MCU Character Review: Iron Man Mark I Armor - Iron Man (2008)

I can't remember the first time I saw the Mark I armor (created by writers Stan Lee and Larry Lieber and artist Don Heck). Most likely, it was some flashback scene in an issue during the Layton/Michelinie era. I've since gotten a copy of it's first appearance...

...but it's in Marvel Masterworks #20, which I'm totally okay with.

But in order for me to truly understand the character, l needed to check the hot sheets in my collection. 

This has an entry for Iron Man with Rhodey in the suit, but nothing on previous armors. 

There's more about Rhodey's suit here, but only Rhodey's suit. 

Tony's back at this point and the armor is different, but still nothing about the Mark I. Then I tried...

which has tons of cool Eliot R. Brown artwork. Most of the information here deals with software upgrades, repulsor development, helmet and gauntlet specifications and such. However, it also has a two-page spread near the back of the book (can't be more specific because none of the pages are numbered. WTF?) featuring twelve different armors - including the Mark I, which:

• incorporated the pacemaker ('natch),
• had the first portable proton beam generating monobeam (good for only several yards),
• employed negative feedback body motion sensors,
• was powered by flat linear armature DC motors,
• could fly (using body english to steer), and
• was called the "Mod I Mark I" suit.

Aside from that, I know that the suit was created after Tony was captured in Afghanistan Vietnam with the help of Ho Yinsen...and was grey. So,

how'd Marvel Studios do?

1) Casting
How do you cast an actor to play a suit of armor? You don't. Having said that, the stuntman hired to be in the suit (at least most of the time, according to the Iron Man Blu-ray documentary) was Mike Justus. 

He had the daunting task of emoting while wearing the 100+ pound suit for up to 12 hours a day, including the 'Walk of Destruction' scene, and won the "Best Fire Stunt" Taurus Award (along with Damien Moreno and Tim Trella) for his efforts.

2) Wardrobe
The concept art was by Ryan Meinerding.

What's cool about Meinerding's work is that it's based in reality. 

He realized that a substructure was needed in order to support the suit's weight while allowing the wearer to move. We never see the scene shown above, with Tony wearing the suit's 'skeleton', but it shows how much thought went into the Mark I's design.

The actual suit was created by Stan Winston Studios...

...and they took Meinerding's work to heart.

Everything about the armor looked like it could work. The flamethrowers did work, and the left forearm could easily hide a missile in there with room to spare. 

3) Script
In other words, character development.

This is what the Mark I looks like in the books.

This is the Mark I in the film.

Normally, I'd discuss this under Wardrobe, but the character being reviewed here is the wardrobe, so let's take a closer look at it.
Mark Fergus, Hawk Ostby, Art Marcum and Matt Holloway co-wrote the screenplay, and had to figure out a way to explain the existence of the Mark I while keeping everything "grounded in reality". They succeeded by making the Mark I Tony's means of escape - just like in the books. But where Don Heck's visuals have a smooth, finished appearance, the cinematic version is awkward, jagged and badass. To pull that look off, the writers made the Cinematic Mark I a visual representation of Tony's ordeal as he (with Ho Yinsen's help) built it:

• He was conflicted. Tony had shrapnel in his chest from one of his own weapons threatening his heart. And how did he plan his escape? By creating a suit of armor to keep him safe...from more of his own weapons.
• He was desperate. Tony built the suit with everything he could get his hands on. 
• He was innovative. To get the suit to work, Tony made things up as he went along - forcing things to be compatible that weren't intended to be compatible.
• He was dangerous. The suit wasn't just for protection. Like a cornered animal, it had bite...with flamethrowers and a missile.
• He was single minded. Yes, the original plan had Yinsen escaping with him (and don't ask me how the boot rockets would have helped. Was he supposed to carry Yinesn at that point?). But while I don't think Tony expected the suit to disintegrate in mid-air, it didn't bother him all that much when it did. Why? Because the suit outlived its usefulness. He didn't need it anymore. It's job was done. Tony left it in the desert, and never even thought about going back for it after he was rescued - another Stark creation left behind to bite him in the ass later on, which brings up a question:

In Iron Man 2, the Mark I in the Hall of Armors was labeled as "Reconstructed". I always assumed Tony got his hands on the Iron Monger suit and de-constructed it back to its original form. I mean yeah, he could have simply built another Mark I from scratch since he'd have access to all that stuff anyway, but if that's true, what happened to the Iron Monger suit? Don't tell me it's still out there, and could show up in a future installment of the MCU...

(SPOILER ALERT) 

Frank Castle goes up against the Mark I in this story, but how he manages to survive the experience I'll keep to myself. Just read the book.

In any case, the "Reconstructed" Mark I was destroyed in Iron Man 3 along with all the other suits.

4) Special Effects
Industrial Light and Magic handled a lot of the effects for the film, but most of the specific VFX for the Mark I (including the 'Walk of Destruction') were done by The Embassy - a much smaller company located in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Iron Man was their first major film, 

and they knocked it out of the park. 

District 9 was their next project, and they earned an Oscar nomination. Marvel Studios must have loved their stuff, because they hired The Embassy back for Iron Man 2, Iron Man 3 and Captain America: The Winter Soldier.

The Mark I was Marvel Studios' first attempt to bring a "superhero" to the screen. Yeah, RDJ made Tony Stark a household name, but the Mark I Armor made him Iron Man. It was a daunting task that went through a lot of hands, but every step - from the look of the suit, to the acting in the suit to the effects with the suit - worked beautifully.