An original screen-used hero light-up Mark 42 helmet worn by Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark in Shane Black's 2013 blockbuster Iron Man 3, the third solo installment in the Iron Man saga and the film that launched Phase Two of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
The film follows Tony Stark as his world is torn apart by a formidable terrorist known as the Mandarin, sending him on an odyssey of rebuilding and retribution. The Mark 42 (XLII), an Autonomous Prehensile Propulsion Suit Prototype code-named "Extremis" and nicknamed the "Prodigal Son," was created by Stark sometime after the events of The Avengers and debuts at the start of the film, when Tony builds and tests it in his basement workshop. It serves as his main suit throughout the entire movie, famous for its signature ability to fly to Tony in separate pieces and wrap itself around his body, piece by piece, guided by a state-of-the-art computer chip implanted in his forearms — before meeting its end when Tony orders J.A.R.V.I.S. to destroy it in the film's finale. Its distinctive gold-dominant color scheme made the Mark 42 an instant standout among the dozens of armors in Stark's Hall of Suits.
This hero helmet was used in various scenes throughout the film and features internal wiring that connected to a power source to illuminate the eyes on camera, the tell-tale mark of a top-tier, camera-ready hero prop. A screen-used, light-up helmet from Iron Man's main armor, in the franchise that built the modern Marvel era, stands as a true centerpiece of superhero film history.
