Iron Man may be one of the most recognizable heroes in Marvel's pantheon, but there was a time when Tony Stark wasn't so beloved as evidenced by recently resurfaced footage of Shell Head's first 3D video game. Back in 2003, Iron Man remained one of Marvel's B-Tier superheroes: While he still played a role in The Avengers, the success of the X-Men and Spider-Man movies resulted in him being the second fiddler to more popular characters. Thanks to 2008's Iron Man and his prominence in the successive Avengers movies, many would now consider Stark to be the face of Marvel.

Posting on X (formerly Twitter), retired programmer and video game archivist Kevin Edwards shared never-before-seen footage of The Invincible Iron Man, a game that was in development at Genepool Software in 2003.

Activision unfortunately canceled the project, which would have been Iron Man's first 3D video game, and the studio was shut down. The resurfaced footage and stills demonstrate what could have been as players assumed control of Tony Stark in what appears to be a suit of armor inspired by his appearance in the Marvel Ultimate comics and flew through a canyon while blasting enemies.

Iron Man's Video Game Tenure

Not Too Good But There's Hope On the Horizon

While little is known about the scrapped Iron Man game, the footage does suggest that players would have been able to freely fly around the level while also getting up close and personal with any enemies in their path. As a mechanical pitch, it sounds like the ideal format for a video game but Tony Stark hasn't had the best of luck when it comes to interactive adaptations. While the Game Boy Advance played host to a decent game also titled The Invincible Iron Man, most of the hero's other outings failed to impress.

The most high-profile solo Iron Man games include the projects based on the 2008 film and its 2010 sequel. Both allowed players to fly around a 3D environment but their controls were clunky and ineffective while the actual combat was sluggish and unresponsive. Fortunately, Tony Stark has appeared in plenty of other video games that have left much more of an impact on players, including Marvel Ultimate Alliance, LEGO Marvel Superheroes, and the excellent Marvel vs. Capcom series.

Tony Stark also starred in Iron Man VR , a VR game that does what it says on the tin but due to its restrictive controls and awkward writing, it disappointed many fans.

There's also still hope that Iron Man can still star in a great solo video game as EA Motive is currently working on a project based on the genius billionaire playboy philanthropist. While it doesn't yet have a release date, the game is described as a third-person, single-player action-adventure experience that features an original narrative starring the titular hero. Platforms have yet to be announced but it's presumed to launch on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.