Iron Man (TV series)/Tropes

* Actor Allusion:
** Josh Brolin once again faces against Tony Stark.
** Ross Marquand voices Arsenal. This would be his second time voicing an evil robot in a Marvel production.
* Adaptation Distillation: Season 2 adapts the "Demon in a Bottle" arc, while season 3 adapts "Armor Wars".
* Adaptation Relationship Overhaul: Tony and Pepper don't date in this show, and are close friends instead.
* Alternative Character Interpretation: In-universe, Pepper questions whether Tony really became a superhero out of morality or just to stop feelibg guilty. This is part of the first season's central arc.
* Bittersweet Ending: Season 1 ends with Tony proving himself a true hero, but losing Stark Industries to Hammer.
* Casting Gag: Michael Rosenbaum again plays an evil industrualist in a comic book show.
* Composite Character:
** Rhodey takes Hsppy Hogan's place as Stark's trainer.
** The Technovore in this version is a an AI capable of controlling other mechanical objects as part of a Hive Mind, similar to Ultron.
* Deconstruction: The emergence of the Maggia subtly deconstructs the presence of just one superhero in a superhero-esque world, showing that there are too many threats for a superhero to handle alone.
* Heartwarming Moments: After closing the weapons division, Stark orders the employees to be reassigned rather than fired.
* Mythology Gag:
** The first season follows the comics' color history regarding the Iron Man suit, starting with grey, then yellow gold, before taking the iconic red and yellow.
** Stark closes the weapons division of Stark Industries, much like his MCU conterpart.
** The shot where Blizzard defears Iron Man is an homage to the cover of Iron Man #86.
** Iron Man first fights Arsenal in a Mantlo Enterprises building, a reference to Arsenal co-creator Bill Mantlo.
* Nightmare Fuel:
** Justin Hammer. The cold abd casual delivery of immoral orders like if it was a regular business is nothing short of creepy.
** The sight of Arsenal controlling the Iron Man armors I and II looks like something straight out of Terminator.
** Arsenal. A robot who is pretty much a walking weapons system, is pretty much unbeatable, and now is under Hammer's control.
*Outside-Context Villain: Count Nefaria and the Maggua are this, since they emerge during Stark and Hammer's conflict by mere chance and have no connection with them.
* Pragmatic Adaptation: Blizzard's costume. They went for a design more inspired by the Gregor Shapanka version due to being less silly than the rest, but with adjustments still being made to work in live-action, such as his cistume being a flight suit meant to control his temperature.
* Savaged Story: The show's potrayal of Justin Hammer is much closer to the cold and calculating villain from the comics than his last live-action appearance.
* Surprisingly Realistic Outcome: After Statk closes his company's main line of work, the board distrusts him and has to prove he's still reluable in his new business plan.
* They Also Did: Part of the producing tram and cast also worked on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
* Truer to the Text:
** This version of Justin Hammer is more in line with the comics than the MCU version.
** The series also has Stark clsiming Iron Man is his bodyguard, an aspect the MCU literally choose to ignore.
** Stark's personality is also more serious and self-loathing.
*Wham Line: "I'd like your finest drink, sir", says Tony Stark after arriving to a bar in Episode 14, making clear to fans where the story is headed.
* Wham Shot: After saving the day, Iron Man is called by Hammer, who tells him to put a TV on. There, Stark sees a news report that Stark Industries has just been acquired by Hammer.