Iron man

Iron man

Iron man (IM-I) was the jumpstart to the Marvel-verse. The action in the movie takes place after Steve Rogers is unfrozen, before the first Avengers and around the same time as "The Incredible Hulk (IH)." In the list I am going off the happenings in IM-I come second in the list. Both IM-I and IH debuted in 2008. Interestingly, in comic book circles Ironman has always been a B-level hero. So, his quick rise to stardom was really unexpected. 

Plot:

Tony Stark is a rich playboy that deals in arms. During a demonstration of his newest sweet-ass missile, he is captured by a middle-eastern war faction. During his capture he acquires shrapnel that is moving towards his heart. While he is imprisoned, another captee places a magnet in his chest that keeps the shrapnel from moving towards his heart (not sure this is medically accurate). Tony's captures insist he make them a sweet-ass missile. However, Tony decides to escape by creating a giant metal (probably iron) suit that is powered by the magnet in his chest. Tony escapes, the fellow captee (who originally saves him dies), and Tony feels bad about his role in selling weapons. 

Upon arriving back in the US, Tony decides to stop making weapons. This doesn't go over well with the board of his company that has made him a billionaire. During the crisis with his board, Tony creates a new super powerful magnet for his chest, that also can power his iron man suit. Eventually, he finds out that his supposed friend and head of his company's board (Obadiah Stane) was behind his capture in the middle east. In the end, Tony and Obadiah battle it out wearing Iron man suites. The movie ends with Tony Stark being questioned about the "Iron Man" sightings around the city. He eventually tells the world he Iron Man. 

My Assessment:

The first time I saw this movie I loved it! The second time was just as good. The pacing moves along at a great clip. Robert Downey Jr. plays an amazing Tony Stark. The supporting cast does a great job as well. The only major gripe about the movie is that the villain is pretty generic. Actually, a lot of Marvel's villains are either opposite world versions of the hero, or just a big mean robot. In this case, it is both...I guess. Honestly, the best villain in the movie is Tony Starks hubris. He is a man that has enough money to create a world where he never has to face the wrongs he has done, but his conscience doesn't let him create that world. In a way, Iron man is the super ego to Tony Starks id, while Pepper Potts plays the ego role. 

The movie does not have a lot of impact on the overall Marvel-verse. There is no talk of the tesseract, the Hulk, Thor, or Captain America. It does introduce us to a current iteration of SHIELD. With that being said, it really setups Tony Stark's character development from his first run in the Iron man suit, to his conflict with Cap' in CA-Civil War. Downey JR's depiction of Tony Stark is crazy consistent from one movie to the other. Chris Evans and Chris Hemsworth play their roles a little differently in successive movie, but RDJr has consistently played Tony Stark throughout. 

Should you watch it again?

IM-I is a really fun movie. DC could take a note, movies based on comic books should have a message, but people want to have fun while receiving the message. A movie can be both serious and fun at the same time. I don't think the events in IM-I have a big effect on the Marvel-verse, aside from Iron Man's origin story. I would say watch IM-I again if you have time, but skip ahead to IM-II or Thor if you are strapped for time.

Favorite Quote or Quotes:

Tony Stark: The truth is, I am Iron Man.

Tony Stark: You got a family?

Yinsen: Yes, and I will see them when I leave here. And you, Stark?

Tony Stark: [quietly] No.

Yinsen: So you're a man who has everything... and nothing.

Favorite Scene:

Tony Stark freeing the village under control form the Middle-Easter war faction is pretty satisfying. Fast paced, cathartic and full of witty banter.