Iron Man

> "And that's why I have more than one suit."
>
> - Iron Man

***Iron Man*** is one of the first four *Marvel* pinball tables released in 2010 and available for *Zen Pinball 2*, *Pinball FX 2* and *Pinball FX 3*. Based on the Marvel superhero Iron Man, created by Stan Lee, Larry Lieber, Don Heck and Jack Kirby, this table explores the high life of high-tech magnate and playboy Tony Stark, as well as his commitment to defending the world from threats at home and abroad with a collection of powerful electro-mechanical exosuits, becoming known as Iron Man.

This is the second major pinball table to be based on Iron Man, released months after Stern's pinball adaptation of the Marvel Cinematic Universe films *Iron Man* and *Iron Man 2*. This pinball adaptation is based on the original incarnation of the character, while featuring two villains, Whiplash and Mandarin, that eventually appeared in the 2008 film's sequels, *Iron Man 2* and *Iron Man 3*.

## Table overview

### The upper half of the table and mini-playfield

The back of the table provides a panoramic view of Tony Stark's mansion, but when Tony Stark suits up as Iron Man, a door resembling the patterns of his armor will close and obstruct it entirely. A large yellow orbit wraps around much of the table's upper half and around six different lanes, including as many as four ramps with habitrails traveling all over the place. The first of such ramp is a red one that's right next to the left orbit, which is gated by a flag, and this ramp leads to a habitrail that splits in two, leading to either a sinkhole in a small platform containing a figure of Whiplash, one of Iron Man's enemies, placed left of the left orbit, and into a tunnel underneath him that drops the ball to the leftmost inlane, or a crossing habitrail that takes the ball to the first right inlane.

Besides that ramp is a yellow ramp that rises and goes to the back of the table, where it splits into two different habitrails, which is either a left habitrail that spirals down through a toy model of Stark Tower, or a longer right habitrail leading to a toy model of the Helicarrier of the superhero agency Strategic Hazard Intervention Espionage Logistics Directorate (SHIELD). This is a mini-playfield where two cannons at the front of the helicarrier can be rotated to shoot at several rows of red drop targets atop its deck. To the right of that ramp is a covered sinkhole blocked by 3 drop targets that must be knocked down to unblock it. Behind this sinkhole lies a figure of Tony Stark, who stands on a platform that can instantly put on an Iron Man suit on him by mechanical means. To his right is a bumper area, accessed with incomplete shots through the orbit that drop the ball through one of three bumper rollovers. This bumper area contains 3 bumpers shaped like the arc reactor that Iron Man wears to regulate his damaged circulatory system after it is filled with dangerous shrapnel. Balls that fall into the bumper area will exit into the left orbit.

Right next to those drop targets is another yellow ramp that bends right and splits into two habitrails that go to the same destinations as the red one. To the right of that ramp is a red crossramp that leads to a looping habitrail ending at the left orbit. Between this crossramp and the right orbit, which is also gated by a flag, there is a VUK that can be accessed by knocking down 2 drop targets blocking it. Four target posts spelling the word SAVE are placed on the corners of the entries of the two left ramps and the covered sinkhole. There is also an arc reactor placed in front of all these lanes in the very middle of the table and there is a hidden magnet underneath it that may hold balls briefly. The front entries of the four ramps can also rise to expose hidden sinkholes that can lock balls inside.

### The lower half of the table

Further down the table, there are two platforms, one on each side of the table, containing figures of two of Iron Man's greatest foes: Whiplash on the left platform and Mandarin on the right platform. Two habitrails from the ramps described above drop into a sinkhole besides Whiplash that lead into a tunnel going through the left platform and passing under Whiplash to take balls to the leftmost inlane. A mini-flipper is embedded in the outer edge of the left platform and it is mainly used to access the crossramp. In front of that mini-flipper are three targets that spell UNI, the first three letters of the word UNIBEAM, a powerful blast cannon derived from the arc reactor. On the right platform, there are also similarly four targets that spell the rest of the word, BEAM. The table walls are filled with information screens and schematics of Iron Man's technology.

