From the dozens of suits at the end of Iron Man 3 to the special suits worn by Robert Downey Jr. and Don Cheadle, we take an inside look at the outfits that give Iron Man his name.
Via: Marvel Studios
Tony Stark is fond of saying "I am Iron Man," but the Iron Man movies would just be about a really witty billionaire genius playboy philanthropist if it wasn't for the Iron Man suits. The suits Robert Downey Jr. and Don Cheadle wear throughout the film — the Mark 42 and the Iron Patriot, respectively — were physically made by longtime Iron Man effects supervisors Shane Patrick Mahan and Lindsay MacGowan. They've both been building the Iron Man suits since the very first film, and they've developed a few savvy sleight-of-hand tricks for making them come to life on screen.
Ditch the pants
Don Cheadle in his Iron Patriot suit in Iron Man 3
Via: Zade Rosenthal
"The rule of comic book drawing, basically, [is that] the [body] proportions are generally eight heads tall," says Mahan. "The regular body is seven heads. By adding the extra length, it gives [the character] that heroic proportion and heroic stance." That works great for the suit alone — less so for the actor trying to fit into a suit that isn't proportionate to his body.
The solution: Drop the trousers.
"The actors wear the suits from just a little bit below their waist up," says Mahan. "We found that most of the shots were from the waist up, so why not dedicate the suits to be those kinds of shots?" There were physical legs that could snap into place for whenever a full body shot of Downey or Cheadle in their suits was necessary; otherwise, they were usually added in digitally in post-production.
For Iron Man 3, Mahan and MacGowan also strived to use lighter, softer material where possible for a more "actor-friendly" fit. "We actually scan [the bodies of] Robert and Don and the stunt performers as we're sculpting the suit digitally," says MacGowan. "We're always tweaking it to make sure that there's no collision with arms into the torso, so they're as comfortable as they can be."
