True believers — as Stan Lee used to call fans of Marvel Comics — can watch Iron Man on the big screen today.

I’ll catch it too ... probably at some matinee when expected early crowds have disappeared.

Nice to see the so-called “golden avenger” has finally received a shot at cinema stardom: Iron Man used to be on my shopping list during the serious comic collecting days of my youth.

He was never my favorite — I preferred the blind vigilante, Daredevil — but I always liked the idea behind the character: A guy with a heart problem builds a set or armor that not only protects the old pump, but also offers high-tech weapons and a built-in flight system. Iron Man had the coolest gear in the entire Marvel Universe. And the color coordination was perfect: yellow and gold, with huge cuffs on the boots and gloves.

It was always a kick to see Tony Stark lug around the “special suitcase” that housed his iron working clothes. I kind of liked that comic invention better than Iron Man’s current gag — hiding form-fitting iron inside the hollows of his bones. You’d think wearing heavy metal on the outside of your skin would be uncomfortable enough.

Another kick was watching the 1966 limited animation cartoon show with the jaunty theme song. You can listen to it by clicking here.

Some people took the stories so seriously. Marvel encouraged readers to write, and devoted one page each issue for letters. Iron Man’s letter page, at least during the 1970s, was the colorful “Sock it to Shellhead.”

Maybe because “Iron Man” had more technical jazz going on, people noticed every little glitch. I mean, when Iron Man leaned up against a crumbling Washington Monument in 1976 and righted the building by thrusting with jet boots — we used the issue in Thursday’s newspaper — I never thought about torque, pressure, jet speeds, nothing.

Others did:

“In Iron Man #76, it is stated that Iron Man’s armor is able to use its thermocouple to transform heat and cold to usable energy and thus, recharge,” wrote Dave Cates of Phoenix, Ariz. “Why didn’t this work against Firebrand and Blizzard?”

The Marvel bullpen didn’t really have an answer. Maybe Dave was building his own set of armor.

Now that Iron Man is in the air, comic fans can look forward to summer cinematic appearances of Marvel’s incredible Hulk and DC’s Batman. The Spirit is on his way, and Alan Moore’s “long-awaited “Watchmen” is in production. Hugh Jackman will suit up as Wolverine in a solo film without the other X-Men, and Brandan Routh eventually will be back as Superman, after the success of the 2006 “Superman Returns.”

I kind of wonder when this superhero film boom is going to end. Most of Marvel’s front line characters have now been on screen, although I think true believers are still waiting for Thor and Dr. Strange. DC, home to both Superman and Batman, licensed The Flash for television during the early 1990s, and I’m not sure people are clamoring for an Aquaman movie.

If you ask me, I think the next comic book movie event will be Green Lantern, who’s been around since 1959. A character who wears a ring that can do anything seems perfect for computer-generation film squads.