There are 6 return lanes that spell the word THRUST, with three outlanes on each side. There are two rebounds and two flippers, and a low-power spring-loaded kickback is installed in each outlane. Each rebound also contains a pop-up mini ball cannon that automatically pivots and can shoot balls at Whiplash or back into the playfield with the press of the launch button in particular missions.

### The plunger

The plunger is a straight shaft that leads into the right orbit and is meant to be reminiscent of the kinetic repulsor ray cannons Iron Man has on the palm of each glove. The player is challenged to apply a high, but specific amount of force to the plunger such that the ball travels up the right orbit and drops through a specific lit bumper rollover instead of going down the left orbit for a skill shot. If the player shoots the ball too strong or too weak such that the ball doesn't reach the rollovers in the first place, or lands the ball in the wrong rollover, the skillshot will fail.

## Objective and missions

The goal of this table is to help Tony Stark manage the ins and outs of his life as both a billionaire who must manage his own tech company, Stark Industries, and a superhero who must protect the world from grave threats as Iron Man, through a total of 12 missions, six as himself and six as Iron Man.

The rules for Tony Stark missions are different from that of Iron Man missions. For the Tony Stark missions, they can only be worked on when no Iron Man mission is active and most of them do not have to be tackled one at a time. It is also not possible to "fail" any of them and draining the ball will not result in losing progress for them. By contrast, the Iron Man missions can only be completed one at a time and one will begin at random by knocking down the three drop targets blocking the center sinkhole by hitting them once each and locking the ball there. Once an Iron Man mission begins, it must be completed successfully with the ball in play; draining it will result in failure.

The following six Tony Stark missions and six Iron Man missions must be completed successfully to unlock the wizard mode:

**Tony Stark missions:**

*Missions marked with an asterisk can be worked in tandem with each other.*

* **Stock Market**:\* To ensure his fortunes, Stark must manage his company well and make sure that its stocks are rising favorably. To increase the company's stock, the player must shoot the red left ramp a total of 8 times, with every 2 shots raising the stock market level from 0 all the way up to 4.
* **Stark Tower**:\* Tony needs to protect Stark Tower from adversaries who may try to sabotage his company. The player can help him upgrade its security systems by shooting the yellow fork ramp placed between the left red ramp and the central mission sinkhole so that the ball spirals down through the toy model of his tower 8 times, with every 2 shots raising the tower security level from 0 all the way up to 4.
* **Party**:\* With a lot of money to live on, what could stop Tony from enjoying a lavish party with a lot of people? The player can make his parties a lot more exciting over the years by shooting the right yellow ramp a total of 8 times.
* **Science**:\* Tony must stop at nothing in discovering new scientific and technological breakthroughs that could be helpful for others. The player can help further and advance his research by shooting the red crossramp between the right yellow ramp and the orbit a total of 8 times, raising the research level from 0 all the way up to 4.
* **Target Practice**: Stark can test out the repulsor rays in his Iron Man gloves to ensure he can shoot them well. To start a target practice session, the player must shoot each orbit 6 times, which will cause the left yellow ramp to divert the ball to a right habitrail leading to the SHIELD Helicarrier mini-playfield, where the player will be given a time-limited opportunity to hit as many red drop targets there as possible by tapping the launch button in time to fire the front cannons of the helicarrier while they pivot in front of the targets automatically.
* **SHIELD Multiball**: Tony works closely with SHIELD and its agents to ensure public security. This is a mandatory multiball mode that the player can start once three balls are locked through the following procedure: unblock the VUK by hitting the 2 targets barricading it, then shoot the ball into the VUK so that it goes into a holding bay onboard the SHIELD Helicarrier. After the third ball is locked, the Helicarrier will launch the three locked balls back into play and the player can juggle the balls as long as possible until two of them are lost. Each lane except for the crossramp has a one-time jackpot that can be claimed, and once all 6 jackpots are claimed, the player must shoot a lit lane to collect a Super Jackpot. The Jackpot increases every time UNIBEAM is spelled on the side target banks.

