10 Comics You Need to Read Before Seeing "Iron Man 3"

With new superhero movies seemingly hitting theaters every week during the summertime, it’s an understatement to say that it’s a good time to be a comic book fan. But these movies don’t just appeal to the hardcore fans that live and die by their mammoth collections of Mylar-sealed pop art. Even casual moviegoers who wouldn’t be caught dead in the dusty corners of the local comic book store line up around the block to catch a glimpse of their favorite heroes on the big screen.

With Iron Man 3 hitting theaters in the U.S. this Friday, it’s only natural that fans of this big-budget movie series would be curious about the comic book roots of the character, and that’s why we have compiled a list of 10 Comic Books You Need to Read Before Seeing Iron Man 3. Whether you are looking for the story that inspired the movie, the first appearance of the villainous Mandarin, or just a comic that further fleshes out what has made these characters so relevant for so long, we’ve got you covered.

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Writer: Kelly Sue Deconnick
Artist: Andrea Mutti

What it’s about: During writer Matt Fraction’s “World’s Most Wanted” storyline in Invincible Iron Man, Pepper Potts donned a suit of Stark armor and took on the heroic alter-ego of Rescue. Instead of being armed to the teeth like Iron Man, Rescue acts more like her namesake and is used primarily to help out those in need from disasters around the globe, instead of battling super villains. The concept proved so popular that Marvel gave Pepper her very own Rescue one-shot issue in 2010, by the incredible Kelly Sue Deconnick and artist Andrea Mutti.

Rather than being a straight-ahead action issue, Rescue goes the unconventional route and revolves around a conversation Pepper has with her dead husband, Happy Hogan. This issue is more of a character study and DeConnick gets inside the head of Pepper like few writers have ever done. It’s still a shame that she never got beyond this one issue as a solo act.

How it relates to Iron Man 3: We’re pretty sure we’re not dropping any spoilers when we mention that Pepper armors up at some point during Iron Man 3. This is something that has been shown in the trailers and TV spots, although we’re not sure how long it lasts. Either way, if you want to find the inspiration behind Pepper’s transformation into an action hero, this issue is for you.

Writer: John Byrne
Artist: Paul Ryan

What it’s about: When Tony Stark seeks a cure to a nervous system virus that is killing him, he heads to China for help. But in order to receive the cure, the Chinese government tells Stark that Iron Man must do them a favor by first defeating the Mandarin, who has awakened the dragon Fin Fang Foom to wreak havoc on the country. The problem is that there is more than one dragon looking to cause destruction, and by the end of the story Ol’ Shell Head has to do battle with an army of mountainous lizards looking to destroy everything in their path.

This story also does some tweaking to the Mandarin’s origins, tying it more closely to Fin Fang Foom’s story. John Byrne was known as a comic book miracle worker during the ‘80s after revitalizing the X-Men, Fantastic Four, the Hulk (briefly) and Superman, and though “The Dragon Seed Saga” never quite reaches the heights of those books, it’s still one of the better Iron Man stories before the character gets dragged through the proverbial mud in the ‘90s.

How it relates to Iron Man 3: You don’t see Fin Fang Foom or any other dragon in the movie (unfortunately), but “The Dragon Seed Saga” serves as a good primer to get you acclimated to the hatred these two characters share for each other. There is a lot more to their rivalry than the movie will show, and this is a great place to fill in some of the blanks.

Writer: Joe Quesada
Artist: Sean Chen

What it’s about: Who is really in control, Tony Stark or his armor? Up until writer Joe Quesada and artist Sean Chen came out with "The Mask in the Iron Man," most fans probably thought they knew the answer. However, when Stark’s Iron Man armor suddenly gains sentience (through a combination of a Y2K mishap and a bolt of lightning) in this story and guns for its creator, everything fans thought they knew about the character was completely shattered.

Here Tony Stark is left to defend himself and his loved ones from this twisted armor that he had perfected over the years. The most fascinating part is that as the story unfolds, the suit begins to develop its own personality, becoming almost a sympathetic figure after a while. As Stark deals with this creature of his own design, artist Sean Chen brings this whole terrifying story to life in blockbuster fashion. This is the type of comic pop psychology that we just love as it digs deep into the brain of Tony Stark and explores parts of the mind that no hero wants to go.

How it relates to Iron Man 3: The nuts and bolts of the actual plot of the book likely won’t make it into the movie, but we do know that somehow Tony Stark and Pepper Potts are attacked by an Iron Man armor in their home. Is this suit piloted by someone, or is it sentient? We don’t know. But the main premise of Stark coming face-to-face with his own creation give us the same Frankenstein-esque vibes that this comic did.

Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Artist: Mike Deodato

What it’s about: In the wake of Secret Invasion, Norman Osborn is hailed as a hero by Earth after he stopped the Skrull’s attempted takeover of the planet on live TV. Now as the head of the government agency known as H.A.M.M.E.R, which has taken the place of S.H.I.E.L.D, Osborn creates his own super team in the model of the Avengers, except this group is composed of former villains masquerading as Earth’s Mightiest Heroes.

In the opening story arc on this book, Osborn dons the Iron Patriot armor and leads his new group of “heroes” to save Doctor Doom from the villainous Morgan Le Fey in Latveria. Due to the book’s focus on villain posing as heroes, writer Brian Michael Bendis is able to introduce a sadistic twist to the usually buttoned-up superhero genre. And when you combine Bendis’ sharp scripts with the widescreen art of Mike Deodato, “Assemble” is a worthy introductory story to one of the most interesting books Marvel has put out in years.

How it relates to Iron Man 3: The interesting thing about the impact the Dark Avengers book has on Iron Man 3 is that while the Iron Patriot is an integral part of both, it’s not the same man under the armor. Osborn is the one wearing the suit in the comic, yet James Rhodes, a.k.a War Machine, pilots the Patriot in the movie.

Despite a different man behind the mask, we're hoping the movie follow the same Dark Avengers themes of government security gone mad. It's too interesting of a premise to pass up. We won’t know for sure until opening night, but if you want to know where one of the key armors from Iron Man 3 came from, look no further than this story.

Writer: Matt Fraction
Artist: Salvador Larroca

What it’s about: In what is the best Iron Man story since the ‘80s, “World’s Most Wanted” sees Tony Stark being turned into a fugitive on the run from Norman Osborn, the imperialistic leader of the government-sanctioned police force named H.A.M.M.E.R. Osborn’s objective is to tap into the superhuman registration files to find the identities of Earth’s heroes in order to eliminate them. The problem is that the only existing backup of this file exists in Stark’s tech-enhanced brain. Realizing what has to be done, Stark makes the decision to wipe out his mental database piece by piece, even though this means giving himself brain damage in the process.

Worst of all, Stark must do all of this without his enhanced Extremis armor. This means that he has to dig into his toy box from the past to wear his primitive armors from throughout the years in order to defeat Osborn’s forces. “World’s Most Wanted” is a complete deconstruction of the character of Tony Stark, and, honestly, it’s the most compelling portrait of him to hit pages in decades. If you like your superheroes with their backs up against the wall, you owe it to yourself to pick this up.

How it relates to Iron Man 3: In the trailer for the movie, we see a beaten, defeated Tony Stark dragging his armor through the snow, obviously being hunted down by the Mandarin and his agents. The sight of Tony Stark on the run from the villains with his armor beaten and broken down is an obvious visual cue from this modern epic. In terms of plot it might not be close, but the Stark downfall is definitely on display here.

Writer: Joe Casey
Artist: Eric Canete

What it’s about: In Iron Man: Enter the Mandarin, writer Joe Casey and artist Eric Canete retell the story of the first encounter between Ol’ Shell Head and his most famous foe. With a delicate balance of modern, decompressed storytelling and Silver Age action and suspense, Enter the Mandarin is a loving tribute to the old school Marvel flavor. This series digs deeper into the rivalry between these two characters in a way that the actual first appearance of the Mandarin in Tales of Suspense #50 never quite did, and, in the process, gives us one of the best battles between the two every to hit print.

The story itself details the Mandarin’s attempts to destroy the modern world of the West by hijacking a S.H.I.E.L.D. weapons satellite and turning it loose. Though the story itself follows similar story beats from countless comics from throughout the years, Enter the Mandarin actually paints a compelling conflict between Tony Stark’s world of technology clashing with the Mandarin’s old world belief in magic and mysticism. Couple that with some appropriately cartoony art by Cenete, which is a throwback to the comics of yesteryear, and this miniseries acts as the perfect gateway into the early stages of one of Marvel’s great conflicts.

How it relates to Iron Man 3: We're pretty certain that Iron Man 3 won’t have much to do with the story in Enter the Mandarin, nor will it be as lighthearted, but this is still a great tale to read in order to get a more complete picture of why the Mandarin is such a compelling villain.

Writers: Daniel and Charlie Knauf
Artist: Robert del la Torre

What it’s about: Oh how we miss Iron Man: Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. This now-defunct book focuses on the post-Civil War version of Tony Stark, who briefly replaced Nick Fury as the head of the government super-spy group. Written by Charlie and Daniel Knauf, this title combines the super heroics you get from most comics on the stands with the political tension and suspense usually reserved for a George Smiley thriller. And in the book’s crowning story arc, titled “Haunted,” the Knauf’s re-introduced the world to a much more modern version of the Mandarin.

