Bob Layton Talks Iron Man 2's Briefcase Armor

Bob Layton Talks Iron Man 2's Briefcase Armor

Iron Man artist, Bob Layton talks to MTV about the briefcase armor featured in the last Iron Man 2 trailer. Check it Out

By DCMarvelFreshman - Apr 17, 2010 02:04 PM EST
Filed Under: Iron Man
Source: MTV



During the C2E2 convention in Chicago, MTV spoke with Veteran "Iron Man" artist, and War Machine Co-Creator creator, Bob Layton. Layton was one of the artist responsible for some of the Iron Man's famous tales including the "Demon in a Bottle" storyline and the introduction of characters Jim "Rhodey" Rhodes and Justin Hammer.

"[Robert Downey Jr.] and I were having a talk while he was getting his makeup on, and at one point, he goes, 'Oh, you don't know about this, do you?' then suddenly jumps up and runs over to the prop cart," remembered Layton. "He comes back and drops that attache case in my lap, and I just stare at it for a moment."

"I tell him, 'Wait... You're really doing it?!" he continued. "And [Downey] tells me to have the prop guys take me back to the trailer. I go back there and there's the full model of the Silver Centurion armor."

"All I could manage to say was 'F---!'" he laughed.

The necessity to keep it a secret, however, was finally removed when the armor made its debut last month in the trailer.

"Of course, I couldn't tell anybody, so I've had to keep my mouth shut," he said.

Now that he's free to talk about it, though, Layton has nothing but praise for the armor and what it means for the project.

"You know what? It's cooler than the regular armor, and those are my colors, man," he laughed.

"I was incredibly flattered that they were trying to put as much of the lexicon of Iron Man into these films as possible," he said. "Everyone on that set, cast and crew, are Iron Man fans."


In the trailer we saw that Tony Stark whips out the MarkV armor to take care of Whiplash. And their battle is being described as epic, on the Monaco Race Track. We'll be able to see the MarkV unfold on the big screen May 7th.

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WolvieCBM
WolvieCBM - 4/17/2010, 3:00 PM
Awesome find man! Only 12 days left...
LEEE777
LEEE777 - 4/17/2010, 3:03 PM
I'll talk about IRON MAN's Suitcase....

ITS SH1T! : P

But again, MOVIE = EPIC! ; D
KeithM
KeithM - 4/17/2010, 3:28 PM
Earth to Leee, Earth to Leee. Come in Leee.

Nope, I think he's too far gone.

What did you want? It's a suitcase armour (repeat that over and over in your head until it sinks in) that isn't cheesy and looks awesome.

:shakes Leee really hard:

What do you want? Blood?

:throws Leee to the floor:

Never mind. Don't bother. I give up. There's just no pleasing some.
Growler
Growler - 4/17/2010, 3:28 PM
does anyone know if Layton still works in comics? The work he did on Iron Man was back in the '70s. I remember buying some back then (old, old, old).
KevinBacon01
KevinBacon01 - 4/17/2010, 3:31 PM
I think they should have given him in the movie a set of armor that was cloth that he could wear under his clothes so when bad guys were afoot he could just run and rip his shirt off and have armor underneath. What do you guys think?
DCMarvelFreshman
DCMarvelFreshman - 4/17/2010, 3:50 PM
Tony doesn'y give a damn if it's lame, hes just wants to whip whiplash's ass. It's really a smart idea.

A way of avoiding the suitcase armor, would have been to let Whiplash almost kill Tony, then it ends all there. Then at the end of the film let them have their battle.
PS3geek1
PS3geek1 - 4/17/2010, 3:51 PM
I can't wait for this movie.... its totally going to kick butt... the suitcase armour will look awesome on the big screen... can't wait
CROVL
CROVL - 4/17/2010, 3:57 PM
@LEE and Anil Rick...seriously?!

In the words of Bugs Bunny...
"What a couple of maroons (morons)!"...seriously, you guys know that frickin' suitcase armor is awesome the nth power. Hello...a badass piece of technologically advanced armor...in a muthafrickin' suitcase the weighs only 50 lbs, son!...

