Yeruva and Khalaf 1

Prathusha Yeruva and Maria Khalaf

Ms. Nagi
11 AP English
18 February 2016
Visual Analysis Project
Over the years, the Iron Man suit evolved in a way that not only enhanced the skills of
the suit, but also achieved the goal of furthering the technology of the time. In many ways, each
iconic iron man suit served as a representation of the general mood of the decade in which it was
created. The design of the Iron Man suit embraced elements of design like contrast, emphasis,
and color. In order to make progress on his goals, Tony Stark, the creator of the Iron Man suit,
utilized certain aspects of visual rhetoric to convey a certain effect. These changes were
necessary because they helped further improve the technology and refine the aesthetics of the
armor. This innovative design approach took place over the the course of many decades and
followed the pathway set by the technology of the time that it was created.
When analyzing the trends in Iron Mans armor from the 1960s, in the comic books, to
the present day, cinematic universe, uncovering the dynamic changes in visual rhetoric is
particularly interesting because of the cohesive story that it tells. The first Iron Man armor, Iron
Man Armor Mark I, is stone gray and is structurally shaped very differently from the Iron Man
that todays fans would recognize. There is very little visual contrast in the suit, and there is not
really a distinctive shape that the suit takes. However, as the franchise transcends into Mark II,
the figure is given the characteristic shape that it still carries today. Mark III adds the exclusive
Iron Man red and gold, the color contrast that the franchise establishes as a key feature to Iron
Mans fame. As the franchise continues with Mark VI, the arc reactor takes a more triangular

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shape, something which is fundamentally different from the circle that it used to be. This
triangular shape puts a greater emphasis on the structural shape of the armor and directs the eye
to the arc reactor. Many of these features are apparent in the present day Iron Man suit, so it is
evident that they are impactful and have been carefully thought out. These four Iron Man suits
sum up the classic Iron Man suit and how it evolved throughout the years. However, there were
also times when the designers used their creative license to innovate versions of the Iron Man
suit that do not really flow with the franchises theme. For example, the Hulkbuster suit was
created for the Argonauts series and toyed with a completely different storyline. In order to align
with a different story, the creative team completely changed the structure and emphasis of the
Iron Man suit and the way that it fought in combat. However, throughout the entire creative
process, the designers kept Iron Mans iconic red and gold colors on the suit. By observing the
different elements of visual rhetoric that went into the creation of the different versions of the
Iron Man suit, it is easy to see that the designers utilized tools like contrast, color, and emphasis
to develop Tony Starks goal of improving the technology and aesthetics associated with each
version of the suit.