Superheroes are cool again, thanks to awesome big-screen reboots for classic comic heroes such as Batman and Superman.

But the absolute coolest right now has to be the collective housed in Marvel’s The Avengers, which is available to rent on BoxOffice from 29 August 2012.

So, while you wait with great anticipation for this epic event, let's chat about one of the super humans who has rocked the box office, Iron Man, played by Robert Downey Jr.

Who is Iron Man, you ask? Read on to find out. 

The man behind the armour
Unlike most superheroes, Anthony Edward ‘Tony’ Stark is not a boy scout in his down time. Once a boy genius, he inherited his father’s company and is now a playboy who makes mad money by manufacturing and selling weapons.

Stark becomes a cyborg of sorts when a magnetic armour plate is placed inside him to protect his heart from a shrapnel. And in the films, his theme song is the Black Sabbath classic Iron Man, of course.


How he came to be
Being a genius engineer and all, Stark couldn’t help but get carried away after he got the metal plate in his body. The original Iron Man suit was designed to help Stark escape while being held hostage in a war zone.

But he soon becomes dependent on the suit to survive and covers for Iron Man by saying that he is Stark’s bodyguard and mascot.

Iron Man goes on to kick major baddie butt but even after he gets a heart transplant, Stark still can’t let Iron Man go.


His super powers
The only super powers that Stark possesses are lots of money and brilliant brains. Using those, he creates the powered armour suit which is virtually indestructible.

It has all sorts of cool weaponry, like jet boots that propel him into the air and repulsor rays (almost like high-powered lasers) in the suit’s palms that Stark uses to ‘repel’ his enemies.

Stark doesn’t even have to press any buttons to get it working: he simply thinks it and his ‘cybernetic helmet’ sends the message to the suit, in the same way the brain transmits messages to the body through neurons.

Iron Man is one of Marvel’s Avengers (rivals to DC Comics’ own Justice League) – a superhero collective who broke box office records when they hit the big screen this year.

Now Marvel’s The Avengers are coming to DStv’s BoxOffice. This you cannot miss.

Sources:
Superhero stuff
Wired