Real

Jun 06, 2023

A real-life Iron Man suit from a cosplayer reveals the one big problem about Robert Downey Jr.'s hero suit that the MCU effectively hid.

One cosplayer reveals the struggle with Iron Man's suit that Marvel Studios was able to hide from viewers. 15 years since Robert Downey Jr. debuted as Tony Stark, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has changed and grown exponentially. While Iron Man is already dead in the MCU following the Battle of Earth against Thanos in Avengers: Endgame, he remains to be a fan-favorite, with the character still being the most recognizable hero of the universe.

Inspired by the MCU's inaugural hero, cosplayer ctk_creations on Tiktok shows how difficult it is to move while wearing a practical Iron Man suit, which was one of the criticisms of earlier Tony Stark armors. Watch the clip below:

In the video, the cosplayer climbs a flight of stairs in an awkward way because of how his Iron Man suit is worn. Clearly, it's difficult to move in it, although it looks excellent when the creator is just standing still.

In his last final years in the franchise, Downey Jr.'s MCU suit had become largely become CGI. This means that the actor would wear a suit similar to a mo-cap one that would include markers that would allow VFX workers to add hero's armor during post-production. Usually, Downey Jr. would just wear a chest plate for a clear definition of the suit's central piece, which was the arc reactor. Everything else was essentially computer-generated.

However, during the character's earliest outings in the MCU, particularly Jon Favreau's first Iron Man film, Downey wore mostly a practical suit. This means that the Mark I and all the armors that Stark wore in the 2008 film was built, and Marvel Studios not only had to find a way to make them realistic, but they also have to create the costumes that ensures that Downey can still move in them. There were some criticisms about suits looking stiff, but for the most part, they look incredible.

Related: The MCU Quietly Confirmed Only Iron Man Could Save Scarlet Witch

As MCU deals with more fantastical and cosmic elements, it has to rely more on post-production VFX work not only for characters' costumes but for its projects' environments. However, Iron Man's practical suits in earlier years of the franchise may serve as a reminder and even motivation for Marvel Studios to not heavily depend on CGI for its films and movies. Practical costumes and sets can still be the better choice.

Source: @ctk_creations/TikTok