Spoiler alert: I am a HUGE nerd. I really like to read comics, especially superhero comics. Before, I never really thought of adding the identity of “makers” to comic book characters. But in truth, they’re all over! In today’s post, I thought I would highlight examples of makers in comics.
Tony Stark
If you take ‘makers’ and ‘comics’, most people will think of the same person: the (in)famous Tony Stark.
Tony Stark’s claim to maker fame is that he is the inventor and builder of the “Iron Man” suit and co-founder of the Avengers (in the main Marvel Comics storyline). If you haven’t watched the movies yet, get on that! If you want to jump into the comics, try starting with the Iron Man: Extremis graphic novel.
Lila Rhodes
Lila Rhodes is, by far, my favorite character on this list. If you don’t know who she is, don’t worry, she’s a pretty recent addition to the Marvel world.
Lila first premiered in the first issue of the new run of Iron Patriot starring Tony Stark’s best friend James “Rhodey” Rhodes. Lila is a maker because she enjoys opening up her Uncle’s Iron Patriot suit just to see how it works.
+100 to Marvel for showing that young African-American women can be makers too! Also, according to the Marvel Wiki, she (not Tony Stark!) is the one to make modifications to the Iron Patriot suit whenever her Uncle needs them. There’s only one volume of Iron Patriot, which sadly got cancelled, but I loved it, so go check it out!
Howard Stark
Howard Stark is the father of Tony Stark, and was the driving force behind Tony’s interest in engineering, despite their troubled relationship.
Howard founded Stark Industries, of which Tony later became CEO. I honestly don’t know a whole lot about Howard Stark beyond what was depicted in Captain America: The First Avenger and the Iron Man movies, but read the Marvel Wiki to find out more!
Forge
I’ve only recently met Forge in the new run of Storm comics so I don’t know him very well.
In this new Storm series, we meet him after he’s invented and built a machine that will bring rain to a drought stricken village in Africa. Forge is a fascinating example of makers in comics since, as a mutant, being a maker is literally in his genes! To find out more about Forge, check out his page on the Marvel Wiki.
Peter Parker – Spiderman
Another well loved Maker/Superhero is Spiderman/Peter Parker!
Another well loved Maker/Superhero is Spiderman/Peter Parker!
Thanks to the Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield Spider-man/TASM movies, we should all know Spider-man’s origin story at this point. Not only is Peter Parker a scientific genius, he also invents and builds most of his own gear used in his career as Spider-man. Other than the Spider-man costume, the very first thing that Peter Parker makes for crime-fighting alter-ego are his famous webshooters!
There’s a huge Marvel comic event about Spider-Man and all the other Marvel “Spiders” going on right now, so I would definitely jump in if you haven’t already. Otherwise, check out the Marvel Wiki to learn more about Spider-man!
Watch out for other posts featuring makers in comics in the future! Are there any you thought I should have covered here? Feedback or questions? Let us know in the comments below or find us on twitter @MakerBridge!
Image Credit: “Iron Man’s Laboratory” by Flickr user brigh87
