I wouldn’t do another Many Intros article this soon after the last one but the fewer distractions I have this week and next the better, and I can’t believe it took me this long to do an Iron Man intro-spective. Iron Man is my favorite Marvel superhero, so seeing him ruined with everyone else thanks to activists and “better idea” people makes me sad. Still, this is the world I live in.
The movie that started the Marvel Cinematic Universe may be the first live-action Iron Man, depending on your point of view with parade floats and Toys R Us appearances, but it wasn’t even the first Iron Man movie. Animation gave us that as well as a number of TV shows. For the purposes of this two-parter I’m not talking about the Avengers or their various duplications. Like the Superfriends/Justice League intros that deserves its own article. Just Iron Man alone has had a number of solo titled series, giving old Shellhead a new audience outside of the comics. In each of them Tony Stark was Iron Man, though Rhodey would be War Machine in another.
I have enough to split them into two parts, including the upcoming series, and I decided splitting them up into adult Tony and kid/teen Tony was the best way to go. That will make the next one kind of short, but a number of these intros are short, so it fits. Let’s start with the very first Iron Man cartoon. You might know this one.
The Marvel Super Heroes: Iron Man segment (1966)
Probably the best of the various Marvel Super Heroes intros, followed by Captain America, Thor, Sub-Mariner, and Hulk. It actually got reference in the comics when the episodes were released on VHS as samples of the various early Marvel cartoons. Of course I have mine. The show used animated comic panels and stories from the actual comics, the only one to actually do that on this list. Otherwise there isn’t much to say. Even as the best intro of this anthology, that’s hard praise.
Apparently there was a plan for an Iron Man cartoon in the 1980s to join Spider-Man, Hulk, and the Fantastic Four, but like Pryde Of The X-Men it fell through. Wikipedia says there’s an unaired pilot…but it’s Wikipedia. Even though they used me as a source once, what’s up there isn’t always the most accurate. Sociopolitical nonsense aside, some people are working off different memories than I have. For all I know it’s a rumor that got picked up as “fact”. Happens quite often on the internet. I haven’t researched it, but if it exists, I totally want to see it as both Iron Fan and 80s kid. Instead, we move to the 1990s and the lamest intro on this list.
Marvel Action Hour: Iron Man (1994)
Wow…that sucks! Even without the annoying screen stretch…that sucks!
Then again, you can make the case that it’s perfect for the show, because it was just as bad for the same “I don’t care about the quality of my work” reasons. The theme song is trying, but it just doesn’t really get you excited for heavy metal action. Throw in that this is the 1990s, the “EXTREEEEEEMMMMMMMMMMMMMMEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE” era of kids TV, and you really have to wonder what they were thinking. The visuals are just a cast list and the weak Iron Man armor up sequence that’s not as cool as it thinks it is. Again, you can make the case that it fits the show perfectly. It was so bad that, like Fantastic Four, it got a major revamp the following season, and it’s probably the best one on this list, though you may debate that with what comes after, but I’ll make my case.
Marvel Action Universe: Iron Man (1995)
Who needs Black Sabbath’s unrelated song when you have this to work from? The fact that it isn’t in the culture along with Spider-Man’s 1960s theme song is kind of sad. The intro’s visuals take place in a forge as Tony works on his new armor, itself an upgrade from the previous season’s armor, while the pounding hammer in the soundtrack reinforces the visual along with a simple “I..am…Iron Man”. I do like the homages to old armors, even ones we hadn’t seen in the show before like the “classic” armor that looks like he’s wearing a metal vest, and my personal favorite, the Silver Centurion armor. Unfortunately the armor’s depiction in the show is my only complaint. The bosses wanted a toyetic use of the armor to sell more toys. The writers didn’t want it to be too easy for Tony with various armors.
Personally I would have liked to have seen Tony in a situation where he had the wrong armor due to immediate changes in circumstances. He’s fighting a powerful foe but he has the weaker stealth armor. He’s chasing an enemy underwater but didn’t have time to change from his cave mining armor. Seeing Tony having to use an armor’s talents in unintended ways because he doesn’t have time to change would have been fine. Except what they gave us was armor that transformed into other armors, nerfed by the power drain of maintaining that form. While this has inspired a certain project of mine, different armors or the first seasons component-carrying drones would have been a better solution. So who challenges this intro?
Iron Man anime (2010)
Produced by Studio Madhouse, a company that clearly earned its reputation, Marvel Anime: Iron Man was one of a set of Marvel anime produced around this time, including the X-Men and a Wolverine solo series. It actually takes more cues from the MCU instead of the comics, but the show is so cool I don’t really care. The visuals are stunning, and it takes more time than the others to give the Man a bit of focus before drowning in the Iron and showing us the rest of the supporting cast. Too bad I can only tell you what they bring to the story because I’ve seen the series. The theme matches up with the visuals, but it’s just an instrumental and is not the best theme on this list. It might have the best visuals, but the 1990s second intro up there has the better balance of the two and thus is my favorite. So what IS the best theme song?
Iron Man: Armored Adventures (2009)
I shouldn’t like this show as much as I do. From the teenified versions of Tony, Pepper, and Rhodey, to the alterations in Pepper’s history and persona, to how flat the armor looks, it’s the story that really pulled me in and got me to accept this take. Granted as an original property it could have been better, but at least Tony I could see being like this if his history went this alteration. Still, it does suffer similar adaptation errors as My Adventures With Superman given Pepper’s persona as a police detective’s daughter eager to follow in her father’s footsteps, and how EVERY Iron Man villain now has armor even if they just had powers in the comics. Blame my love of armored heroes, I guess.
The them song, by Rooney, could actually be rewritten with an adult Tony in mind. Just change “his teenage life” to “his amazing life” or “his armored life” or something. Still, look up the full theme. It’s quite good. As far as the visuals, it’s a lot of show clips (nothing original, not even Iron Man punching the camera) randomly happening. It’s not terrible but the music clearly saves the intro. Like I said, the second 90s theme has the best balance of theme music and visuals.
Iron Man And His Awesome Friends (2025)
We’ll get into show concerns when I actually see it in action, and not just a Free Comic Book Day preview comic and a few preview clips. Just going with the intro, though, why does it sound like Tony, Riri, and Amadeus are going on a beach day? I like how the intro starts with kiddie Tony pounding on his armor, shades of Marvel Action Universe‘s Iron Man intro. Otherwise it’s just the characters flying around and occasionally helping people or breaking out repulsors and force bubbles. I know this is the elementary school audience and action is going to be limited, but that seems to be a theme to all these…themes, focusing more on the “Iron” than the “Man”. Nothing gives Tony’s backstory. It’s all about how cool the armor is, and it is. I love armored heroes, but all the intros are more flash than cash sometimes. Except for the Marvel Action Hour version that fails at both.
So which is your favorite intro and why? I’m curious.
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