io9
How does Iron Man's suit of armor actually work? Taking all of the various fictional inventions and working out the physics behind them may sound like the kind of thing that would drive you mad, but writer Eliot R. Brown has done just that very thing for Marvel's All-New Iron Manual, and in the process discovered just how close to real world science Stan Lee was when creating the character in the early 1960s.
Talking to Newsarama, Brown explained,
Dear Stan (Lee) was not all that far off from getting it absolutely right. "Transistors" really were the key to a working Iron Man, as he and all the artists saw "him." Transistors can be many things, switches and amplifiers, string enough of them together and you have a computer. But, just as your modern computer has several millions of transistors, Stan missed out on noting the development of "integrated circuitry." That happened not all that much before the emergence of Iron Man #1... I was fascinated to see articles about the military's experimental "Man Amplified" programs in the late 50s, early 60s. They showed engineering mock-ups of white-shirted engineers inside a metal skeleton with huge cylindrical motors as "muscles" at strategic joints... it was all there! Also, there was a lot of work done to develop a "walking truck." I have seen full-sized mock-ups that did walk, but not much more came of it. If you Google "military robots" and find links to YouTube you will see as close to an Iron Man suit as you might care to—a little more skeletonized, can't fly, but it can pick up very heavy things and walk around with them. Yes, there's man in there!
Turns out that it's the flying that will get you every time, even with today's technology:
Have you been on the highways lately? Even supposing friendly super-computers with dedicated auto-pilots... well, it doesn't take much of a human element to screw that up, HAL! I think computers and man-machine interfaces would have to go a long way further for the reliability to reach a point where people can *drive* "hands-off" never mind fly! Will it happen? Yes; when is a tougher question. You can buy a flying car right now—well, a year's waiting list and for a million bucks—but the FAA won't let you fly it off your property.Of course, the FAA may be tough, but they're no match for repulsor ray gloves...
Eliot R. Brown talks Iron Man Tech, Part 2 [Newsarama]
Comments
Has anyone ever done a What The? or something similar where the FAA tried to ground, say, Thor?
Just got back from seeing Iron Man.
Go see it. Go see it now.
The only really zany Deus Ex Machina is the suit's power-source, which generates stupendous energy without seeming to consume any kind of fuel, but hey, most sci-fi has one of these babies kicking-around...We wouldn't want to see Tony Stark with a thirty-story tall bottle of liquid-oxygen tied to his back...
@moff: I am bothered by the fact that Marvel's Thor doesn't have a beard. What the hell is that about?
OMG OMG OMG THAT MOVIE WAS SOOOO INCREDIBLE :-D
@braak: He's not from a mirror universe, is all.
@braak: Walter Simonson took it with him when he stopped doing the art.
aside: back in the original (iirc) Marvel Swimsuit Edition (which I swear, i only bought for future collector value, which, ha-ha, is zero), there was an ad for a razor company that used Simonson's bearded Thor as the before and a Kirby-esque clean-shaven Thor as the after.
@zerofritz: @zerofritz: Ooh, and it's right here: [www.immortalthor.net]
God, i miss Simonson thor.
Hands-free driving wouldn't require new technology so much as it would require huge infrastructure investment. And for people to sacrifice their willingness to drive their own cars at the speed they want, wherever they want. That last one is probably the real sticker.
@russdanger: Thats basically the only thing preventing a lot of technology, power density. But its a comic book movie, I think you've given up the right to call foul on dues ex machina's at this point.
The media reviews are all coming back very positive. Can't wait to see it.
The arc generator is pure handwavium, but handled really well. Tony Stark, Boy Genius is the lampshade that covers many holes. again though, done well.
Hopefully, John Favraou will stick around to handle the next two films becuase he really knows how to strike the right balance of gizmoporn and story.
@Log1c:
Yup.
At least he isn't a guy who can fly because our Sun is YELLOW.
What I meant was that the movie went a long way toward making the character believable, everything looked do-able.
Now, if we only had some of those glowy-things...
