Chapter 561: Mark I

Prep work had been progressing smoothly. Aside from finishing their own tasks, Duke's team mentored the Marvel Pictures staff who had joined the crew, passing on their experience. Like any newcomer to Hollywood, Marvel Pictures would take plenty of wrong turns without a helping hand.

Duke was the largest shareholder of Marvel Comics. Since he wouldn't only direct Marvel's superhero films in the future, the faster Marvel Pictures grew, the more it benefited him.

"Duke, I think your world-building for this parallel universe is still a bit too conservative."

Stan Lee, who had flown straight from New York to Los Angeles, took a lap around the soundstage under construction. "A lot of the tech and powers from the comics aren't really described in the script, which leans heavily on your ideas," he told Duke.

Duke pulled his gaze back from the completed model of Tony Stark's mansion ahead. "Stan, this is the beginning of the entire franchise," he said slowly. "It's going to take time for audiences to truly accept a world filled with superheroes. We have a lot of movies to make in the future; there's no need to rush things."

"You seem even more confident than I am." Stan Lee took off his sunglasses and turned to look at Duke. "Will our universe really succeed?"

Duke laughed. "Don't you want to see Marvel's superhero movies sweep the globe?"

Stan Lee chuckled as well. As the creator of Marvel's most famous superheroes, he wanted to see Marvel films succeed more than anyone else.

According to the contract between Marvel Comics and Stan Lee, whenever a superhero he created was adapted into a movie, cartoon, or TV show, he would take nearly an eight percent cut of the profits.

Not to mention anything else, just the Spider-Man franchise alone—how much revenue would that bring the old man?

True, Stan Lee was getting quite old. He seemed to have reached an age where he could ignore money entirely, but Duke remembered clearly that in the past, after Marvel's superheroes had thoroughly conquered the world, Stan Lee had taken his old employer, Marvel Comics, to court over unequal profit-sharing.

Now, every cent of revenue Marvel Comics generated was closely tied to Duke. He had spoken with Avi Arad long ago to further refine the profit-sharing contract between Marvel and Stan Lee, doing his best to avoid any unnecessary trouble caused by the old man's excessive greed down the road.

Of course, there were always two sides to a problem. From Stan Lee's perspective, he was simply defending his rightful interests. But from the viewpoint of major shareholders like Duke, the man was trying to carve out a piece of the pie that belonged to them.

After chatting with Stan Lee a bit longer, Duke handed him off to a crew assistant. Although the old man was the undisputed core and soul of Marvel Comics, the production was in the middle of a busy prep phase. Duke couldn't afford to waste too much time on him.

Besides, the Marvel writers led by Stan Lee were most useful for establishing frameworks and writing storylines; they were complete amateurs when it came to film preparation. Duke wasn't stupid enough to let laymen dictate how to run his movie.

Take Tony Stark's suit, for instance. It was one thing in the comics, but presenting it on the big screen was entirely another.

Comics and films were two entirely different mediums.

Industrial Light & Magic was responsible for building Tony Stark's suit. Ever since Duke entered Hollywood, Industrial Light & Magic had given him quite a bit of support thanks to George Lucas. Every movie Duke directed utilized massive amounts of special effects. Aside from The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, which used Weta Studio for the sake of proximity, Industrial Light & Magic had been involved in the VFX for nearly every one of his films.

Originally, Duke had wanted to use master modeler Stan Winston's studio for the prop design of Iron Man, but the head of Industrial Light & Magic had approached him directly. They were incredibly eager to participate in the film's visual effects and had produced a complete set of design proposals at top speed.

Every director preferred working with people they knew during a production, and Duke was no exception.

Even though computer-generated effects were constantly evolving, Duke didn't plan to rely entirely on CGI for the movie. He needed to film with practical props, and this method of combining physical props with computer effects was something Industrial Light & Magic had pioneered and popularized in the first place. Handing the work over to them left him with nothing to worry about.

Moreover, even ten years from now, Industrial Light & Magic would still be the greatest visual effects company in Hollywood—and the world.

During earlier preparations, Duke had communicated extensively with the crew's two concept artists. Combining the traits of the classic comics with Duke's suggestions, they had drafted the initial design sketches and handed them over to Industrial Light & Magic's modeling department. They would create the first prototypes, which could only be finalized after Duke reviewed them.

Stepping into a showroom next to the soundstage, Duke found Phil Saunders, Industrial Light & Magic's point man for Iron Man, already waiting. On two stationary display racks beside him stood four Iron Man suits across two different versions.

