Wisecracking billionaire inventor Tony Stark was originally based on Howard Hughes in the original Iron Man comic books created by Stan Lee. In the new Iron Man movie, opening May 2, 2008, Stark makes weapons to help the U.S. government win the war. While on a field test of a new missile, he’s wounded and captured.
The evil Raza forces Stark to make missiles for the other side, but instead, Stark invents an armored suit to protect himself and makes his escape. He later revises and improves the suit to becomes Iron Man, the Armored Avenger!