@zerofritz: See, look at that!
How can anyone not think that bearded Thor is at least 116% more awesome?
I wonder what the Asgard Thor would look like with a beard.
@moff: So THAT'S what the Ultimate Universe is all about. Goateed Thor!
@russdanger: Seeing as it is a Fusion Generator (Like a See-through Tokamak), maybe it takes its Power Source out of the Air:
Water.
A simple Idea, but hey, I wouldn't have another explanation for it right now.
@braak: Okay, so you're incredibly knowledgeable about the Thor of comics. Does he ride around in the chariot pulled by goats in the comics? I must know.
@taxbaby: he certainly has! [photos1.blogger.com] and *again* it's walt simonson to the rescue!
*Tiny Spoiler*
What I'm wondering after seeing the *awesome* film is, how the hell did he do those initial repulser-glove tests without seriously injuring himself?
I mean, you strap something that can demolish a friggin' wall to your arm without some kind of support structure around your shoulders and fire it, you're likely gonna rip your damn arm off.
*spoilers end*
But seriously.
Why have you not seen this film yet?
GO.
@taxbaby: No. Actually, he throws his mighty hammer into the air, and then has a strap on the handle that he holds onto, and the force of the hammer carries him around.
Except when needs to hover--then he spins it over his head like a helicopter.
No sign of Tanngrisnir or Tanngnjostr.
@zerofritz: All right, well, he doesn't usually.
@braak: You're on the tip. Next I was going to ask about Jarn Griepr, the iron mitts that allow him to catch Mjolnir in his hand!
@zerofritz: That's so metal.
@braak: sure, not usually. But there were many things simonson did that were unusual. The beard, the chariot, the destroyer armor, thor being turned into a frog, beta ray bill.
Eliot R. Brown is the awesome. Anyone remember reading the "Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe"? He's the guy who did all the technical illustrations in the books, all the gadgets and such.
@taxbaby: He didn't have that, and he didn't have Megingjord,so far as I know, either.
@taxbaby: Sif was in the comics, but, for some mind-boggling reason, she had black hair.
@-emory-: That was probably the best comic movie transition I've seen for sure...
Increbible? Well, it was no Apocalypse Now, not was it an Incredibles.
But it was pretty awsome summer fair.
I have a tough time taking The Dude as a corporate raider and the Iron Monger though :D. A little too much ambition, Mr. Lebowski.
@braak: I tried spinning a hammer over my head once to hover. It didn't end well.
I really liked the Iron Man movie. It was up there with Batman Begins, X-Men 2 and Spider-Man 2.
I just wish they had found some way to add some product placement into it. I left the theater unsure of what cars, phones, and hamburgers I should buy.
@jamescole: Now hold on here, Sparky:
Those phone product placements were essential to the plot. Blink once during a certain scene, and you miss the foreshadowing of a pivotal event.
As for Favreau? He learned them lessons during DAREDEVIL about making damn near everything interesting, in between the stunt work.
@braak: Yeah, well. It's not like her blondeness was ever of any importance to anyone or a big symbol of her beauty/purity or anything. So why bother?
@jamescole: You missed the Burger King bag. He must have eaten three Whoppers at the party.
@jamescole: Since X-Mex 2 and Spider Man 2 kind of sucked, I'm going to call that damning with faint praised.
Batman Begins wasn't horrible, but it wasn't great. It was NECESSARY given the debacle that the Batman series become.
@taxbaby: Right. Plus, she had plenty of other defining characteristics, out of which you could make an awesome comic book figure.
@reddingofish: My comment was an attempt at irony.
@darcymcgee: I'd put X-Men 2, Spider-Man 2, Batman Begins, at or near the top of the list for best superhero movies. And now I'd put Iron Man up there too. If those aren't your cup of tea, I'd be curious to know what you think are the best superhero movies... maybe I've missed one?
Comment on this post
Reply by EmailLogin with your username and password below. Or comment on this post via email.
Forgot your username or password? New User?