The taller of the suits was a dusty gray, looking rather rough around the edges. The other, slightly taller than a normal person, featured a red and gold coating. It looked incredibly well-crafted, almost like a piece of art.

"Good work."

After a brief greeting with Phil Saunders, Duke circled the four suits twice, examining them from front to back. "When were these finished?"

Phil Saunders had been following close beside Duke. "They were only completed yesterday afternoon. I had them shipped overnight from San Francisco to Los Angeles."

"These prototypes are made of polystyrene; they're just models," he explained beside Duke. "Once we lock in the final version, the key moving parts will be made with lightweight, durable titanium alloy alongside the polystyrene. It won't be a problem for the actors to wear during the shoot."

"If we mass-produce them," Duke asked, bringing up another concern, "will the cost be very high?"

"Mass production will drastically lower the cost." Phil Saunders did some quick mental math before answering. "We could swap the titanium for aluminum alloy. If we do that, we can get it done for under two or three thousand dollars a piece."

Duke gave a slight nod. If the movie became a massive hit, they could easily roll out wearable, life-size versions of the Mark I and Mark II suits. He imagined plenty of die-hard fans would gladly pay for them.

Of course, that relied on the Iron Battle Suit looking cool, handsome, and appealing enough.

The four initial models in front of him clearly didn't make the cut. A design that looked good on paper had become something else in reality. Whether he looked at them with his own eyes or framed them through a camera lens, Duke felt they were missing something.

"Phil, scrap these two versions."

Duke circled the Mark I and Mark II Iron Battle Suits one more time. He stood to the side, thinking for a long while before having someone call over the two concept artists. Along with Industrial Light & Magic's modelers, they held a brief meeting right in the showroom.

The main topic was Tony Stark's suit.

According to the script, Tony Stark designed the first suit while held captive, calling it the Mark I. In the early Marvel comics, it was also known as the "Grey Armor."

Duke reiterated his concept of blending in the comic elements. "The Mark I is designed while he's a prisoner, especially with enemies constantly monitoring him. In my head, this suit should look like something cobbled together in a junkyard of scrapped weapons. It's going to be the most original prop in the film."

Phil Saunders was not only a renowned modeler in the industry but also one of its best concept designers. He thought for a moment before suggesting, "We can use clean sheet metal as a base and inject graphic technological elements into the design. If we pair that with some paneling accessories, we can make the Mark I look like an amalgamation of weapons and military equipment."

"Yeah, that works." Duke nodded in agreement, then added, "But you all need to keep a few things in mind. This isn't an original movie, after all. It's adapted from a comic book with a massive fanbase."

He laid out his points one by one. "First, we can't stray too far from the source material. Second, we have to show the evolution of Iron Man. It's best if the suit looks a bit like survival gear cobbled together for an escape—like a powerful, humanoid tank."

Thinking for another second, Duke added, "It also needs to be light enough. Preferably under ninety pounds."

The Mark I wasn't just a display piece; the actor needed to wear it while shooting certain scenes. If it was too heavy, let alone performing on camera, simply putting it on would be an ordeal.

"We can split the top and bottom halves completely." Phil Saunders walked over to the display rack and pointed at the waist of the Mark I. "That will make it much easier for both wearing and filming."

Duke nodded and walked over as well, though his target this time was the Mark II. "The overall design of the Mark II is solid. The biggest issue is the color scheme."

He pointed at the red and gold paint on the Mark II. "The colors are still too dull. Think about it—given Tony Stark's smug, show-off personality in the setting, if he chose these two colors, wouldn't he use the absolute brightest shades?"

Red and gold were undeniably vibrant and striking, which perfectly matched Tony Stark's way of doing things.

Tony Stark's suit wasn't just a crucial element of the film's pre-production; it would also be a major piece of merchandise post-release. The consumer base willing to pay for these tie-in products would undoubtedly be made up mostly of teenagers.

And the mainstream portion of that demographic did not particularly care for relatively muted colors.

Designing and building the Mark I and Mark II suits didn't just consume time; testing them did as well. The finished suits had to undergo a series of field tests for wearability and camera presence. Finding a flaw during actual principal photography would inevitably delay the shooting schedule.

By mid-August, they had finally locked in suitable versions for both generations of suits. Just as Duke was ready to relax for a moment, he received an invitation from Rupert Murdoch.