Iron Man

Stern Pinball, 2010 — shot-by-shot rules and strategy guide.

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John Borg's Iron Man is a short, ferocious machine built to end your ball fast and make you love it for trying. The layout is wide open: two flippers under unusually wide outlanes with no ball save, left and right ramps that combo for Bogey, left and right orbits carrying spinners, a center spinner straight up the middle, a bash-toy Iron Monger that rises on a magnet, a fast War Machine shot that kicks the ball back at you, a pair of magnet-guarded Whiplash targets, and two banks of red picture targets that spell IRON MAN. Everything is labeled right on the playfield, so the game is never a puzzle, only a fight.

The five objectives

The heart of the game is five objectives: Iron Man, War Machine, Whiplash, Iron Monger and Drones. Spell the red targets for Iron Man and sweep them again for double scoring; clear the roaming blue drone targets to arm War Machine at its shot; hit the Whiplash targets five times to start its multiball; and spell MONGER on the purple orbit and center shots to raise the toy, then bash its edges. Land all five on a single ball and the center flashes for Do or Die, a fifty million hurry-up on a game where thirty million is already a great score.

Marks and Jericho

The long game is the Mark ladder. Each objective you finish lights the next Mark suit, and reaching Mark six opens Jericho, a shoot-everything finale that pays enormous. The Marks carry across balls, so even a rough ball leaves progress on the board. That is a big part of why the game keeps pulling you back for one more start.

What to respect

Two magnets and two wide outlanes do most of the killing here. The Iron Monger's magnet grabs anything shot dead center, so always hit it on a corner. Whiplash flings the ball back at speed and can drain you through no fault of your own, so have both flippers ready for the return. Nudging is part of playing this game well: settle every fast return before you aim, because there is no ball save to bail you out.

Editions

Iron Man arrived in 2010 and was reissued as a Pro Vault Edition in 2014 with the same layout and rules and a brighter, louder presentation. An earlier Classic edition left off the left-outlane kickback and the playfield magnets, but the shots and objectives are otherwise identical, so the same plan works across every version you are likely to run into.

How Iron Man plays

Iron Man is a fast, save-less John Borg machine built around five objectives -- Iron Man, War Machine, Whiplash, Iron Monger and Drones. Light all five on one ball for Do or Die, and finish six Mark suits across the game to reach Jericho.

The loop

Spell the red IRON MAN targets and hit each objective shot -- War Machine, Whiplash, the Monger, the drones -- to light its character insert.
Every objective you finish lights the next Mark suit, climbing I through VI.
Stack modes -- start Bogey on the ramps, then War Machine, then Whiplash inside it -- so single shots score several ways.
Land all five objectives on the same ball to flash Do or Die up the middle; complete all six Marks to light Jericho.

Reading the lights

Objective Inserts (status) — lit: Each lit character insert is one of the five objectives; it lights while that objective is running and stays on once you finish it FOR THIS BALL. · flashing: A flashing insert is being held for you -- that objective's progress carries to your next ball instead of resetting. · then: Finish the five -- Iron Man, War Machine, Whiplash, Iron Monger, Drones -- on the SAME ball and the center flashes for Do or Die. Drain before that and the started ones reset, so keep them alive together rather than banking one and losing the rest.
IRON MAN Targets (letters) — lit: A lit red target is a letter you still need; it goes dark once you have knocked it down, and the lit ones are all that is left to spell. · then: Clear IRON on the left and MAN on the right to light the Iron Man objective. Sweep the whole set a SECOND time and the game turns on double scoring for a stretch -- the easiest points multiplier on the machine.
MONGER Shots (shot arrows) — lit: The two orbit arrows and the center spinner glow purple while you are still spelling MONGER; a letter you have banked stops lighting. · then: Rattle all three purple shots to spell MONGER, which raises the Iron Monger toy up out of the playfield. Then bash it on a CORNER six times -- a dead-center hit feeds the magnet in front and throws the ball back at you -- to start Iron Monger Multiball.
Drone Targets (shot arrows) — lit: One blue drone is lit at a time -- only the lit one scores, and the lit one HOPS to a different drone the instant you hit it, so you cannot camp a single target. · then: Chase the hopping light until the whole set is cleared, which arms War Machine at its shot. Once War Machine Multiball is running these same drones become your jackpot shots, so clearing them again pays far more.
S.H.I.E.L.D. Lanes (lanes) — lit: A lit lane rollover is a S.H.I.E.L.D. letter you have not collected yet; roll the ball through a lit one to bank it, and a banked letter stays collected so you only ever chase the ones still lit. · then: Line up the lit rollover with a flipper, then let the ball roll through it. Spelling all six S.H.I.E.L.D. letters banks a mystery award, lights one of the six Marks toward Jericho, and steps up your bonus multiplier. · control: Either flipper button: a tap of either flipper button slides the lit S.H.I.E.L.D. rollover sideways across the inlanes and outlanes, so you can move it under the lane the ball is about to take and collect the letter you still need (any time before the ball reaches the return lanes)
Mark Ladder (ladder) — lit: The Mark suits I through VI light one rung at a time; a lit rung is a completed objective, and the rungs STAY lit from ball to ball. · then: Every objective you finish -- Iron Man, War Machine, Whiplash, Iron Monger, Bogey ramps, the shields -- lights the next Mark. Reach Mark VI and Jericho lights up the middle. Because the ladder persists, even a bad ball leaves progress you keep chipping at.
Do or Die (mode) — lit: The center shot flashes for Do or Die only while all five objectives are lit on the SAME ball -- drain and the flash is gone. · then: Shoot the flashing center spinner to start a 50 million hurry-up, then trap up and shoot the center AGAIN before the value counts down to cash it out. That is enormous on a game where 30 million is a great whole game.

