For this list only the creators of the characters first appearances are listed. As with all comic book characters, Iron Man and his supporting cast have had several reinventions and different contributions from different writers. Theses include different iterations in different mediums that all have added different concepts to the overall mythology of the characters.

Theirs Anthony Edward "Tony" Stark/Iron Man, referred to as Tony Stark or Iron Man on screen. He made his first appearance in the comic story "Iron Man Is Born!" Tales of Suspense #39 (March 1963) by writers Stan Lee & Larry Lieber and artists Don Heck & Jack Kirby.

Colonel James Rupert "Rhodey" Rhodes, referred to as Rhodey Rhodes on screen. He made his first appearance in the comic story "At the Mercy of My Foes Friends!" from Iron Man #118 (January 1979) by writer David Michelinie, writer/artist Bob Layton and artist John Byrne.

Obadiah Stane, who made his first appearance in the comic story "Knight's Errand" from Iron Man #163 (October 1982) by writer Denny O'Neil and artist Luke McDonnell.

Virginia "Pepper" Potts, referred to as Pepper Potts on screen. She made her first appearance in the comic story "The Icy Fingers of Jack Frost!" from Tales of Suspense #45 (September 1963) by writers Stan Lee & Robert Bernstein and artist Don Heck.

Christine Everhart, who made her first appearance in the comic story "The Best Defense - Part Three: Technology" from Iron Man Volume 3 #75 by writer John Jackson Miller and artist Jorge Lucas.

J.A.R.V.I.S. (Just A Rather Very Intelligent System) is based on the comic book character of Edwin Jarvis. Edwin Jarvis made his first appeared in the comic story "Captain America" from Tales of Suspense #59 (November 1964) by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby.

Harold Joseph "Happy" Hogan, referred to as Happy Hogan on screen. He made his first appearance in the comic story "The Icy Fingers of Jack Frost!" from Tales of Suspense #45 (September 1963) by writers Stan Lee & Robert Bernstein and artist Don Heck.

Howard Anthony Walter Stark, referred to as Howard Stark on screen. He made his first appearance in the comic story "The Controller Lives!" from Iron Man #28 (August 1970) by writer Archie Goodwin and artist Don Heck.

and Nicholas Joseph "Nick" Fury, referred to as Nick Furry on screen. He made his first appearance in the comic story Sergeant Fury and his Howling Commandos #1 (May 1963) by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby.

All other characters were created just for the film by the movie's writers.

First, it's a very common plot device in action movies: the parachute ejector seat that fails or the parachute that fails to deploy. Great way to create tension in an action sequence like this.

In this case, it looks like a malfunction with the lever that the pilot has to yank on to release his chute: it's probably bent in such a way that he can't pull up on it.

When wealthy industrialist Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) suffers a chestful of shrapnel after his Humvee is bombed by enemy fire in Afghanistan where he has gone to give a presentation of the new Jericho missile that Stark Industries has developed, his life is saved only by an electromagnet attached to a car battery that serves to keep the shrapnel from piercing his heart. Tony escapes from his captors by creating an arc reactor that eliminates the need for the battery and an iron suit that protects him from attack. Back in the U.S., he announces that his company will cease making weapons, and he begins work on an updated armored suit, all to the chagrin of his partner Obadiah Stane (Jeff Bridges).

Iron Man is based on a comic book of the same name created by Marvel Comics editor Stan Lee and artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby. Iron Man first appeared in issue #39 of Tales of Suspense (March 1963). The screenplay for the film was written by Mark Fergus, Hawk Ostby, Art Marcum, and Matt Holloway. Iron Man was followed by Iron Man 2 (2010) (2010) and Iron Man 3 (2013) (2013).

Iron Man is the alias used by billionaire industrialist, inventor, military contractor, philanthropist, adventurer and socialite, Tony Stark. By day, Stark is the majority shareholder, CEO, chief technologist and de facto head of Stark International, a multinational conglomerate of technology companies. Stark International's primary businesses are research and development, weapons manufacturing, engineering, computer software and consumer electronics. Stark transforms himself into Iron Man when he dons his revolutionary suit of powered armor to fight crime and injustice. The Iron Man grants Stark superhuman strength, invulnerability, supersonic-flight capabilities and access to a vast array of directed energy weapons (including Stark's own proprietary repulsor-ray technology). The suit is controlled cybernetically by the wearer (as in the mechanisms of perception and control are similar to that of the natural relationship between the natural brain and the rest of the natural body). It also features a sophisticated operating system which employs some artificial intelligence.

