When Iron Man was released a decade ago, few could have envisaged quite how big the Marvel Cinematic Universe would become.
The Robert Downey Jr vehicle was the starting point of Marvel’s first phase, and ended up grossing more than $500m worldwide – among the top 10 best performers at the box office in 2008.
Its two sequels made even more, and the MCU as a whole is responsible for the only two films in 2018 (at the time of writing) to top the $1bn mark, in the form of Black Panther and Avengers: Infinity War.
It’s natural, therefore, to see a huge demand for elements of the film that started it all. However, one unforeseen consequence is the apparent theft of Downey’s original Iron Man suit.
The costume, which is thought to be worth more $325,000 (around £240,000), vanished from a prop storage warehouse in California earlier this year, according to the Los Angeles Times.
It has officially been reported as missing, prompting an investigation from the LAPD, though the police department has not provided details on who owns the warehouse from which it disappeared.
Read more: In defence of being an adult man who enjoys comic-book movies
Downey Jr’s Iron Man character has featured in several other films beyond the eponymous trilogy, including Infinity War and Spider Man: Homecoming.
There has also been talk of a fourth Iron Man film but thus far we are still without official confirmation from Marvel.
Marvel’s next two confirmed films, Ant-Man and the Waspand Captain Marvel, are due to land in cinemas in 2018 and 2019 respectively.
(Images: Marvel)
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