Lane change: the flipper buttons move the lit lane. Tapping either flipper button slides the lit S.H.I.E.L.D. rollover sideways across the inlanes and outlanes. Move it under the lane the ball is about to take, roll through to collect that letter, and it stays collected -- spell all six and you bank a mystery award plus a Mark toward Jericho.

Start scoring

Ball one — Take the safe, repeatable points first: spell the red IRON MAN targets for double scoring, and roll the flipper-cycled S.H.I.E.L.D. lanes for a Mark. Get every fast return under control before you aim, because the outlanes are wide and there is no ball save. — Spell IRON MAN, Light the S.H.I.E.L.D. Lanes, Survive the Outlanes
Building — Stack modes so one shot pays several ways. Start Bogey on the ramps, bring up War Machine off the drones, and grind Whiplash while War Machine is running. — Run the Bogey Ramps, War Machine Multiball, Whiplash Multiball, The Big Stack
The big one — Land all five objectives on one ball to flash Do or Die -- a 50 million hurry-up up the middle -- and complete all six Marks for Jericho. Do or Die Multiball sits above both as the near-impossible top. — Do or Die, Jericho, Do or Die Multiball

Does Iron Man have an action button?

Iron Man comes from before the lockbar action button, so there is no extra button to press. You set up and fire everything with the two flipper buttons and the plunger -- and the flippers pull double duty as your lane change, sliding the lit S.H.I.E.L.D. rollover under the ball.

Goals in Iron Man

Every goal below is tracked step-by-step, with shot paths drawn on the playfield map, inside the app.

Skill Shot -- Lit Lane skillshot · Medium

Give it a full pull so the ball rolls the top lanes and the one lit lane collects the skill shot.

Reward: Skill-shot value plus a lane toward the S.H.I.E.L.D. set
Soft Plunge for Control skillshot · Medium

Feather the plunge instead so the ball dribbles to your right flipper and you pick your own first shot.

Reward: A controlled first shot in trade for the skill-shot points
Spell IRON MAN mode · Medium

Knock down the red picture targets -- IRON on the left, MAN on the right -- to light Iron Man, then hit them again for double scoring.

Reward: Iron Man objective lit; second time through starts 2X scoring
Light the S.H.I.E.L.D. Lanes mode · Medium

Roll the lit shield rollovers through the inlanes, outlanes and top lanes; tap a flipper to slide the lit one under the ball.

Reward: Mystery award, a Mark, and a bonus multiplier
Clear the Drone Targets mode · Medium

Hit the lit blue drone targets scattered across the playfield; the lit one hops each time, so chase it around.

Reward: Drones objective; qualifies War Machine Multiball
Run the Bogey Ramps mode · Medium

Comboing the two ramps climbs a 100k-to-400k meter and starts Bogey, one of the Mark objectives.

Reward: Bogey mode and a Mark toward Jericho
The Ramp Shuffle combo · Hard

Backhand the left ramp, then feed the right ramp and rock the pair back and forth from the left flipper.

Reward: Fast Bogey progress and combo value
Bank Into Whiplash combo · Hard

Glance the ball off the red Iron Man targets so it kicks sideways into the Whiplash shot.

Reward: A Whiplash hit you cannot make head-on
War Machine Multiball multiball · Hard

Clear the drones to arm War Machine, start it at the War Machine shot, then work drone shots to the jackpot and finish back at War Machine for the super.

Reward: War Machine objective, a Mark, and frequent add-a-balls
Iron Monger Multiball multiball · Hard

Spell MONGER on the three purple shots to raise the toy, then bash it six times -- hitting the edge, never dead center -- and take the super up the middle.

Reward: Iron Monger objective, a Mark, and a center super jackpot
Whiplash Multiball multiball · Hard

Hit the Whiplash targets five times to start it; a magnet flings the ball back hard, so keep both flippers under you.

Reward: Whiplash objective and a Mark
Climb the Mark Ladder progression · Medium

Every objective you finish lights the next Mark suit, I through VI; all six lights Jericho.

Reward: Mark VI and Jericho lit
Raise the Iron Monger progression · Medium

Rattle the purple orbit and center-spinner shots to spell MONGER and lift the toy out of the playfield.

Reward: Iron Monger raised and ready to bash
The Big Stack strategy · Hard

Start Bogey on the ramps, bring up War Machine, then grind Whiplash while War Machine runs so one shot pays several ways.

Reward: The game's highest points-per-shot window
Survive the Outlanes strategy · Medium

The outlanes are set wide with no ball save, so tame every fast return with a nudge or a drop catch before you aim.

Reward: Longer ball times on a punishing layout
Bash the Monger's Edge strategy · Medium

When the Iron Monger is up, hit it on a corner and never dead center, or the magnet in front snatches the ball.

Reward: Safe Monger hits instead of a magnet-fed drain
Do or Die wizard · Hard

Light all five objectives on a single ball, then shoot the flashing center spinner for a 50 million hurry-up and hit it again to bank it.

Reward: A 50 million hurry-up -- huge on a game where 30 million is a great score
Jericho wizard · Hard

Complete all six Marks across the game to light Jericho, a shoot-everything mode where finishing every task pays enormous.

Reward: The game's marquee mode and its biggest total
Do or Die Multiball wizard · Hard

The deepest goal on the machine: complete the five objectives again and again, re-spelling the drones each cycle, until Do or Die Multiball itself lights.

Reward: The rarest achievement Iron Man offers
Loop Pass for Control combo · Hard

Send a long shot around an orbit and drop your flipper as it comes back to catch it on the other side and calm a fast game.

Reward: Control on a table that fights to drain you

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