Iron Man | |
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The title design for Season 1 of Iron Man.
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Genre |
Action/Adventure Superhero Science fiction |
Created by |
Stan Lee Larry Lieber |
Starring |
Robert Hays James Avery John Reilly (see below) |
Narrated by | George Johnson |
Theme music composer |
Keith Emerson (1st season) William Kevin Anderson (2nd season) |
Country of origin | United States |
No. of seasons | 2 |
No. of episodes | 26 (list of episodes) |
Production | |
Executive producer(s) | Avi Arad Stan Lee Rick Ungar |
Producer(s) | Glen Hill Dennis Ho Ted Tchoe |
Camera setup | Setup |
Running time | 26 minutes |
Production company(s) |
New World Animation Marvel Films New World Entertainment |
Distributor |
Genesis Entertainment (1994–1995) (season 1) New World Entertainment (1995–1996) (season 2) Saban Entertainment (1999–2002) Disney–ABC Domestic Television (2007-present) |
Release | |
Original network | First-run syndication |
Picture format | 480i |
Audio format | Dolby Surround |
Original release | September 24, 1994 | – February 24, 1996
Chronology | |
Followed by | The Avengers: United They Stand |
Website |
Iron Man, also known as Iron Man: The Animated Series, is an American 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.
This series of Iron Man was among the few television series to be re-recorded in THX. This may have been usual at the time for a motion picture, but it is rare for a television series. Off the heels of the release of the live-action Iron Man film in 2008, reruns began airing on the Jetix block on Toon Disney. Additionally, all 26 episodes are currently available for streaming through LoveFilm.
Although only lasting two seasons, Iron Man was the subject of a major overhaul between seasons when its production studio was changed. The result was a massively changed premise, tone, and general approach, which left the disparate seasons scarcely recognizable as being two halves of the same series.
The first season of Iron Man featured little more than a Masters of the Universe-style battle of "good against evil", as billionaire industrialist Tony Stark battled the evil forces of the world-conquering Mandarin as the armored superhero, Iron Man. In his evil endeavors to steal Stark's technology and Iron Man's armor, the Mandarin led a group of villains consisting of Dreadknight, Blizzard, Blacklash, Grey Gargoyle (when it comes to fighting Iron Man and his team, he has a tendency to accidentally turn his fellow villains to stone), Hypnotia (an exclusive villain who Dreadknight and Blacklash were rivals for the affections of), Whirlwind, Living Laser, MODOK, Fin Fang Foom, and Justin Hammer. To combat these villains, Iron Man had the help of his own team (based on Force Works, a then-current comic book team which has since faded into obscurity), including Century, War Machine, Scarlet Witch, Hawkeye (replacing U.S. Agent from the comics) and Spider Woman.