Do you love Iron Man? The U.S. government and its military apparently do, as they are making an Iron Man suit to help protect its soldiers.

It was announced early this month that the U.S. government is designing an Iron Man suit, and everyone is getting involved, from technological experts, an airplane company, robotics engineers, military strategists, to Hollywood special effects maker Legacy Effects, the company that actually designed and built the Iron Man suit for the films franchise.

The Iron Man suit project is not called "S.H.I.E.L.D." but is titled Project TALOS: Tactical Assault Light Operator Suit. The U.S. military, the Pentagon and the U.S. Special Operations Command are TALOS' main backers. They want the suit to be outfitted with weapons and bulletproof protection and have the ability to monitor vital signs, and perhaps enhance the wearer's strength and perception, The Verge reported.

In addition, the suit developers expect that TALOS should weigh as much as 400 pounds. The Pentagon estimates that at least 365 pounds of that weight will be batteries needed to power the entire suit.

Besides the U.S. government and its military arm in the project, the aforementioned private sector has stepped in to help: Lockheed Martin, General Dynamics and Raytheon. While Legacy Effects is helping to design and 3D print rapid prototypes for body armor designs, the company will also work with Ekso Bionics, a company that makes exoskeletons that enables paraplegics to walk.

From superhero science fiction to reality, Project TALOS has proven to be challenging, especially for those in the land of pretend.

"When you're doing something for a movie, it is all make-believe," Legacy Effects founder Lindsay MacGowan told The Verge. "Whereas, for the military, that's really not going to be the case."

Ekso Bionics are tackling this question: "What would Iron Man look like if it was real?" The Wall Street Journal reported. The military, on the other hand, has already examined three designs of the suits. The U.S. Special Operations Command wants to cultivate and make a new generation of protective armor by the next four years.

Special Operations Command credits the genesis of their idea not only with the Iron Man films but also with a real-life scenario. In Dec. 2012, members of the SEAL Team Six surrounded a compound in eastern Afghanistan in order to rescue a Colorado doctor, who was held hostage by militants. It ended with a fatality, when one of the SEAL Team Six members was shot and killed, according to iO9, and The Wall Street Journal. This was the same SEAL Team Six that killed Osama bin Laden in 2011.

The member's death prompted immediate reflection.

"It was one of those incidents where we stepped back and asked, 'What's our long-term vision?'" said James "Hondo" Geurts, the Pentagon official who oversees acquisition programs. "We've done about all we can with our current approach. Is it time to take a bold leap ahead?"

While the Iron Man franchise has existed for decades, this is the Pentagon's first time at a futuristic combat suit.

How close is the U.S. military to making a functional Iron Man suit? Perhaps not too close. Project TALOS, however, wants to accomplish making prototypes designed for three members of the Special Operations Forces taking part in the testing. The teams have taken computerized body scans and developed mannequins of the men to tailor the suits, The Wall Street Journal reported.

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