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Tony Stark / Iron Man
Created by writer-editor Stan Lee, scripter Larry Lieber, and artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby, Iron Man first appeared in Tales of Suspense #39 (March 1963). Tony Stark, after being gravely injured and forced to build a devastating weapon, instead created a suit of power armor to save his life and help protect the world as Iron Man. He is a wealthy industrialist and genius inventor whose metal suit is laden with technological devices that enable him to fight crime.
James Rhodes
A pilot and friend of Tony Stark. Rhodes meets Stark after Iron Man saves his life when a plane crash leaves him stranded behind enemy lines. He is the liaison between Stark's Enterprises and the military in the department of acquisitions.
Virginia "Pepper" Potts
Pepper, originally in the secretarial pool, got her job by fixing an accounting mistake made by Stark himself. Pepper was originally infatuated with Tony and responded to the attentions of Stark's chauffeur and assistant Happy Hogan with caustic remarks. This, almost immediately after her first appearance, coupled with Stark's growing affection for her, put her in an immediate love triangle between Stark and Hogan. Pepper was for a time interested in Iron Man, unaware that he and Stark were the same person.
Obadiah Stane
As a wealthy financier, Obadiah Stane looked to acquire Stark International, the industrial corporation owned by Tony Stark (Iron Man). Stane had his agents, the Chessmen, attack Stark Industries and assault Stark's confidant, James Rhodes. The assaults on Stark, his business, and his friend pushed Stark to the edge, he catastrophically relapsed into alcoholism. Stane succeeded in buying out Stark International, which he then renamed to Stane International. Stark, having fallen off the wagon, relinquished his armor to Jim Rhodes and disappeared to be a homeless vagrant. Rhodes became the new Iron Man while ignoring Stane's demands to relinquish the armor.
When Tony Stark left, he left behind notes and information on the Iron Man armor. These notes were far from complete and without Stark's mind, they were hard to analyze, but Stane assigned a team of scientists to these notes and working from this, they created the Iron Monger armor which, according to Stane, was "far superior to Stark's Iron Man armor."