Damn, thats a tough one... both have pros and cons... I'll need to ponder...

Comic book Iron Man... because he was so awesome that his armor didn't have hinges.

The "tin can" Iron Man from the early comics will always be my favourite, but seeing things like the briefcase scene in live action is awesome too.

This is one of those ones where the movie character, so far, is so much like the original comic book character that it's hard to differentiate them enough to pick one.

I think that Stark portrayed by RDJ is pretty different than Stark in the comics, personality wise.

I was talking about issues you're too young to have read when they first came out, Hanzo.

Comic book Iron Man mostly sucks, so Movie Iron Man wins by default, I guess.

Civil War and SHIELD director and up Tony: don't like. Stark from the beginning through the 80s Michelinie/Layton run: like. Didn't ever read teen Tony or 90s Iron Man.

But RDJ Tony? Awesome. And it's a lot of fun seeing the Iron Man in live action, so I'm voting movie Iron Man.

COMICS Iron Man.
At one time he had a nose!

When I was reading 70s and early 80s Iron Man, he was an awesome character. The extremes they took the character through in the alcoholism storyline when Denny O'Neil took over the character was a bit much for me. It didn't seem to me that the Tony Stark I'd been reading for years could fall that far. As for all that's happened since then, I haven't read it, just heard about it.

I think that the movie version is very much in keeping with how the comic version was portrayed in the 1970s, just updated for the 21st century. So basically, the movie version *is* my favorite comics version.

I would have went with the Film version if we were comparing it to the comic book Iron Man of the past decade or so, but the picture you chose shows him in his classic prime - Comic version wins.

I remember that story from when I was a kid. Pretty sure it was called "What Price Victory?"
Great one. Always loved the Crimson Dynamo and the Titanium Man as commie villains. Either would
have been a better choice for Mickey Rourke to play in Iron man II.

I like the movie version because I think Favreau really got what makes the character great (so did RDJ), and distilled it nicely for us into a current, visually pleasing package.

The essence of Iron Man is there in the first story, but it's a bit dated. So you have to smoosh that in with the cooler armor stuff that came later (and the better armor design). Movie is like the Cliff Notes of the best elements of Iron Man.

I picked 'em up recently.

I actually have, though. I'm at about 134 in the first Layton/Michilenie series.

Stark's a cool character, for sure, but he doesn't really have the sense of humor and cocky one-liners that make RDJ's character so likeable. In fact, Stark isn't funny at all in the comics. The same iron will (no pun intended), the same confidence, the same genius are there... the core of the character is the same... but the big appeal of movie Iron Man is that he's really funny and charming. He's like a superhero version of Vince Vaughn or something.

The funny one liners weren't there ever, as far as I've seen. The cockiness? It's been there at the beginning, and was a great part of the series. I think when they tried to make things too rough on him, he lost that too. He can't have this girl, because of the chest plate. His chest plate is failing. He's got a drinking problem. He's lost his fortune. Etc. Etc. Etc.

Way back when Favreau was first announced as the director of Iron Man, I was just sure that V.V. would be cast, and I thought he was perfect. I created a Myspace account for the sole purpose of lobbying Favreau for that.

(Favreau announced his Myspace page was his official "forum" for Iron Man, where he would do all of his interaction with the fans and take all suggestions).