Iron Man is a Canadian fictional character, created by

cartoonist A cartoonist is a visual artist who specializes in both drawing and writing cartoons (individual images) or comics (sequential images). Cartoonists differ from comics writers or comic book illustrators in that they produce both the literary and ...

Vernon Miller Vernon C. "Verne" Miller (August 25, 1896 – November 29, 1933) was a freelance Prohibition Gunfighter, gunman, Rum-running, bootlegger, bank robber and former sheriff in Huron, South Dakota, who, as the only identified gunman in the Kansas Cit ...

for

Maple Leaf Publishing Maple Leaf Publishing was a World War II-era Canada, Canadian comic book publisher active during the Golden Age of Comic Books. They were one of four publishers—along with Anglo-American Publishing, Hillborough Studios, and Bell Features—whi ...

. A

superhero A superhero or superheroine is a stock character that typically possesses ''superpowers'', abilities beyond those of ordinary people, and fits the role of the hero, typically using his or her powers to help the world become a better place, ...

, the character's debut was in the first issue of ''Better Comics'' in March 1941, a colour title, unlike most of the other Canadian comic books at the time which were printed in

black-and-white Black-and-white (B&W or B/W) images combine black and white in a continuous spectrum, producing a range of shades of grey. Media The history of various visual media began with black and white, and as technology improved, altered to color. ...

and known as " Canadian Whites". Although he lacked a distinct Canadian identity, Iron Man was the first Canadian superhero and, like many

comic book A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...

heroes of the time, he fought against the

Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...

s. He predates the better-known

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...

character Character or Characters may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''Character'' (novel), a 1936 Dutch novel by Ferdinand Bordewijk * ''Characters'' (Theophrastus), a classical Greek set of character sketches attributed to The ...

by 22 years and bears no likeness to that Iron Man. Superficially, he better resembles the amphibious

Namor, the Sub-Mariner Namor (), also known as the Sub-Mariner, is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Debuting in early 1939, the character was created by writer-artist Bill Everett for comic book packager Funnies In ...

, who debuted two years earlier.

Fictional history

Iron Man was the last member of a mutated human subspecies that lived in the

South Seas Today the term South Seas, or South Sea, is used in several contexts. Most commonly it refers to the portion of the Pacific Ocean south of the equator. In 1513, when Spanish conquistador Vasco Núñez de Balboa coined the term ''Mar del Sur'', ...

, having survived a devastating earthquake which eradicated his people. He lived alone in a sunken palace until roused from his mourning by

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. After being summoned by two children and an adult named the Major, he threw in his lot with the

Allies An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

, viewing the Nazis as no better than

pirate Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, v ...

s, whom he also hated.

Special powers

Iron Man was amphibious, indestructable, and had superhuman strength with which he could make great leaps and punch through steel.

References

Canadian comics 1941 comics debuts Superhero comics Comics characters introduced in 1941 Canadian comics characters Canadian superheroes Comics characters with superhuman strength Male characters in comics {{Canadian-comics-stub

Fictional history

Special powers

See also

References