Random Happenstance

Wrong, just wrong. It's partially the art, the angle, and the implication; but Tony's silver armor's mask looks scowlier? More scowlie? Than other armors seen to this point. And in the third panel, the Fixer is enjoying himself maybe a bit too much...From Iron Man #202, "The Savage Goes West!" Written by guest Danny Fingeroth, guest art by Paul Ryan, regular inks by Akin and Garvey again. Guest starring Ka-Zar (or, "Marvel Tarzan") with brief cameos by Zabu and Shanna the She-Devil.

Off topic for a moment, but bear with me: Years and years ago, well before this "internet" you speak of, I become a big fan of the movie Robocop. In this strange, primitive time, there was no internet fanbase or website or discussion groups; or even DVD commentary inside a year of the movie's release. So, I read a lot of Starlog magazines for info on the making of the film, the direction, and the effects. Had to be hardcore back then, tell you what. No point and click for us, we had to get up and actually look for things. Kids today...

Rob Bottin--a great name to be working on that film!--created the Robocop suit. In a Starlog interview, he pointed out that you had to have a (relatively) skinny guy like Peter Weller in there, rather than a more traditional action hero of the time like Schwarzeneggar. Otherwise, "He'd look like the Pillsbury Doughboy in there." Years later, when Schwarzeneggar put on the Mr. Freeze suit for Batman and Robin, the prophecy was fulfilled.

Fascinating, I'm sure, but what does any of that have to do with Iron Man? Well, I'm getting there. Tony Stark is a fairly well built guy, and with a suit of armor about what, an inch thick around almost his entire body? Maybe a little less, but Iron Man should look noticeably larger, more bulky, than just about anyone. But the character is often seen in the company of Thor and Captain America, who would be so buff as to make unarmored Tony seem scrawny...

In the sidebar for links is OAFE.net, an excellent source for information and reviews of action figures. In a recent review of a Predator action figure, it was noted that in toys, the Predator's head often seems a trifle oversized, but that's probably close to the "real-life" model. When played by a person, the mask of a Predator head has to fit over an actor's head, therefore it would be larger. That's why sometimes, an action figure version of Iron Man will either seem a bit pinheaded if unmasked, or have a helmet like a bucket if the head is scaled correctly.

So, while I think Iron Man should be bigger than he usually appears, that may be because in contrast to the Titanium Man or Fin Fang Foom, even a big guy in armor is still going to seem "normal" sized. Or it could just be artistic license. Or, Iron Man's first armor looked like armor, and looked clunky, so it's been "streamlined" to where it is today. Or artistic laziness. You decide! Maybe Tony shouldn't be an in-shape guy, but more of a stereotypically nerdy physique, less defined, more thin. Yeah, I'm sure that would fly for the movie.

More Iron Man week to come, but a couple brief housekeeping notes: after I post this, I'll be adding some more links to the sidebar. Also, check out the Comic Book Shop, which is celebrating its 18th anniversary this weekend! A big congratulations and thank you to Craig, and he always has a comics list and news every week, so check 'em out.