Iron Man: A Cultural Touchstone

Guess who?

I know I’ve been super busy for the past *checks watch*…

…year and 3 months… And I know that you’ve all been clamoring for my sweet hot takes.

TAKES! Hot TAKES! Obviously the time away has left a few glitches in this thing. Hopefully they will work themselves out.

Welcome to March 2020! The world is shut down and many of us are stuck at home for much of the month. I personally am going a bit stir crazy being cooped up all the time so I’m taking it upon myself to engage creatively to keep myself busy. And I’ve been watching a LOT of movies, and as I watch movies I started coming back to this space because I want to talk about movies again. And what movies are better to overanalyze and discuss than those in the biggest movie franchise of all time!

Welcome to Jurassic P- son of a-!

The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is the most successful film franchise of all time, with 23 films releases since 2008 and a plethora of new films on the horizon the 23 BILLION dollar franchise shows no signs of slowing down. And so, this die-hard fan is finally taking the time to give thanks to the franchise that helped inspire much of his creativity and wonder throughout his 20s. I’m gonna be rewatching and reviewing each film and then ranking them at the end of it all according to very strict, carefully chosen, and completely subjective criteria/opinions. So come with me true believers as we journey back to May 2, 2008 as we rewatch the movie that started it all. Cue the Black Sabbath!

Iron Man

Iron Man, for anyone who doesn’t know at this point, is about a genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist named Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) whose company, Stark Industries, manufactures the latest in weapons technology. When on a promotional tour in the middle east to show off his latest weapon, the Jericho Missile, Tony’s caravan is attacked and he is captured by terrorists. As he plans to escape, Tony sees the truth of his legacy and begins working on a project that will help to rectify it.

I’ve seen Iron Man at least a dozen times, but probably many more times than that. It’s continually ranked by critics and fans as one of the strongest entries in the MCU and for good reason. It’s a remarkably slick film and set the standard for superhero origin stories for years to come. So, what is it about Iron Man that makes it so special? Well, in my opinion, it’s the fact that Iron Man continues to be culturally relevant. The truth is the film exposes the abject dangers of the American celebrity worship, the need to utilize scientific advancement for the betterment of society, the hard reality of corporate and political corruption, and the continuing media sensationalism of both cults of personality and our conflict with the middle-east.

Now, you can’t talk about Iron Man without talking about Tony Stark. And when talking about Tony Stark the you have to understand the cult of personality built around him. Tony Stark, on paper, should be one of the least relatable characters in the MCU. He’s a self-proclaimed genius, trust-fund playboy, with acute narcissism, enough wealth to buy off anyone who could ever besmirch his reputation and a seemingly endless supply of media attention. Now how could a person like that ever hope to connect with the blue-collar workers living paycheck to paycheck. That’s not realisti- Oh…wait…

Now I’m gonna try to avoid getting too political here but the truth is Stark shows both the power and danger of developing that cult of personality we’ve come to see from the rich and famous among us. We as Americans worship the idea of celebrity. We make heroes of people who sometimes really don’t deserve it. The relationship Tony has with the public in the film shows how people idolize a semi-fictional version of him, without seeing the truth of who he is behind closed doors especially the way Pepper (Gwyneth Paltrow) and Rhodey (Terrance Howard) do. That being said, Tony is an ass to everyone in his life both public and private and yet even they allow him to to get away with his childish antics and reckless lifestyle. He’s more concerned about his image and his public appeal than how the things he’s doing affects those around him.

So what does that say about us? Should we stop praising celebrities for good work? Not entirely, but we shouldn’t idolize them simply for being famous. The movie shows Tony growing and learning to acknowledge his shortcomings and becoming a better person. And there are many out there in the world who do deserve praise, but the idea is not the praise and image of a person. Praise them for the work they do, the words they say, the culture they cultivate around them. Tony by the end of the film still has traits that make him a less than an noble person, but the truth is when he says “I am Iron Man” at the end of the film, he’s not saying it just to drum up the media attention the way he would have in the beginning of the movie. He’s saying “I accept the responsibility”. Both for what he and his technology have done and will continue to do going forward. We all need to accept that we are not better than those around us and we need to hold everyone accountable for their actions, no matter how powerful or charming.

