Iron Man (TV series)

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Iron Man (1994 TV series)
Format Animated
Starring Robert Hays
James Avery
John Reilly
Country of origin Flag of the United States United States
No. of episodes 26 (List of episodes)
Production
Running time approx. 26 minutes/episode
Broadcast
Original channel Syndicated
Original run September 24, 1994 – February 24, 1996
External links
IMDb profile
TV.com summary

Iron Man is an animated television series based on Marvel Comics' superhero Iron Man. The series aired from 1994 to 1996 in syndication as part of The Marvel Action Hour, which packaged Iron Man with another animated series based on Marvel properties, the Fantastic Four, with one half-hour episode from each series airing back-to-back. The show was backed by a toy line that featured many armor variants.

Contents

Iron Man's origin was changed for this series:[1][2] rather than shrapnel near his heart, Tony Stark, Iron Man's alter ego, instead had multiple slivers near his spine, threatening paralysis. Also, instead of Wong Chu, Stark and Yisen were held captive by the Mandarin,[3] who had been altered by his rings to have green skin and greater physical strength. Stark's armor on the show was the Mark XI "Modular Armor", which was the armor he was wearing in the comics while the show was being produced.

For more details on this topic, see Iron Man's armor.

The first season[4] of Iron Man featured little more than a straight-forward concept of "good against evil", with Stark at the helm of his family built business, Stark Industries and battling the minions of the Mandarin, an enemy he had made whilst held as a captive in the Himalayas in his costumed identity. The Mandarin's main goals every episode were to try and seize possession of Iron Man's armour, which he knows Stark had a hand in designing, or to lure Iron Man into elaborate traps in order to destroy him - a feat nearly accomplished in the two-part "The Origin Of Iron Man"

The Mandarin led a group of villains, consisting of Dreadknight, Hypnotia, Blizzard, Blacklash, Grey Gargoyle, Whirlwind, Living Laser, M.O.D.O.K. and Justin Hammer. Iron Man led his own team, based on Force Works, a then-current comic book team whose members had previously been affiliated with the West Coast Avengers. The members where Iron Man, Century, War Machine, Scarlet Witch, Hawkeye and Spider Woman.

The episode titles in this season paid homage to the over-the-top titles that graced the early Stan Lee Marvel comics of the 1960s straight to the early 1980s, ("The Sea Shall Give Up Its Dead", and "Rejoice, I am Ultimo, Thy Deliverer"), primary writing on all episodes were handled by Ron Friedman, the writer of Transformers: The Movie. Freidman also handled writing duties on the Fantastic Four series that followed this during the Marvel Action Hour.

The first season of the series incorporated a regular stock armor-donning sequence for Stark. Upon opening his briefcase (which formed into his armour), Stark steps into the openings available, which shut upon entrance. After this, the screen transforms into a CGI rendering as Stark elevates his mask to his face. A non-CGI variation of this sequence was used only once. Rhodes, War Machine, did not share this sequence when he "armoured up."

In 1996, Marvel switched The Marvel Action Hour to a new animation studio, and with it came new writers and new music for each sequence, coupled with a new direction for the series. The first season's subtle keyboard theme music for Iron Man (composed by progressive rock artist Keith Emerson) was replaced by an intense electric guitar theme featuring the repeated refrain of "I am Iron Man!", while showing Tony Stark beating red-hot iron plates into shape with a blacksmith's hammer.

The new storylines spanned multiple episodes and were no longer "open and shut" cases. They formed a linking narrative, featuring themes of duplicity, consequence, and phobias. Also, the stories were no longer centered on the Mandarin, whose rings had been scattered and whose power had been depleted. While the Mandarin did appear in these episodes, his appearances were reduced to cameos in the cliffhangers at the end of the story, as he tried to retrieve each ring.

Another change was that Force Works was mostly written out of the series, parting ways with Stark after he deceives them in order to work in secret against the Mandarin. This split would be revisited with Stark's ensuing conflicts with Hawkeye over the course of several episodes. Also, War Machine develops a phobia of being trapped inside his armour (also based on a then-current comic storyline), but this is resolved before the final episode.

In the finale,[5][6] the Mandarin, having regained all of his rings, unleashes a mist using the heart of darkness to render everything technological useless. Iron Man reunites with Force Works in order to stop him. The Mandarin unmasks Iron Man before their final showdown ends in his apparent death. After disappointing ratings, the series was cancelled.

A new Iron Man series was in production in France for airing in 2006 alongside a new Fantastic Four series, in effect reviving The Marvel Action Hour, though it remains to be seen if they will be aired together or not. In September 2006, the Fantastic Four series aired on Toonami at 8:00 p.m. every Saturday, whilst the Iron Man series did not.

Interestingly, this series of Iron Man was among the few television series to be rerecorded in THX. This may have been a usual at the time for a motion picture, but it is rare for a television series.

Main article: List of Iron Man episodes

On October 8, 2007 the complete series was available to buy on region 2 as a three disc box set.

  1. ^ The Origin Of Iron Man, Part One
  2. ^ The Origin Of Iron Man, Part Two
  3. ^ The Origin Of The Mandarin
  4. ^ Iron Man In Animation - A Retrospective - #4
  5. ^ The Hands Of The Mandarin, Part One
  6. ^ The Hands Of The Mandarin, Part Two

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron_Man_%28TV_series%29"
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