The Nike LeBron fits back into Mache Customs’ Iron Man armor

To recap, the story goes that a photo of the LeBron 9 “Tony Stark” ended up with the man himself. James was so impressed with the design that he ordered an “Iron Man” version of the LeBron X, which he would eventually receive and lace up pre-game.

Some twelve years later, as LeBron’s greatest moments on the shoe and on the hardwood are depicted through Nike’s LeBron 23 stories, Mache celebrates his piece of the puzzle by grafting the superhero theme onto that silhouette. While this version is slightly less maximalist than its predecessors, its hallmarks are still visible, with comical shadows on the midsole and distressed copper textures in the upper.

We will note that it appears this was a solo Mache effort and not one with LeBron’s involvement; While sharing photos of this custom, Mache reached out to James to try to “restore the feeling.” It would undoubtedly make for an exciting full-circle moment for both parties involved, and for the larger sneaker world, if he were to hit the paydirt there, but even from afar there’s a lot to admire. Check out the handheld photos below.

Written by

Matt Varga, junior editor

Matt Varga is an editor at SneakerNews. Initially pursuing a degree in Video Art and Technology, he moved into video editing and writing in the music business, primarily in the fields of hip-hop and electronica. A long-standing interest in sneakers led him to switch to shoes. He is an avid collector and his favorite sneaker of all time comes down to the Air Jordan 1 ‘Black Toe’ and the Air Jordan 5 ‘Laney’, his very first pickups. When he’s not writing, you can find Matt cooking, traveling, going to concerts and, weather permitting, on the handball court.