**Iron Man missions:**

* **Mandarin Flame Blast**: One of the Mandarin's powerful weapons is a ring that can shoot a powerful stream of fire. Iron Man's armor can withstand the heat blast, but not for long and he will need to return fire to break off the Mandarin's attack. The player needs to charge up Iron Man's cannons by opening the central mission sinkhole in the usual method by hitting the three targets blocking it to open it, then shoot the ball inside. The player only has twenty seconds to make each needed shot to prime the suit's weapons system. Once it's ready, a ball cannon will pop out of each rebound and will pivot automatically, aiming at different lanes, while the entrances of the orbits and every ramp except the crossramp will open up to reveal sinkholes that the ball needs to be shot into to fire back at the Mandarin. The player must use careful timing to shoot the ball into the correct lit sinkhole by tapping the launch button at the exact moment one of the cannons is pointing at it. A successful hit will allow the player to immediately use the cannon again and a miss will force the player to shoot the center sinkhole (which will remain unblocked) again to restart the weapons systems. Four successful hits will repel the Mandarin's fire attack.
* **Mandarin Impact Beam**: The Mandarin can also unleash a powerful kinetic blast from one of his magic rings, but Iron Man counters the blast with his repulsor ray glove. The player needs to put more power into the glove's repulsor ray by shooting all ramps and orbits once within 90 seconds before the Mandarin's blast intensifies and knocks out Iron Man. Once all six lanes are shot, the player must deliver the final power surge to knock out the Mandarin and defeat him by shooting the open center mission hole.
* **Whiplash Attack**: Ivan Vanko, a scientist seeking revenge on Stark for a perceived injustice, becomes the supervillain Whiplash, armed with tough armor and powerful electric whips. Iron Man must deal with him and this can be accomplished by shooting any of 3 lit lanes that change every 10 seconds six times, but the player must also carefully watch out for Whiplash's attacks, as he can strike the ball with his long energy whips at certain times. Flipper shot timing and precision are pivotal to completing this mission successfully.
* **Mandarin Vortex Beam**: The Mandarin attacks by using his magic rings to create a powerful vortex storm. This will begin a 4 ball multiball in which the balls will come out of the mission hole and get trapped at the center of a table with a magnet in the arc reactor, before scattering. The player must shoot all ramps and both orbits once with the multiball before all but one ball drains, then after that, the player must lock at least 2 balls back into the mission hole to attack the Mandarin, but must watch out as he will create a vortex in the arc reactor in the table center that can move the balls in a different direction and may potentially lead to unwanted drains.
* **Mandarin Electro Blast**: The Mandarin has a powerful attack that can greatly disrupt Iron Man's armor systems - an electromagnetic blast from one of his rings. After the Mandarin zaps Iron Man with it and leaves him for dead, the player must reboot Iron Man's systems by shooting the left orbit, the yellow left ramp leading to Stark Tower and the red Science crossramp, then fully recharge the suit by hitting the bumpers many times within a 1 minute time limit, in which the orbits will divert the ball directly to the bumper area to make the recharging procedure easy. After enough energy is regained, Iron Man will return to the Mandarin and take him down.
* **Whiplash and Mandarin**: Whiplash and Mandarin sometimes work together to try and defeat Iron Man, but he can use his powerful repulsor ray palm cannons to take the two down. To charge up the cannons, the player must shoot both orbits and the Science crossramp once each, then prepare them to fire by locking the ball into some lit sinkholes in the entrances of the ramps or orbits that open up. Once a ball is shot into such sinkhole, the camera will then enter into a first-person view of the right rebound's cannon, which will then pop out and move up and down while pointing at Whiplash. The player must shoot the cannon at the marked target on him by tapping the launch button at the moment the cannon points at it. If the player misses, Whiplash will slash the ball in half with his whips. Regardless of the shot outcome, the player must lock the ball into the sinkholes again for another shot. This procedure must be repeated a total of three times (locking the ball into sinkhole and then shooting the marked weakpoint on Whiplash), for each of Whiplash's three weakpoints: the head, the torso and the legs.