No, Iron Man is not a cyborg. A cyborg or cybernetic being, as commonly depicted in science fiction, e.g., RoboCop (1987), The Terminator (1984), The Six Million Dollar Man (1973), and Darth Vader from Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977), a cyborg is a being that integrates both biological and technological components. This interactive synthesis of organic and artificial systems can produce a wide variety of effects, including but not limited to enhanced strength, speed, reflexes, endurance, intelligence, etc.

Iron Man is a persona or alter ego of a man who wears/operates a suit of powered armor that could be worn by different people.

The Iron Man's power source, the Arc Reactor, is unique to Stark's use case in that it also functions as a life support system that prevents shrapnel embedded in Tony's chest from working its way to his heart.

It is a Boeing 737-800. However, the tail section is CGI-altered to make it appear more futuristic. Stark, being a technology wiz and a billionaire, would jump at the chance to have a sleeker and more modern plane than anyone else.

Iron Man's primary nemesis is Obadiah Stane, aka the Iron Monger. In the beginning of the movie, Stark is captured by a group of terrorists known as "The Ten Rings". The Ten Rings is a reference to long time Iron Man nemesis, The Mandarin, who wields ten directed-energy-based rings as weapons.

The three armors featured are the Mark I, Mark II and Mark III. The Mark I armor is the gray incarnation of the Diving Bell Armor Stark was forced to produce while in captivity. It is bullet resistant and features flamethrowers as its primary weapon. It also has limited flight capability. The Mark II armor features a more streamlined design, flight capabilities and directed energy weapons. It has a monochrome silver-metallic finish. The Mark III is essentially a duplicate of Mark II revised with the trademark red and gold color scheme known to the majority of fans. The Mark III armor compensates for a design flaw in the Mark II design which allowed for "icing" to occur during high-altitude flights.

No, but we do see Tony Stark drinking often. Several characters also have recollections of Tony being inebriated during events that take place prior to the film's timeline.

Presumably because he likes it that way. A standard vodka martini contains vodka, vermouth and an olive, and is crystal clear in color; a "dirty" martini is one that uses olive brine in place of or alongside the vermouth, and appears cloudier in color.

Only some of them. All cinematic material made under the Marvel Studios banner, e.g., Iron Man (2008), The Incredible Hulk (2008), Thor (2011) and Captain America: The First Avenger (2011), are all set in the same universe (known as the Marvel Cinematic Universe), with the characters crossing over (most notably S.H.I.E.L.D. personnel-Fury, Coulson, Romanoff or Barton), culminating in The Avengers (2012) which ties these films together. Marvel Studios also owns / owned The Punisher and Blade, however The Punisher (2004), Punisher: War Zone (2008), Blade (1998), Blade II (2002) and Blade: Trinity (2004) are / were not in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). Other Marvel-based films owned by other studios are not set in the MCU, due to differing ownership. This includes, for example: Spider-Man (2002) and Ghost Rider (2007) (both owned by Sony); X-Men (2000), Fantastic Four (2005), and Daredevil (2003) (all owned by Fox).

In this film it stands for "Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division". Several characters joke about the length, which leads to the creation of the acronym, SHIELD. In the comics, it is "Supreme Headquarters, International Espionage, Law-enforcement Division" from 1965 until 1991 when it changed its name to "Strategic Hazard Intervention, Espionage Logistics Directorate". In the popular 1990s Spider-Man cartoon that aired on Fox Kids, it was identified as "Strategical Hazard International Espionage Law-enforcement Division".

In an Entertainment Weekly interview, Jon Favreau says that Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige ordered the scene cut out of previews in order to keep fans guessing.

