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Strength level: Without his armor Tony Stark possesses the normal strength of a normal human man his age, height, and build who engages in moderate regular exercise. His armor magnifies Stark strength to superhuman levels, enabling him to lift (press) roughly 85 times.

Known superhuman powers: none

Other abilities: Tony Stark is a genius who is a responsible for numerous major discoveries, inventions, and other achievements in various areas of technology.

History: Anthony Stark, son of industrialist Howard Stark, demonstrated his mechanical aptitude and inventive genius at a very early age, enrolling in college electrical engineering program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology at the age of 15. When he was 21, he inherited his father's business, Stark Industries, and within a few years turned it into a multimillion-dollar industry complex whose chief contracts were for weaponry and munitions for the U.S. government.

Stark was sent to Vietnam to supervise a field test for one of his tranistorized weapons. While he was there Stark trip on a booby trap and a piece of shrapnel was lodged in his chest. The gravely injured Stark was taken captive by the Communist leader Wong-Chu, and was informed that within a week the shrapnel would penetrate his heart and kill them. Wong-Chu offered Stark at deal: if he built the Communist a powerful weapon, he would allow Stark to undergo an operation to save his life. Stark agreed, hoping to gain time and access to tools.

Stark was given access to a small laboratory in communist territory with another captive, the renowned Oriental physicist Professor Ho Yinsen. With the incense help Stark designed and built an electrically powered suit of armor and equipped with heavy offensive weaponry. The armor also contained pacemaker like device which enables Stark's heart to keep beating after the shrapnel entered it. Donning the suit, Stark connected it to its power source, an electrical generator. Lying on a table Stark was helpless until the suit was fully charged. His captor, Wong-Chu, sensed something was amiss and came to investigate with armed men. Realizing he was sacrificing his life, Professor Ho Yinsen went out to confront Wong-Chu, to give Stark the extra time he needed to charge the armored suit fully. As the Iron Man Stark avenged Yinsens death and scattered Wong Chu's guerilla troops. Then, still clad in his armor, which was necessary to keep his heart beating, stark made his way to the jungle, trying to escape communist territory.

James Rhodes, a pilot in the United States Marines who was stationed in South East Asia, had been shot down in the jungle nearby Communist rockets while he was on a reconnaissance mission. Rhodes managed to land safely and was attempting to get his helicopter air worthy when he encountered Iron Man. After Iron Man help Rhodes fight off an attack by communist forces, Rhodes allowed him to drain helicopters batteries to recharge his armor. The to attract to the jungle together, finally discovering a hidden Communist rocket base. Stealing an enemy helicopter, they destroyed the base and flew to the nearest American base.

Back in the United States, Stark redesigned his chest plate, which contained a pacemaker like device, reducing the chest plates size and wait so he could wear it under his normal clothing. Stark was required to wear the chest plate to keep his heart beating. He decided to put to the armor to regular use as well. After redesigning the entire armored suit to match the letter chest plate, Starks made the existence of the suit public. He concealed the suits true origin, as well as the fact that he himself had to wear the chest plate to live. Stark made it known that he would soon manufacture the suit, which he called "the human machine," for sale to the public.

Soon afterward, Stark donned one of his battle suits in order to prevent thieves from stealing parts of the other copies of it. This experience made him realize that the suit was too dangerous to be made available to the public. The next day Stark revealed what had happened to him in Southeast Asia to Joanna Nivena, who was then his fiancée. Together they attended a tennis match in Forest Hills, N.Y. that afternoon. Stark brought along his armor, which he was taking to nearby laboratory for tests. The match was invaded by terrorists who threaten to kill everyone present with a bomb. Joanna urged Stark to don the armor to stop the terrorist. Stark was able to capture the terrorist, and save the spectators when the bomb went off by throwing himself atop the bomb. Iron Man thus publicly became a hero, and Stark had a new sense of purpose, having decided to combat evil doers as Iron Man.

Wishing to retain some degree of anonymity, Stark established the fiction that Iron Man was a paid bodyguard wearing a suit of armor that he had invented. Only his most trusted aides learned Stark and Iron Man were one and the same.

At first Stark used his Iron Man identity only to combat spies and criminals who threaten Stark industries. Later, he expanded the scope of his alter egos activities to battle any force or person who friend the security of America or the world. Stark was instrumental in the organization and are meant of the original World intelligence and law-enforcement agency known as S.H.I.E.L.D., and as Iron Man he became a founding member of the team of super human champions known as the avengers. Stark donated his Manhattan mansion to the avengers for their exclusive use.

Over the years Stark constantly refined and modified the design of his armor. From all balky, transistorized Iron suit, Iron man eventually bald are relatively lightweight, integrated circuit, magnetically polarized suit with more human looking articulated musculature. Stark's natural genius at theoretical mechanics has enabled him keep his suit of armor at the state of the art. Stark eventually underwent heart transplant so that he was no longer obligated to wear his metallic chest plate.

Stark eventually decided for moral reasons no longer to manufacture are meant and devote his company to other areas of technology.