Gone are the over-the-top threats and gaudy costumes of the ‘80s and ‘90s, and in their place is a villain who is more akin to Ra’s al Ghul, of Batman fame, or, perhaps more fittingly, the real world terrorists we read about every day. In this story, the Mandarin hatches a plot to infect the world with Stark’s Extremis virus in the hopes of advancing humanity forward, despite possibly killing 75% of the population. It’s a high-tech thriller that proves that comics can still beat out any $200 million blockbuster any day.

How it relates to Iron Man 3: Though Iron Man 3 looks to capture some of the aspects of the classic take on Mandarin, the movie’s use of Extremis, as well as Mandarin’s portrayal as more of a terrorist than a traditional supervillain, makes it fall right in line with “Haunted.” The Mandarin may be most famous because of his 10 power rings from the comics, but this story proves that his most dangerous weapons are still his ideals.

Writers: Dave Micheline and Bob Layton
Artists: Mark Bright and Barry Windsor-Smith

What it’s about: You’ve probably heard this before, but we can’t stress enough that “Armor Wars” is the definitive Iron Man storyline to ever hit shelves. The plot of the book revolves around the secrets of Tony Stark’s armor being compromised, which leads to several deranged super villains equipping themselves with enhanced Stark-tech suits. Feeling the overwhelming guilt of having his technology causing destruction around the country, Iron Man must stop them all one-by-one while also finding out who stole his plans.

With the government, the public, and countless super villains all coming after him, “Armor Wars” shows what happens when a man’s pride in his creations gets the best of him. We love to see our heroes save the day, but it’s even better to watch them as they struggle to do so.

How does it relate to Iron Man 3: There may be shades of “Armor Wars” in Iron Man 2, but that movie didn’t quite live up to the lofty standards of the original. However, in this one, we are guaranteed to see some fresh variations on Iron Man’s armor, just like “Armor Wars,” as an army of new Iron Man suits come to Stark’s aid.

We also know that Eric Savin, a.k.a. Firepower, who was one of the main villains in the comic, plays a role in the movie as well. How this all meshes with "Armor Wars" is still up in the air, but the DNA is there somewhere.

Writer: Stan Lee
Artist: Don Heck

What it’s about: You simply can’t get prepared to see Iron Man 3 without reading the debut issue of the Mandarin from Tales of Suspense #50. In the story, Iron Man is sent to China by the Pentagon to investigate the Mandarin, who has been up to no good, apparently. Once he arrives at the Mandarin’s inexplicably lavish castle, he has to bob and weave his way through a series of booby traps before physically confronting his new foe.

After a brief fight, the Mandarin is defeated and Iron Man flies back to the U.S. to hit on Pepper Potts. There really isn’t anything more we can say about this issue; it's just a quaint issue of a book that more-or-less existed to give kids something to read after school. However, with Iron Man being a huge brand in pop culture at the moment, this issue is nothing short of a landmark.

How it relates to Iron Man 3: You won’t see the Mandarin’s posh castle or gaudy power rings in the movie; hell, they didn’t even give him that stylish gimp mask that he has in this issue. But as far as prepping for the movie, this comic features more historical value than all of the others on this list put together. Put aside the goofiness and naivety for a second and just let the ‘60s pop styling of Stan Lee and Don Heck wash over you.

Writer: Warren Ellis
Artist: Adi Granov

What it’s about: Believe it or not, there was a time when Iron Man was near the bottom of the totem pole at Marvel. In an attempt to boost interest in the character again, the company rebooted his comic book series in 2005 with a new story arc written by Warren Ellis and featuring some absolutely jaw-dropping art by Adi Granov. The story itself, titled “Extremis,” intercuts flashbacks of Iron Man’s origin story, which is updated to more modern times here, while also telling the story of the Extremis virus. In the story, the virus has fallen into the hands of a terrorist named Mallen, and it’s up to Iron Man to stop him. The technical explanation behind Extremis is fairly heady, but it's basically a virus that acts as a tech-enhanced super soldier serum, vastly improving the physical traits of whoever takes it.

Unable to stop Mallen on his own, and suffering from catastrophic injuries from their previous encounter, Tony Stark injects himself with the virus and gains new abilities in the process. Now he is able to mentally control his armor, as well as all other computers, with a mere thought. This blurs the line even further between Stark and his armor, as Ellis deftly gets into the psyche of the relationship between the two. Ellis’ heavy script is paired beautifully with the stunning artwork by Granov, who has gone on to inspire the look of the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe.

The fact that the visuals from this book alone helped the first Iron Man movie get the green light in Hollywood makes this one of the company’s most important comics ever.

How it relates to Iron Man 3: "Extremis" is basically the backbone of the entire movie. Sure, the Mandarin and War Machine don’t play a part in the original comic, but characters like Aldrich Killian and Maya Hansen both appear, as does Extremis itself. If you’re an Iron Man buff, but haven’t gotten into the comics yet, this is the place to start.