The portrayal of Colonel Nicholas Joseph "Nick" Fury by Sam Jackson is based on the Ultimate Marvel Universe interpretation of the character. Ultimate Fury was intentionally patterned after the veteran actor after obtaining his consent to do so. This casting decision has proven controversial amongst continuity purists, despite the fact that it is not the first time such a deviation from original canon has occurred. Wilson Fisk (aka the Kingpin of Crime), a Caucasian character, was portrayed by Michael Clarke Duncan, an American actor of Black descent, in the 2003 adaptation of Daredevil. The Ultimate Marvel Universe is a continuity that is separate and distinct from the classic Marvel Universe. The Ultimate imprint features revisionist versions of characters and stories which are featured in, and originally took place in, classic Marvel continuity. The Marvel Ultimate imprint prefixes all of its characters, scenarios and titles with the word "Ultimate" (e.g. Ultimate Spider-Man, Ultimate Iron Man, Ultimate Marvel Team-Up, Ultimate Adventures, etc). Most Ultimate characters only bear the name and basic origin of their classic counterparts. Other details such as powers, appearance, personality and modus operandi are vastly different. To distinguish the two different continuities, some fans refer to classic Marvel Universe continuity as the "616 Universe". Nick Fury (played by Jackson) appears in a post end-credits sting where he confronts Tony Stark in his residence and says he wants to talk about "The Avengers Initiative." Also as a result of Jackson's involvement with the film series, it led to a new character named Nick Fury Jr. to be introduced into the Mainstream universe as a means to phase out the classic version from the franchise. More Information: Ultimate Iron Man, Ultimate Nick Fury, Ultimate Marvel, Earth-616, and Nick Fury Jr.

There are many differences between the film and comic book properties, the primary differences between the two are documented as follows. In the comics, Ho Yinsen—the man who helped Tony build the first Iron Man suit—was Chinese. The film's Yinsen (Shaun Toub) is Afghani, from the fictional town of Gulmira. However, Yinsen is a Chinese name and it would be unlikely for an Afghan to be so named. Obadiah Stane, in the comics, was a rival businessman, and had his own company, Stane International. However, like his film incarnation, he was friendly with Tony's father before his passing. The group that kidnaps Tony Stark is implied to be connected to the Mandarin, Iron Man's archenemy. The Mandarin had nothing to do with his kidnapping in the comics (well, not directly, anyway). The Ten Rings are also involved with Obadiah Stane, who personally ordered the hit on Tony Stark. This is not the case in the comic book series. Jim Rhodes was a full-bird Colonel in the United States Marine Corps when he first appeared in the comics, while in the film he is a Lt. Colonel in the Air Force. JARVIS, the A.I. featured in the film, is a flesh and blood butler in the comic books.

Yes. Tony returns home to find a mysterious man in black awaiting him. He introduces himself as Nick Fury, director of SHIELD. He points out that Tony is not the only superhero in existence and wants to talk about him joining the "Avenger Initiative."

The original Avengers consisted of Ant-Man, Wasp, Thor, Iron Man and the Incredible Hulk. Captain America joined the group in Volume 1 of The Avengers, Issue number 4, and replaced the Hulk.

Yes. During the scene after Colonel Rhodes gives his "training exercise" cover story to the press, Tony Stark is in the middle of removing his damaged suit. What appears to be a partially built, shield-like apparatus with an American flag design and a star in the middle can be seen in Stark's work area just before Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) discovers him. Producer Kevin Feige has stated that it is, indeed, Captain America's shield. Blink and you'll miss it!

Yes. Tony Stark puts in an appearance at the end of The Incredible Hulk (2008), which suggests that a team is being formed, most likely "The Avengers." In fact, the post-credits scene (i.e., the stinger) makes reference to the "Avengers Initiative."

As Tony Stark arrives at his third annual benefit for the Firefighter's Family Fund, he pats Stan Lee who presents like Hugh Hefner, i.e. wearing a bathrobe and having a supermodel at each of his arms.

Hell Above Water by English alternative duo Curve

Hey Man Nice Shot by American rock band Filter

Iron Man by English heavy metal band Black Sabbath

Back in Black by Australian hard rock band AC/DC

Cochise by American hard rock band Audioslave

Birthright by American industrial rock band Celldweller