Iron Man in other media Iron Man in other media The Marvel Comics character Iron Man has appeared in various other media since his debut in "Tales of Suspense" #39 (March 1963). Iron Man has been the focus of three animated series and a direct-to-DVD animated feature. An "Iron Man" live-action feature film starring Robert Downey Jr. as the character and directed by Jon Favreau was released in 2008, with Downey also appearing as the character in a cameo in "The Incredible Hulk", and as a main character in several other Marvel Studios films including "The Avengers", "", "", "", "", and "". Iron Man
Robert Downey Jr. the Brat Pack. In 1987, Downey played Julian Wells, a drug-addicted rich boy whose life rapidly spirals out of his control, in the film version of the Bret Easton Ellis novel "Less Than Zero". His performance, described by Janet Maslin in "The New York Times" as "desperately moving", was widely praised, though Downey has said that for him "the role was like the ghost of Christmas Future" since his drug habit resulted in his becoming an "exaggeration of the character" in real life. "Zero" drove Downey into films with bigger budgets and names, such as "Chances Are" (1989) with Cybill