I like how it is obviously something used for emergencies only... no flight or auxiliary weapons, just basic protection and repulsors for ass whippin'....
KeithM
KeithM - 4/17/2010, 3:58 PM
@elephant: I think you're having a laugh, but for the sake of argument - I think audiences would laugh and walk out of the cinema. That would be awful, cheesy, unbelievable to the MAX.

Next you'll be asking for roller skates!

A suit of armour UNDERNEATH normal clothes. Think about it. Go put on two sweaters right now. Does it show? It's not like a thin layer of material like Superman or Spidey, it's a SUIT OF ARMOUR.

Seriously, is it a mental illness that prevents some comic-book fans from seeing just how ridiculous some of the stuff in the comics would be in live-action? Can't they see the SENSE in needing to change some things to make them more believable?

Audiences wouldn't buy it. It would be a stupid, stupid joke.

The only way a suit underneath clothes would ever work is if they gave him a "nano-suit" where it's stored in his bones and shit. Still pretty (too) far-fetched imo, but just forget the "meta-cloth" idea. It sucks.

Thank [frick] you guys aren't making superhero movies is all I can say.
KevinBacon01
KevinBacon01 - 4/17/2010, 4:02 PM
No dude it would be cloth armor!!! so you couldn't tell lol
JoshWilding
JoshWilding - 4/17/2010, 4:03 PM
Personally, I think the suit looks awesome and it's great to see both a version of the Silver Centurion and suitcase armor on the big screen! Good stuff MF! :)

Guys, check out my SECRET AVENGERS Fan Cast!!! Just click the link!!! :)
gunner
gunner - 4/17/2010, 4:17 PM
I think it Pretty cool too , and it was for emergency's that Popped up.
I too Miss 35 cent Comics.
Gose
Gose - 4/17/2010, 5:02 PM
Nice making more comic history in movies, now all i have to see is what is whiplash's faceplate/mask be..... maybe he'll get one of jason's old hockey mask on ....
ukboy28
ukboy28 - 4/17/2010, 5:47 PM
suitcase armor looks awesome imo, cant wait for the 30th april :) :)
Wadey09
Wadey09 - 4/17/2010, 6:05 PM
so it's called the Silver Centurion in the film?
or was that Layton just commenting on the color scheme?
InTylerWeTrust
InTylerWeTrust - 4/17/2010, 6:44 PM
The suitcase armor is bad ass. That's all there is to it.
Upupandaway
Upupandaway - 4/17/2010, 7:10 PM
I like the suitcase armor idea. Everyone knows he's Iron Man. That makes him a target. Can't wear the suit everywhere. (Think of the chafing.) So, why not have the mobile stuff around? Part of the whole allure of comics is that it taps into that sense of imagination. IMO, they actually made it look pretty frickin' awesome.
GUNSMITH
GUNSMITH - 4/17/2010, 7:24 PM






Twiztedfate
Twiztedfate - 4/17/2010, 9:52 PM
Yea your a complete tool if you think the suitcase armor is bad.. Get over it!
Huckleberry
Huckleberry - 4/17/2010, 10:20 PM
@ elephantknowsbest Dude i just have to say that the cloth armor idea is [frick]ing amazing!!! Your insight on how to translate comics to film is tremendous. I think the cloth armor would do soo well on the big screen! Lets just hope we see it in the Avengers!!!! Keep up the good work dude!
CPBuff22
CPBuff22 - 4/18/2010, 1:21 AM
I find it very entertaining when some one claims that movie fans wont buy a specific aspect of a comic book movie because it doesn't seem technically possible. Let me pose a few super hero related questions. Did movie goers walk out on Superman because he could fly & see through walls? Did any one walk out of X-Men 2 when Wolverine got shot point blank in the head and the bullet just pushed its way out and he got up and was fine? All these things are obviously impossible and if that theory held true then no super hero movie would be a hit.
KeithM
KeithM - 4/18/2010, 2:19 AM
Ok - instead of silly comparisons, let's try a more accurate comparison.

If Clark had worn a helmet under his glasses, would that have been ok?

It's not about whether something's "technically possible", it's about whether it makes sense in context.

It's all about WILLING suspension of disbelief. Push that too far and it breaks. And that can be something small, like not behaving consistently, just as much as something big, like magic or powers.