Tony knows that his tech has potential to revolutionize the world. And he continues to use it to better his own life at first but then through the suit, starts protecting others as well. Science is his superpower. Iron Man as a movie, makes science cool. I wouldn’t be surprised if the number of college entrants declaring engineering and technology based majors rose after the film came out. And especially now as we’re all trapped inside our homes watching the news, while scientists and medical professionals are out there trying to revolutionize the way we save lives, it’s important to remember that Iron Man is a celebration of science and scientific achievement.

The Arc reactor is more than just a cool mcguffin in the film. It’s a utopian symbol of technological possibilities. Sustainable, clean energy has been something we have been working towards for decades. The idea of a portable device which could power entire factories is truly worth striving towards. And the fact that it comes from the remnant pieces of discarded weapons technology shows that we just need to look beyond the surface and present nature of technology and look forward to its potential. We need to take the destructive and make it constructive. That’s the thing about technology, there are so many parts and pieces we could use for good and wholesome things and we don’t. We use them to destroy each other.

I mean look at the internet. It’s this constantly evolving and virtually omniscient source of wonder and knowledge and we use it to attack, harass, belittle, and constantly demean each other and the world around us. Also cat memes.

And why? Why do we spend all our time and resources working to not only argue but  “destroy” each other? If this whole pandemic situation has shown anything, it’s that we’re living in a system where we need to work with other people to survive. We need to trust that those around us are also working towards the common good. We’re living in a place of selfishness and we need to learn to be selfless. Just like… who now…?

Pepper throws herself into whatever Tony asks no matter how tough or awkward. She faces down danger to get him top secret files. She manages his whole life for little to no recognition. And many scientists do the same thing, they subject themselves to a lot of hard trials and failures in order to, hopefully, lead them to better results. Science is a very wonderful and necessary part of humanity. We need to use it to survive, we need to trust it to survive, and we need to learn better utilize it to survive. The technology for the ideal world is out there, we just need to learn how to use it.

Even in the MCU there is a tendency to go with the tride and true method of success. in the years since its release, the MCU has copied the Iron Man model as it rolled out many of its lesser known superhero origins, but none of them ever managed to meet the success of Iron Man and as I tried to figure out why and it hit me, the relationship between hero and villain in Iron Man is personal. In Ant-Man and Doctor Strange, while very similar, the villains have a tertiary connection to the heroes at best. However, the relationship between Tony and his business partner/rival Obadiah Stane (Jeff Bridges) is a deep and personal connection. Stane became a father figure for Tony in the wake of his own father’s death and was instrumental in steering Stark Industries both with Tony’s father Howard (Gerard Sanders) and with Tony himself. But when Tony proves to be more interested in his own interests than those of the company Obadiah takes matters into his own hands begins selling Stark weapons to the highest bidder. And when that doesn’t stop Tony, he plots with foreign agencies to take him out for good. It’s corruption pure and simple. That’s what makes Obadiah a great villain. Personal stakes.

We’re currently dealing with a world where corruption is virtually always excused if you are in a position of power. Out government uses Gerrymandering to rig elections in their favor, corporate CEOs make millions while their employees sit on food stamps and welfare trying to scrape by paycheck to paycheck. And the President of the United States conspired with a foreign government to interfere in an election and got away with it. We live in a society where money is power, and power is an excuse to do whatever you want. Obadiah represents that. Profit is power. Power matters more than people. And the poor people for the government, not the other way around. And aside from that the fact that Obadiah and Tony’s relationship shows a generation gap, which is also on full display in the world with the blame game between Boomers and Millennials in full swing daily.

