FACT ONE: Being a Hero Gets His Heart Pumping Billionaire industrialist Tony Stark was injured and abducted in an Asian war zone. Relying on an improvised pacemaker to keep his heart going, he was forced by his captors to build a super-weapon. Instead, he crafts a mechanized suit of armor and blasts his way to freedom. Inspired by the ordeal, Stark adapts the suit to fight for good and becomes the masked superhero, Iron Man.

FACT TWO: He Had Wheels of Steel on His Heels The armor gives Stark super-strength, allowing him to lift 90 tons of weight. Its rocket boots can propel him through the air at speeds reaching Mach 8. The suit's main weapon has always been the concussive repulsor rays fired from the palms of his gauntlets. In the early days, the armor had roller skates fold out of the feet.

FACT THREE: 'The Aviator' Didn't Have Jetboots Iron Man was created by Marvel Comics' mastermind Stan Lee in 1963. Lee based Stark's personality on Howard Hughes, whom he called "an inventor, an adventurer, a multi-billionaire, a ladies' man and finally a nutcase." Like Hughes, Tony Stark made much of his fortune as a defense contractor. He even made Forbes Magazines' list of the 15 wealthiest fictional characters. Appropriately, scenes in the upcoming movie were filmed in the giant hangar where Hughes built his legendary "Spruce Goose."

FACT FOUR: Has He Lost His Mind? Black Sabbath's classic "heavy metal" song Iron Man was not inspired by the comic book character. It's actually the story of a time traveler who tries to warn the world of humanity's imminent destruction and ends up causing it. In recent comics it's been suggested that Tony Stark named his secret identity after the song.