Iron Man is a Marvel comics character that first appeared in the comic Tales of Suspense #39 in 1963. This iron-clad superhero has been celebrated for decades, inspiring a wide variety of fan art such as Iron Man tattoo designs.
Iron Man Tattoos Symbolize Strength
The story centers around Tony Stark, a billionaire genius who is also a playboy, industrialist and engineer. Stark is kidnapped and forced to create a weapon of mass destruction. Instead of creating the weapon, Stark creates a suit of body armor that allows him to escape. He then gives up many of his immoral ways and uses the suit to help mankind.
This Iron Man tattoo shows the comic book character in a power pose. This is when the character poses in a way that showcases their strength and superpowers, or, in the case of Iron Man, his powerful suit. The red and yellow colors of the suit add to the appeal of the tattoo designs, especially when given blue highlights, as in this tattoo. [source]
In the comic books, Tony Stark lived in New York, but for the 2008 film, director Jon Favreau chose to set the story in California as a way to set the film apart from the majority of other Marvel comic books heroes who are depicted as living on the East Coast of America. In the film, Tony Stark was played by Rober Downey Jr, who gave the character an entertaining mix of humor, cockiness and self-assurance. Although both Tony Stark and his alter ego Iron Man are arrogant, the characters are excellent superheroes, inspiring children and adults alike to aspire to intellectual and physical strength.
A tattoo of Iron Man flying, watching over the world below. Iron Man has no super powers, but his suit allows him to fly. Tattoos of Iron Man flying can be a symbol of freedom (flight) and heroism. [source]
The Iron Man character is as strong as his name suggests, and when used in tattoo designs can symbolize personal strength. Iron Man tattoos can represent an appreciation for the lessons learned from the comic book stories, although tattoos of superheroes can also be a way to celebrate the attributes of the characters.
This tattoo artist has wisely added a blue background and highlights to this Iron Man tattoo, a cool color that makes the warm reds and yellows stand out more. [source]
The Meaning of Iron Man Tattoos
Unlike classic tattoo subjects such as hearts, skulls and roses, tattoos of comic books heroes don’t have a meaning that is widely agreed upon. The meaning of an Iron Man tattoo is very personal and it depends largely on a person’s relationship and history with the comic book character. Tony Stark is arrogant, yet selfless. He puts his life on the line in order to help others and aims his time, intelligence and creativity towards benefiting mankind.
A tattoo of the Iron Man symbol which uses the letters I and M to make the logo. The tattoo artist has added iron bolts to the design and given the symbol a metallic sheen, emphasizing in the tattoo the metal that is associated with Iron Man. [source]
Comic books are mostly enjoyed by kids and teenagers. This association with childhood and youth adds its own meaning to an Iron Man tattoo. Perhaps the person idolized Iron Man as a kid and has many happy memories of reading comic books during school holidays. So an Iron Man tattoo can be a way to celebrate a happy childhood and immortalize the memories of a childhood that included Iron Man comics.
An artistic tattoo of Iron Man from the Marvel comic books series. The tattoo artist has used white tattoo ink to add highlights, making Iron Man’s metal suit appear shiny. The tattooist has also used dense black ink in the center of the tattoo, drawing the eye to focus on Iron Man’s face. “Grey” ink, like that used around the out parts of the tattoo, can be created by watering down black tattoo ink. [source]
Iron is a metal that is largely used in industry, and is a symbol of machinery, technology and human inventiveness. This makes it a perfect metal to combine with the personality of Tony Stark. Both the metal and the man are strong, and while the iron is used in industry, it is Stark’s mind that creates the industrial use for the metal.
A fan art tattoo of Iron Man’s head. Portrait tattoos have the same meaning as tattoos of a character’s entire body. The only difference is that Iron Man’s personality has more meaning to this person than his actions, which is why Iron Man’s hands aren’t visible in this tattoo. [source]
Many superheroes have super powers; some form of superhuman power that allows them to fly, read minds or or move objects with the power of thought. Unlike these superheroes, Tony Stark is simply a human being without any superpowers. He is highly intelligent, very creative and physically strong, but all of these strengths are within human limits. His humanity is what allows comic book readers and film audiences to empathize with the character and appreciate his human struggles.
This tattoo shows two of Marvel’s comic book heroes, Iron Man and the Hulk. Both the Hulk and Iron Man have human personalities that are centered on intelligence and generosity, which means that tattoos of these characters can have those meanings. [source]
