Movies

Even people who have never read a comic book know who Clark Kent, Bruce Wayne and Peter Parker are. But it's unlikely they are familiar with Tony Stark.

Paramount

Iron Man

Stark is the secret identity of Iron Man, the title character in a movie that's expected to do very well at the box office this weekend. But because he hasn't been the subject of nearly as many cartoons and TV shows as Superman, Batman or Spider-Man, this movie will be many Americans' first exposure to him.

To help readers familiarize themselves with Iron Man, I sat down with Mr. Stark for an imaginary interview.

In a nutshell, what's your origin?

In the early '60s, I was a weapons manufacturer who was captured by enemy troops in Asia. During that incident, some shrapnel was lodged in my heart. While in captivity, I built myself an armored suit to save my life. It also helped me escape.

The early '60s? Dude, how old are you?

Don't worry about that. Like most comic book characters, my origin keeps being retroactively updated to keep me somewhere near 30. Otherwise, I'd be older than John McCain. That wouldn't make for very exciting comics or movies.

Is there a main love interest in your life, à la Lois Lane or Mary Jane Watson?

Not really. While Bruce Wayne pretends to be an international playboy, I actually am an international playboy.

What did you think when Robert Downey Jr. was cast to play you?

Robert's struggles with substance abuse have been well-documented, as have mine, so I thought it was an inspired choice.

What was it like to work with Jon Favreau as a director?

Things worked out so well that Jon and I are collaborating on a comic book.

You once tried to eliminate every other armored character because you thought some of them stole your technology. And you recently led an effort to register all superheroes as federal agents. Is it fair to say you're a bit of a control freak?

Look, I'm a billionaire. I'm regarded as one of the world's smartest people. Every legitimate superhero on Earth reports to me. I didn't get here by leaving things to chance.

Recommended reads

1. The Invincible Iron Man Omnibus Vol. 1 is a collection of the first 46 issues of Iron Man's adventures in the 1960s. ($99.99)

2. Iron Man: Demon in a Bottle is a collection of nine issues from the 1970s in which Iron Man dealt with his alcoholism ($24.99).

3. The first issue of Iron Man: Viva Las Vegas, a four-part series written by Jon Favreau, goes on sale Wednesday ($3.99).

4. Iron Man: Armor Wars is a collection of eight issues from the 1980s in which Iron Man tried to take out every other armored character ($24.99).

5. Civil War is a collection of the seven-issue series from 2006 to 2007 about Iron Man's efforts to legitimize the superhero community ($24.99).