How popular was Iron Man before this movie?

He wasn't at all popular outside of Marvel comic book fans (Of which I am not).

That said, what a great start to the MCU movie franchise!

One of the big success stories of the MCU is that Marvel didn't have their big money-makers at the time (Spider-Man and X-Men) and had to rely on b-list heroes like Iron Man who were never all that popular.

He was considered a B-list comic book character, more on par with Daredevil than Spider-man or Fantastic 4. The movies catapulted him to A-list status. It's a status that's well deserved.
When they created Iron Man in the 60's, the level of tech that a hypothetical character like Tony Stark would have used to create the Iron Man armor, didn't exist. Due to the tech revolution in the early 2000's, armor like his is not only conceivable but possible. He's really a character that fits so much better into the modern, computer-driven world.
Iron Man rocks!

I knew of him because of Black Sabbath.

He was popular within the Marvel universe. His great comics had plenty of fans and the character even had his own animated series. That being said, prior to his MCU debut he definitely was not the household name he is now. Clark Kent and Bruce Wayne? Before the MCU, no one would have ever imagined that Tony Stark (a name previously unheard of to the masses) would one day rival the popularity of two of the most famous superheroes in history, nevermind surpass it (sorry not sorry, DC fans). Heck, the same rings true for a former c-list character like Black Panther. He is now a superstar in both film and the comics, and like Stark, he always should have been.

But yeah, somehow his worldwide recognition could never compete with the likes of Spider-Man, the Hulk, or even arguably The Punisher. Fortunately all that changed thanks to this film. 2008’s Iron Man almost came out of nowhere, and if he didn’t become the coolest, most 21st century superhero around with his debut film, then he certainly did by time The Avengers came out. In my view, cinema had never seen a superhero quite like Iron Man/Tony Stark before—one that had a high-tech suit that looked as fantastic as his, had such an infectious charm, resonated so well with audiences, and was just so brilliantly and perfectly casted. 1978’s Superman maybe had a similar impact to some extent, but man, as iconic as Reeve was as Clark Kent... the character feels bland compared to Stark (oh snap!).

Anyway, you’ve got to hand it to Kevin Feige and Marvel. They built the juggernaut (pun intended) that is the MCU with Iron Man, Captain America and Thor; these characters were a big deal to Marvel and had some popularity with the general public, but they weren’t exactly on the same level as the X-Men and Spider-Man. Then they gave far less popular heroes such as Ant-Man, Guardians of the Galaxy and Black Panther their own films and somehow they blew up. Those who hate the MCU or superheroes movies in general can’t deny the success of this franchise was unprecedented. Of course, some will try. [case in point👇]


PS. F the ignored and miserable DCtard that I know will reply to this. This clown seriously needs to be booted from here! Just pathetically trolling the hell out of these boards. Waste of space.

Yes, there WERE cartoons we watched in the ‘70s that were extremely cheesy.

These included:
Iron Man
Thor
Hulk
Namor of Atlantis(the Submariner)

https://www.quora.com/Was-Iron-Man-popular-before-the-MCU

I knew about him and I’ve never been a comic book/superhero fan.