Iron Man (TV series)
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- This article is about the 1994 Animated TV Series. For other uses, see Iron Man.
| Iron Man (1994 TV series) | |
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| Genre | Animated |
| Running time | approx. 26 minutes/episode |
| Starring | Robert Hays James Avery John Reilly |
| Country of origin |  United States |
| Original channel | Syndicated |
| Original run | September 24, 1994–February 24, 1996 |
| No. of episodes | 26 (List of episodes) |
| IMDb profile | |
| TV.com summary | |
Iron Man was 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.
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.
As of 2006, there are currently no plans for a DVD release of the show. This, however may change depending on the success of the planned Iron Man film, as it did with the 2005 Fantastic Four film.
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[edit] First season
The first season of Iron Man featured little more than a straightforward 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 episode titles in this season paid homage to the over-the-top titles that graced the early Stan Lee Marvel comics of the 1960's straight to the early 1980's, ("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.
This season was not a success with fans due to a range of multiple flaws; though more popular than the FF series, it suffered from numerous perceived problems - halfhearted attempts at psuedo-science, lacking character development, awkward animation, and bland acting. Other fans accused Friedman of handling too many scripts and suffering from burn-out that translated to the onscreen product.
However, some defenders of the season point to episodes that looked deeper into the characters to prove this season worthy, such as when The Mandarin seized an island hostage, alongside Modok's wife. The origin episodes for Iron Man and The Mandarin also explained in more detail the motivations and reasons for why the primary adversaries did what they did.
The first season of the series incorporated a regular 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. It is not known why this sequence was created. A non-CGI variation of this sequence was used only once. Rhodes, War Machine, did not share this sequence when he "armoured up".
[edit] Second season
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 legend 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[4][5], 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 is 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 pm every Saturday, whilst the Iron Man series did not.
[edit] Cast
- Robert Hays .... Iron Man/Anthony 'Tony' Stark/Living Laser (voice)
- Dorian Harewood .... War Machine/James R. 'Rhodey' Rhodes (III) (1995-1996)/Stilt-Man/Whirlwind/Blacklash/Grey Gargoyle (I) (voice)
- John Reilly .... Hawkeye/Clint Barton/Jessik/Beetle (voice)
- Jennifer Darling .... Scarlet Witch/Wanda Maximoff (voice)
- Jennifer Hale .... Spider-Woman/Julia Carpenter (II) (1995-1996)/Hypnotia (II) (voice)
- James Avery .... War Machine/James R. 'Rhodey' Rhodes (I) (1994-1995) (voice)
- Jim Cummings .... War Machine/James R. 'Rhodey' Rhodes (II) (1995)/MODOK/President Bill Clinton (7 episodes) (voice)
- Casey Defranco .... Spider-Woman/Julia Carpenter (I) (1994-1995) (voice)
- Tom Kane .... H.O.M.E.R. (1994-1996)/Century (II) (1995-1996)/Stingray (voice)
- James Warwick .... Century (I) (1994-1995)/Sam Jaggers (T.V. reporter)/General Hirsch (voice)
- Linda Holdahl .... Hypnotia (I) (13 episodes)/Elevator Voice/Helicopter Voice
- Ed Gilbert .... The Mandarin (I) (10 episodes)/Ultimo
- Chuck McCann .... Blizzard
- Neil Dickson .... Dreadknight
- Mark Hamill .... Maximus/Triton
- Charles Howerton .... Klaw
- Philip Abbott .... Col. Nick Fury of S.H.I.E.L.D. (4 episodes)
- Robert Ito .... The Mandarin (II) (4 episodes)
- Tony Steedman .... Justin Hammer (I) (voice)
- William Morgan Sheppard .... Dum-Dum Dugan of S.H.I.E.L.D. (voice)
- David Warner .... Arthur Dearborn (voice)
- Richard McGonagle .... Grey Gargoyle (II)/Walter Stark (II) (voice)
- Neil Ross .... Yinsen/Fin Fang Foom/Walter Stark (I) (voice)
- Dimitra Aryls .... Mrs. Walter Stark (voice)
- Jeannie Elias .... Veronica Benning (voice)
- Marla Rubinoff .... Ilona/Computer Voice
- Neal McDonough .... Firebrand (I) (voice)
- Efrem Zimbalist, Jr. .... Justin Hammer (II)/Firebrand (II) (voice)
- Lisa Zane .... Madame Masque (voice)
- Todd Louiso .... The Hacker (voice)
- Gerard Maguire .... Titanium Man (voice)
- Scott Valentine .... Dark Aegis (voice)
- Jamie Horton .... The Controller (voice)
- Stu Rosen .... Crimson Dynamo (voice)
- Lou Ferrigno .... Hulk (voice) (uncredited)
- Matt Frewer .... The Leader (voice)
- Ron Perlman .... Hulk/Robert Bruce Banner (voice)
- Julia Kato .... Dr. Su-Yin (voice)
- Mary Kay Bergman .... Princess Annelle
- Beau Weaver .... T'Chaka
- Dan Gilvezan .... Warlord Morrat