Even in the comics, some things are just too-far fetched and silly and we don't accept them - the "oh, come on" moments.

It's not a black and white thing, where if we can accept one 'unrealistic' thing then we can accept just about anything, no matter how [frick]ing retarded it is.

No, we didn't mind Wolverine getting up after being shot in the head, because based on his powers, we're willing to suspend our disbelief in that instance, but we do mind Deadpool shooting laser beams from his eyes, because that's just stupid.

Superman's fine, but if the policemen in Metropolis start flying around, shooting laser beams from their eyes and lifting giant rocks, because "why not - these schmucks will swallow any old shit", then they've jumped the shark and will lose the audience.

Indy running from a giant stone ball, leaping over spikes and getting out by the skin of his teeth - fine.

Indy surviving a nuclear explosion by hiding in a fridge - retarded.

Tony's suits going through a technical 'evolution', even though they're "technically impossible" - fine (i.e. believable in the context of the story)

If Tony had come up with the extremis armour first - retarded (i.e. not believable in context - too much of a leap for us to "believe")

Armour in a suitcase - believable in context.

Cloth armour/armour underneath normal clothing - retarded.

Get it yet?
SkaarSonofHulk
SkaarSonofHulk - 4/18/2010, 2:47 AM
elephant @ Cloth armor... i could see that, it would be kind of like the next stage in the evolution in his armor.
KevinBacon01
KevinBacon01 - 4/18/2010, 3:04 AM
Hah! I was really just kidding. Like this is all really random and i think it is crazy. I feel like a superstar my email box has been filled with people telling me how awesome the idea is and how they want me to take this idea so far. So why not embrace it, I guess i'll be working on some sketches and some possible story ideas to explain everything in detail. I was also thinking about getting some t-shirts made so it would be like your wearing his cloth armor (i'll have to get through the copyright laws though lol). I've also been looking at some possible domain names twitter and facebook accounts. We could turn this into a real grass-roots movement and lets see if we can get the attention of Marvel and try to get this into some comics books or possibly a movie!! I know I like to think big lol But ill keep you posted any updates. So thanks everyone!


ps. I've been trying to think up some names to call the armor so any suggestions let me know!

pms. @ KeithM i can tell you really like the idea, so when it's all set up i'll send you a free shirt : )
ThunderCougarFalconBird
ThunderCougarFalconBird - 4/18/2010, 3:31 AM
LEE - get a grip man! This is a portable/emergency suit! If it looked anyway near as solid and cool as the full on markIV/VI then it would be a little ridiculous! As it is, they've made it look just right for it's context.
KeithM
KeithM - 4/18/2010, 4:07 AM
@elephant: I'll hold you to that. Size L please.
Relevant
Relevant - 4/18/2010, 4:22 AM
@KeithM. You sir are awesome for that logic, premises included, based argument to elaborate your point. Amen a million times to what you said.
Colton
Colton - 4/18/2010, 7:33 AM
april 30th. not long now
rook187
rook187 - 4/18/2010, 10:21 AM
suitcase armor is full of win. can't wait.
ngu13
ngu13 - 4/18/2010, 3:58 PM
that looks sweet ... i want 1 for myself
AMPworx
AMPworx - 4/20/2010, 2:02 PM
I dig the suitcase armor idea for that particular scene for the fact that it would probably be a hell of a lot thinner and light weight leaving Tony Stark more vulnerable to Whiplashes whips. Evening out the playing field a little bit for a more believable battle...please correct me if I am wrong but didnt they just show a scene on a trailer recently where Whiplash hooks a whip around tony neck and kinda pulls him or drags him acroos the aspalt or something like that? just seems more believable with that suit than the other i dunno..i guess I'll shut up now and wait for the ridicule....'_'
skidz
skidz - 4/21/2010, 5:52 PM
It's great to see artists give credit to past ideas and allow themselves a chance to give a modern update.
skidz
skidz - 4/21/2010, 5:54 PM
I wonder what the leg sections look like.
skidz
skidz - 4/21/2010, 5:58 PM
It's a little unnerving for me to think that is the most easily portable weapon I've ever seen in Science Fiction. Imagine THAT as airplane baggage!
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