Product Description

Past and present collide in this epic adventure that reveals the origin of Iron Man. While raising the ruins of a long buried Chinese kingdom, billionaire inventor Tony Stark digs up far more than he bargained for. He unleashes an age-old prophecy that foretells the resurrection of the Mandarin, the emperor of China's darkest and most violent dynasty. In order to confront the destructive force, Tony creates an armored suit infused with high-tech weaponry. To stop the evil that he himself has raised form the earth, Tony must become his greatest invention everâ€"Iron Man! The newly born champion must travel to the four corners of the earth to battle the Mandarin's henchmen, the Elementalsâ€"four magical warriors who harness the power of the elementsâ€"earth, water, wind, and fireâ€"with deadly chemistry. But is the Iron Knight, as he his known in the prophecy, strong enough to defy fate and turn back the malevolent forces hell-bent on earth's destruction?

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #22219 in DVD
• Brand: Lions Gate
• Released on: 2007-01-23
• Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
• Formats: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Dubbed in: Spanish
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 83 minutes

Amazon.com
Marvel Comics' armor-clad superhero Iron Man gets another update in this animated feature, which incorporates much of his mythology in its energetic storyline. Here, millionaire Tony Stark (voiced by Marc Worden, who performed similar duties for Marvel's Ultimate Avengers and its sequel) is inspired to create his iconic suit after being injured at an archaeological dig in China. His heroic alter ego isn't the only thing to arise from the dig; the ancient city harbors a quartet of elemental spirits, who seek to resurrect the Mandarin and continue his reign of evil. Hardcore Marvel fans may decry some of the deviations from the original Iron Man text (Stark's father Howard is alive and well in the feature, and the suits are already in development by the time Stark is injured), but the prevalence of numerous figures from the source material (in addition to the Mandarin, there's James Rhodes, a.k.a. War Machine, Pepper Potts, the agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Wong Chu, and glimpses of several incarnations of the Iron Man suit) and the overall vigor of the story and the quality of the 2-D and 3-D animation should please most viewers, and makes for an enjoyable alternative to the impressive 2008 live-action film. Extras include a making-of featurette which discusses Stark's 1960s origins in the comic book and the direction taken in the movie, as well as a terrific gallery of Shellhead's various suits worn throughout his storied career. A glimpse at Marvel's next animated feature--Doctor Strange--is also included. Note for parents: The Invincible Iron Man contains some intense violence and implied nudity, so discretion should be taken before screening for very young viewers. --Paul Gaita

Customer Reviews

Cranky Old Comic Fan From The 70's
I'm going to take the con side of this debate. Having not really read many comics in the past 20 years or so I really haven't followed any of the Ultimates stuff. I have had it explained to me by a co-worker that's a big comic buff. It seems to make sense to update some heros' origins. After all Nick Fury and Dum Dum Dugan would be in their ninties these days. I understand that they are also keeping the original origins in place which is fine. Having said that, I don't know if this is an Ultimate storyline or not but I didn't care for it at all.

Taken as a stand alone movie, if viewed by someone with no idea of who Iron Man is, this is really run of the mill. Tony Stark wasn't a very cohesive character. As far as alter-egos go this one is kind of a hypocritical milksap. He makes a big deal out of not building weapons but has an entire room full of indestructible power armor. If the suits are for research why the need for powerful lasers and missles? The writer's seem to face the same dilemma most of Hollywood finds itself in these days. It's politically incorrect to endorse violence but you still have to give the audience a good action packed fight scene. As a result you get unrealistic portrayals of altruistic millionaire industrialists and pacifists with more weapons than Dirty Harry. I may be reading a little too much into a cartoon but the level of some of the violence here (one person gets executed with a gunshot to the back of the head) suggests this is for a mature audience. If this is the case the writers should have given the actions and motivations more depth.

The biggest problem is the time it takes to actually get to Iron Man. Once there the fight scenes are few and far between. The film suffers from the same problem a lot of live action superhero movies suffer from, too much screen time for the alter-ego. The action sequences are lacking visual impact. I think that is partly due to the mediocre quality of the animation. The CG doesn't mix too badly with the hand drawn but it's all just servicable at best.

In the end the movie seemed overly long and convulted with the end being a less than satisfying resolution. Even if I weren't aware of Iron Man before this I don't think I would recommend it as anything more than a rental.

This is Ole Shell Head's Origin Updated
Iron Man was one of the classic Marvel Superheroes that didn't get a 1980's make over on TV, like Spiderman, Captain American, Dr Strange, Nick Fury Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D and of course the Hulk (with Bill Bixby)(which in Hulk TV movies had Thor and an early version of Daredevil )

Lets say this Iron Man is not the Iron Man you see on the cover of this DVD. That is for future DVD animated releases

This is classic Shell Head from the 1960's with the basic grey suit. The origin story changes from Vietnam (as it was in the 1960's comic) to China. However most of the original story line stays the same in this animated feature

This is visually one of the better comic cartoons I have seen, better than the avengers that Marvel did earlier. The voice talent is slightly lacking, but it is better the 1990's cartoon version with the voice of Robert Hayes as Stark/Iron Man

On the bonus features, animators and comic artists discuss Iron Man, the DVD is worth that alone for a true comic fanboy. Also as a bonus, the future released Dr Stange is previewed..wetting your whistle for it

I hope the powers that be at Marvel animation release an Iron Man 2 before the movie version comes out

Bennet Pomerantz AUDIOWORLD

The Romance of Iron Man
Once again, the folks at Marvel Comics have unleashed a big screen drama in the form of a cartoon. Don't let the cover fool you. This is not kid's stuff. This movie was made for the hard-line, mature audiance, Tony Stark/Iron Man lover. Not some saturday morning, hoaky, watered down version to amuse the kids. Iron Man has always been a comic about romance, power, science, and the resolve of one man to live in-spite of himself. With this brings meaning to one's life. This version of the beginnings of the Iron Man charictor was great. A must see. Looking forward to more movies of this nature from my friends at Marvel Comics.