Villain himself to fight the Iron Man.



MARK II or MK II:



Slightly modified version of the MK I armor of painting it in gold to make its appearance not as creepy when Stark realized that the MK I's appearance was frightening to everyone around him. His date Marion who went with Stark at a circus suggested the armor be painted gold like a knight in shining armor which Stark conveniently did.



The computer setup that Tony slogged on most of his times:



MK II was armored with the features like Repulsors, functional uni-beam or monobeam ( It functioned chiefly as a spotlight but could be adapted for a heat ray or a "proton beam"), Electricity could now be run through the armor's surface.

After a not-so-successful performance of MK I, Stark decided to make few upgradations: Power systems were improved. An internal air supply was added. Boot Jets were improved. Jet-powered roller skates and a propeller for use in water provided enhanced mobility. The armor's magnetic effects were also boosted. Of note is a beam that could deflect energy. An impact control switch was used to brace the armor. Mirrors were used for the first image inducer. The armor possessed various gadgets: Diamond-edged digging tools, a loudspeaker, "jet stream" discs, Freon tablets, tear gas bombs, even a sledgehammer. Radar and a fluoroscope were used as sensors. Radio communications were enhanced by an antenna and a recorder. After the initial armor was damaged by streaming bullets and grenades, a variant of the armor was used with an aluminum coating.

MARK III or MK III:

Here's the Mark III assembly video:





This armor is the first to implement the trademark red and yellow color schemes. Two main helmets were used with this model: the "horned" mask and the riveted helmet.




Repulsors and the uni-beam became standard weapon. A sonic emitter was also added. In addition to radar, the armor also had sonar, a magnetic repellor, and an energy detector.



Unlike other Action Figure movies in which the hero isn’t some angsty teenager or a borderline underwear model, Tony Stark is a mature man, with deep rooted flaws. My hope is that with this as a setup, we’ll get more of the screwed up egomaniac lurking inside Tony Stark’s helmet, and maybe even a more worthy, creative villain as well. The film is filled with all sorts of geeky references hinting at things to come. Iron Man is good enough that you’ll look forward to seeing them brought to fruition in whatever sequels drop from this tree..........


This entry was posted on Friday, June 19, 2009 and is filed under . You can leave a response and follow any responses to this entry through the Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom) .

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