Co-created by writer and editor Stan Lee, developed by scripter Larry Lieber, and designed by artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in Tales of Suspense #39 in 1962 (cover dated March 1963) and received his own title with Iron Man #1 in 1968.

Additional superhero characters have emerged from Iron Man's supporting cast, including James Rhodes as War Machine and Riri Williams as Ironheart, as well as reformed villains, Natasha Romanova as Black Widow and Clint Barton as Hawkeye.

Lee described the national mood toward Vietnam during Iron Man's creation as "a time when most of us genuinely felt that the conflict in that tortured land really was a simple matter of good versus evil".

[8] Kirby initially drew the Iron Man armor as a "round and clunky gray heap", and Heck modified the design to incorporate gadgets such as jets, drills, and suction cups.

[4][20] Growing opposition to the American involvement in Vietnam prompted a shift in Iron Man's characterization, which was part of a larger push by Marvel in the late 1960s to be more apolitical.

[32] Conway was the first of several writers in a four-year effort to reform Iron Man, beginning in 1971, with stories that directly addressed the character's history as a weapons manufacturer.

[34] Iron Man was one of several Marvel characters who declined in popularity during the 1970s, and the series went a period of time without a dedicated writer until Bill Mantlo took over in 1977.

[36][37] While inking the series, Layton used issues of GQ, Playboy, and electronics catalogues as visual references,[38] which he and Michelinie used to stay informed on developments in real world technology so the Iron Man armor would always be a more advanced version of what existed.

[43] The largest change they made was to make Iron Man an alcoholic, an unprecedented move for a major comic book hero, which led to the "Demon in a Bottle" story arc that ran from issues #120 to #128 (1979).

"[47] Through the 1980s, writers for Iron Man focused on the character's role as a businessman, reflecting the economic changes associated with Reaganomics, and many of his challenges involved threats to his company.

[54] The Iron Man series rejected broader ideological themes by the 1990s, and individualist values replaced Stark's allegiance to American democracy for its own sake.

[84] The series Tony Stark: Iron Man premiered in 2018 with the Fresh Start branding, written by Dan Slott and illustrated by Valerio Schiti.

This series moved away from the developments and deviations made to Stark's character introduced over the previous years—including the more extravagant science fiction and soap opera plots—creating a clean slate for new story arcs in a traditional superhero setting.

He is then appointed Secretary of Defense until the Scarlet Witch alters his mind, causing him to behave drunkenly at the United Nations and leave in disgrace.

He joins the Guardians of the Galaxy for a time, and upon returning to Earth, he discovers he had actually been adopted by the Starks so their biological son could be hidden from an alien threat.

[100] While fighting Red Skull, a spell cast by Victor von Doom and the Scarlet Witch temporarily inverts the personalities of several heroes.

A reformed Victor von Doom becomes Iron Man, while an artificial intelligence backup of Stark's mind guides a new armored superhero, Ironheart.

[89] This leads him to engage in self-destructive behavior, giving his relationships as Tony Stark lower priority and failing to be accountable for his creations as Iron Man.

[119] Stark has several character flaws emerging from his impulsivity and arrogance, engaging in vices that include excessive drinking, partying, and womanizing.

[124][125] Despite this, Iron Man considers himself lucky and believes he lives "a good life", attributing this to his money, friendships, engineering skills, and recovering health.

[135] After Marvel shifted away from addressing foreign conflicts toward the end of the 1960s, Iron Man was portrayed as a liberal who was skeptical of the U.S. government, yet also opposed radicalism; at the time associated with 1960s counterculture.

This reduced the input lag between his brain and his armor, allowed him to mentally interface with any technology in the world, and gave him the focus to engage in several unrelated tasks at once.

[176] Iron Man secretly worked on a suit of armor to be powered by her arc reactor, and she discovered it in a Stark Industries lab while she had control of the company.

[190] The women associated with Iron Man became more independent as second-wave feminism encouraged Marvel's writers to create stronger female characters.

[89] Stark also began a relationship with his long time ally Janet van Dyne, the Wasp,[100] whom he had briefly dated in the past before she learned he was Iron Man.

[89] A story arc in September 2023 saw Iron Man married to X-Men member Emma Frost as part of a plan to defeat the villain Feilong.

[197] Multiple communist villains, such as Crimson Dynamo, reformed and became heroes loyal to the United States to present Iron Man and liberal capitalism as more appealing and morally superior.

[213] Iron Man's appearances in the 1960s saw mixed reception from readers, many of whom criticized the character for his association with the United States military and the controversial Vietnam War.

[33][137] According to Lee, Iron Man was the most popular hero when reading fanmail from female readers, which he attributed to both the character's charisma and his tragic nature.

[229] Iron Man supporting characters are set to appear in their own Marvel Cinematic Universe titles, Ironheart and Armor Wars.