LAPD investigating disappearance of original Iron Man suit used in Marvel film
Tony Stark may have to file a police report.
Los Angeles police are investigating the disappearance of the original Iron Man suit worn by Robert Downey Jr. from a Pacoima warehouse, officials said Wednesday morning.
The costume, valued at $325,000, vanished from a prop storage warehouse in the 13000 block of Weidner Street sometime between February and late April, according to Officer Christopher No, a spokesman for the Los Angeles Police Department.
The famous red-and-gold suit, which first flashed across movie screens in the 2008 “Iron Man” film that kick-started Marvel’s movie empire, was reported missing Tuesday, No said. Employees at the warehouse “just happened to check” Tuesday and noticed the costume was gone.
It was not immediately clear who reported the costume stolen, and an LAPD spokeswoman declined to say who owns the warehouse. No other items were reported missing.
The incident is being investigated by the LAPD’s Foothill Division.
Marvel referred questions about the missing suit to Walt Disney Studios. Disney did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday.
The suit was from the 2008 film, according to the LAPD. Other costumes have been used in subsequent movies related to the “Avengers” franchises.
This is not the first time a treasured piece of comic book history has gone missing in Los Angeles. In 2001, original copies of the Action Comics No. 1 and Detective Comics No. 27 — which mark the 1930s debut appearances of Superman and Batman, respectively — were stolen from the West Los Angeles home of actor Nicholas Cage.
The Superman comic was found in a San Fernando Valley storage locker in April 2011, and was valued at $1.5 million at the time. The Batman debut issue, however, was not recovered. No one has been arrested in the thefts.
An attempt to steal some of the Avengers’ weapons and supplies was actually a plot point in last year’s move “Spider-Man: Homecoming.”
The LAPD would not say if the Vulture was considered a suspect in the incident.
Follow @JamesQueallyLAT on Twitter for crime and police news in California.
UPDATES:
7:50 p.m.: This article was updated with background on other high-profile thefts of comic book memorabilia in Los Angeles.
10:20 a.m.: This article was updated with additional details from police.
This article was originally published at 6:40 a.m.
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