But even more than the social and political commentary represented by Tony and Obadiah’s relationship, the biggest thing that keeps Iron Man relevant is the way the media swirls around Tony, and the way both the film and the characters sensationalize our continuing conflict with the middle east. The fact that there are still tensions 12 years later is absurd. Right from the beginning of the film we see the conflict with the middle east and hear from both the characters and the way the media talks about them in relation to it. Tony’s story begins with him getting captured by terrorists who are in league with his business partner. The fact that their demand videos, sent to Obadiah, show their hesitance to kill Tony, emphasizes the power of Tony’s celebrity status. The fact that he is a world-renowned celebrity and the fallout would reflect poorer on the terrorists causes them to use him rather than discard him. How many people are given priority over others simply because of their fame?

And that’s not to say that the terrorists aren’t also bad guys, but the movie shows that the American characters only see the conflict while Tony sees the complexity of the situation, especially as it relates to his fellow captive Yinsen (Shaun Toub). The terrorists are a rag tag militia fighting the American military machine, the most powerful military in the world. Of course, they are going to use underhanded tactics because they will be decimated in a straight fight. But they use what little power they do have to terrorize and enslave the local towns in their area. They too are corrupt and use the power of media sensationalism to control the world around them. And what Tony learns is that weapons he thought were only being used to aid the “good guys” were actually being used to harm innocent people. Not everything is black and white and the good we do can also be used for evil.

Overall, Iron Man, is a solid film. The story is simple yet rewatchable, the performances are fantastic, and the action scenes and visual images are still eye catching and fun. When we look at superhero origin movies, Iron Man is one of, if not the best one of the bunch. Even 12 years later after the superhero boom of the 2010’s, Iron Man stands strong.

So here is my completely subjective criteria to rank the various films within the MCU.

1. Cast and Performances
2. Story and Plot
3. Best Fight/Action Scene
4. Rewatchability
5. Cleverness of the Stan Lee cameo

Each film will be judged solely by me and then placed against all the other films. And rated on a scale of 10 with a total possible score of 50.

So, here is the quick breakdown of Iron Man:

• Cast and Performances: The lead cast of this film is great. Robert Downey Jr. IS Tony Stark. Everything he does just walks that line between charming and snobby to the point of unlikable. Jeff Bridges’ Obadiah chews the scenery so well, knowing when to explode and when to pull back, all while showing a real sense of both playful rivalry at some times, and serious menace at others. Supporting players Gwyneth Paltrow, Shaun Toub, and Terrance Howard hold their own against Downey’s charismatic lead. However, aside from the major characters, the other characters are basically forgettable. The movie really is about these five people and the rest, whether named or not, don’t add much to the movie aside from acting as personality sounding boards for the leads to dialogue to. (8/10)
• Story and Plot: Story is a fairly simple prodigal son tale. Rich asshole has a near death experience and changes his whole life. His former partner/rival shows disdain and jealousy and plots to destroy him first economically and then physically. In the end the protagonist shows growth but is still a long way off from completing his journey. (7/10)
• Best Fight/Action Scene: This one has two. The first is the escape scene with the Mark I Iron Man suit. It feels grounded and clunky but still allows us to see the power that Iron Man has. It feels the most real of any of the suits and really sets the stage for Tony’s brilliance even in the face of harsh circumstances. The other one is the dogfight with the two jets which is really the first time we see the Iron Man Mark III in full form. It’s fast, it’s flashy, and its funny. Not only a really great action scene, but a great scene overall. (9/10)
• Rewatchability: I’ve seen this movie at least a dozen times. It moves along well, never gets boring, and continues to have new and clever moments that I missed a time or two before. The only parts that get bogged down are a slow half of the second act and the long drawn out nature of the start of the third act. (8/10)
• Cleverness of the Stan Lee Cameo: Stan the Man as a Hugh Hefner Impersonator of sorts. Fun, quick, simple. (7/10)
• Total: 39/50

That was Iron Man. I know this was a long review, but I had a lot to unpack. Thank you for staying with me as I journeyed back to the beginning of this crazy saga that I adore. And hopefully you will join me next time when I tackle the red-headed stepchild of the MCU, The Incredible Hulk.

It’s good to be back writing these again. Thanks for taking the time to get Ploominated.