It's ... Iron Man!

I am Iron Man ... duh-duh-duh-duh-duh-duh ba-duh ba-duh!

Alright, so most of you are aware that I'm a huge Iron Man fan, and that I'm eagerly awaiting the film adaptation -- which is slotted for a May '08 release. Jon Favreau (the guy who did "Elf") is directing and, I gotta say, I'm extremely pleased with how he's handling the production. To stem off any spy pics or fake production shots, Favreau has been keeping fans regularly updated with blog posts via his MySpace and, more recently, releasing a steady series of production shots.

The first photo was of Iron Man's first costume incarnation, a gray knight-in-armor-esque suit that Tony Stark (Iron Man's alter ego) builds while being held against his will in Afghanistan. The next was a shot of Stark (played by the brilliantly casted Robert Downey Jr.) at the forge, creating the suit.

And now this most recent shot, which debuted on Entertainment Weekly's online site, is of Stark's Mk. III suit, the classic crimson-and-gold we Iron Man fans have come to know and love over the years. And all I can say is: wow.

Talk about being faithful to the comics. That is Iron Man, ripped straight from the pulp pages. I am so psyched, and I have a deep-felt confidence in Favreau and his production. This is going to be a kickass flick.

Now, if they could release the final design for the Iron Monger suit ...