Tony Stark's greatest nemesis was his alcoholism. As a wealthy socialite, alcohol has been a constant part of his life. When his company, which had changed its name from Stark Industries to Stark international, was threatened with the takeover at the same time he was experiencing oppressive personal problems, Stark began to abuse alcohol. Although he managed to recover quickly from his first serious bout, the compulsion to drink remained a constant temptation. The second time he succumbed to alcoholism, with even more devastating personal problems than the first time, Tony Stark went out on a several month binge during which he was cheated out of Stark international, he lost all the armor except one suit (the rest were destroyed), lost the leases on his various apartments, and had his personal assets frozen so that he could not touch his fortune. All this were the results of the machinations of the mysterious European entrepreneur Obadisiah Stane, who took over Stark's company, renaming it Staned international.

During this time Starks friends, James Rhodes, who had gone to work for Stark after leaving the military, assumed custody of the Iron Man suite and operated as Iron Man in his stead.

When Stark finally regained his sobriety, he joined with Rhodes and two of his friends, Worley Irwin and his sister Clytemnestra Erwin of Richmond enterprises to set up a new electronics firm in Californian named Circuits Maximus in its brief existence Circuits Maximus became a prestigious and successful firm.

While the armor was in his custody, James Rhodes became increasingly enamored at being Iron Man, and, upon Stark return to sobriety, feared that Stark would ask for it back. However, the severe headaches caused by the fact that the cybernetic helmet had never been properly adjusted to Rhodes brain patterns, began to store Rhodes thinking. As a result Rhodes began to manifest hostility toward Stark. As work therapy Stark constructed a simple suit of armor based on his original design with no intention of donning it until he felt in control of his alcoholism when roads began acting irrationally, however, Stark felt obligated to put on this crude suit of armor to prevent Rhodes from doing harm. Stark managed to subdue roads and made unnecessary recalibrate shins on the cybernetics. For a brief time Stark inroads use their respective suits of armor as Iron Men, although Stark did so reluctantly. At the suggestion of the West Coast avengers chairman Hawkeye, Stark designed and built his most sophisticated armor to date, presumably so that the avengers could find someone to where and bolster the team's strength.

However, soon after completion, Obadiah Stane, alarmed at Starks steps toward recovery, bombed Circuits Maxus injuring roads and killing Morley Erwin. Design vengeance, Stark dawned the untested new armor and sought out Stane. Stane himself put on a suit his engineers had built using Starks plans, and met Iron Man in battle as the Iron Monger. Losing the battle against Stark, Stane committed suicide.

Stark decided that although one is never truly cured of alcoholism, he resumed his career as Iron Man and joined the New West Coast division of the Avengers.

Stark also managed to reclaim control of his fortune, although he decided not to claim ownership of the company formally known as Stark international. Rather, he founded a new technological design and manufacturing company, Stark enterprises, based in Silicon Valley in Southern California. Stark enterprises quickly became a highly successful and innovative company.

Stark learned that before his death the industrialist calling himself Spymaster had stolen the plans for the many secret technological innovations for Stark armor. Spymaster's had then turned these plans over to Stark most powerful and antagonistic business rival, Justin Hammer, in turn, had made them available to many criminals. These criminals had then incorporated the stolen technological innovations into their own armored battle suits. Raged that his inventions were being used for criminal activity, and even for killing, Stark determined to deprive these criminals of his secrets. He planted a computer virus in Hammer's computer system that would wipe out all traces of the plans for Starks Iron Man technology. As Iron Man Stark sought out and caught many criminals and others (such as the United States government's Guardsmen) who wore battle suits utilizing his technology, implanted devices on their armor that rendering the suits useless. With the computer records of the plans for his technology gone, presumably it could not be used in reconstructing the suits. Iron Man accidentally killed the second titanium man (also known as the gremlin) in the course of these "Armor Wars." United States government branded Iron Man as an outlaw as a result of these vigilante actions, and Stark publicly claimed that he had fired Iron Man in displeasure over his illegal activity. Shortly afterward, Iron Man was apparently destroyed in combat with government forces.

In fact, however, Stark had survived. He created an even more sophisticated armored battle suit to wear as Iron Man, using technology far in advance over that which spymaster had stolen from him. Star continued to go into action as Iron Man, but he publicly claimed that the previous Iron Man was dead and that another employee of his whose identity is being kept secret was now wearing the armored suit.

Later, Stark was shots by Kathleen Dare, a former lover of his with an unstable mind. The gunfire severely injured Starks spying, and it appeared here be crippled the rest of his life, and able to walk. He could, however, still function normally within his Iron Man armor. The microchip device was later implanted in Stark spine that enables him to walk a move normally once again.

During what Superheroes call the "Civil War" Iron Man was on the pro registration side wanting other mutants and superheroes to have to register their powers. Captain America surprisingly lead the anti registration defense fighting Tony and his crew. In the end Starks side won the battle after Captain America realized he was hurting innocent people.