Once all 12 missions are complete, the player will be able to access the wizard mode, which is a final battle against **ULTIMO** that is started the same way as the Iron Man missions. This is a final 4 ball multiball mission that serves as a climatic battle against a powerful robot created by Mandarin, capable of terrorizing the world. To defeat ULTIMO, Iron Man must use flamethrower attacks, and can charge up one by shooting any of three lit lanes that change every 10 seconds with one of the balls in play, turning any ball that goes through a lit lane into a fireball for a limited time. Burning balls will damage ULTIMO every time they touch him as he appears in the center of the table as a massive figure interfering with most of the lanes. It will take 10 hits to finally destroy ULTIMO and save the day, and the player must land all 10 hits before all but one ball drains. The player must be careful, as shooting ULTIMO with a normal ball may send it into the outlanes or straight down the middle, whether with a natural bounce, or by ULTIMO himself using his powerful abilities to manipulate the balls. The player is only allowed one attempt at this wizard mode.

## Perks

The following perks can be activated during play.

* **Backup Power Ball Saver**: When Iron Man's suit is running out of energy, he can use emergency backup power reserves to keep his suit and weapon functionality operational for a little longer. A 30-second ball saver will be available at the start of each ball and multiball, and once it expires, the player can spell SAVE on the target posts to reactivate the ball saver.
* **Thruster Kickback**: Iron Man uses special thrusters in his rocket boots to achieve stable flight and avoid spiraling out of control. If the player spells the first half of the word THRUST by lighting all left return lanes (THR), the left kickback will turn on. If the player spells the second half of the word THRUST by lighting all right return lanes (UST), the right kickback will turn on. Both kickbacks are low-power spring-loaded kickbacks and are only good for the current ball.
* **Unibeam Score**: The Unibeam is a very powerful weapon Iron Man can use to deliver maximum damage to enemies via a blast from his arc reactor in his chest. If the player spells UNIBEAM on all seven targets in the two side banks, the jackpots of multiballs, the rewards of mission progress and a special end-of-ball bonus will increase.
* **Score Multiplier**: Lighting all 3 bumper rollovers (which cycle when the flippers are operated) will raise the score multiplier, which is only good for the current ball.
* **Extra Ball**: An extra ball can be earned for maxing out the multiplier, limited to once per ball. Once earned, the player claims it with a shot through the red Science crossramp.

## Tips

* You can only earn 1 extra ball per ball from maxing out the multipliers and draining a ball will result in failure of any Iron Man mission in progress, so it is absolutely essential for you to play very carefully to avoid ball drains and take advantage of how easy it is to activate the kickbacks and the ball saver (although the latter is more difficult to activate) so that they can be at your service to keep the ball alive as you strive to complete all 12 missions to earn the right to face ULTIMO in the wizard mode.
* Given that the Stock Market, Stark Tower, Party and Science missions for Tony Stark all simply consist of shooting a particular ramp a total of 8 times, you can efficiently complete these four missions by breaking down the missions into smaller chunks by taking some time to shoot a few ramps before you begin working on the other 8 missions and in between such missions.
* Try to master incomplete orbit shots that drop the ball into the bumper area, as this will give you a chance to raise the score multiplier en route to vital extra balls, as well as provide a very effective way to get the ball to the mini-flipper for a chance to line up a cross shot to hit the red Science crossramp. Once you get the ball through that crossramp, it will loop back to the mini-flipper, giving you an opportunity to repeatedly string together a chain of crossramp shots if you can master the flipper timing, which can allow you to rapidly progress through the Science mission when no modes are running.

## External links

* Official table trailer
* Table walkthrough by ShoryukenToTheChin (PDF)
* Official table soundtrack on Bandcamp (tracks 13 - 18 of *Marvel Pinball Original Soundtrack*)