How to Build a Better "Iron Man 3"

I know I'm not. But who is Iron Man?

I am NOT the producer, writer/director nor lead actor of “Iron Man 3”.  (duh)  Despite my previous blog (What about Iron Man 3?) expressing how much I disliked the latest Iron Man movie.  I do respect Kevin Feige, Shane Black and Robert Downey Jr. for all their efforts in bringing us “Iron Man 3”.  My respect has nothing to do with the fact that “Iron Man 3” has opened big and is already a huge box office success.  It comes down to how little courage or effort it takes to criticize anyone’s work.  But it takes enormous courage and perseverance to put out any artistic work such as a movie.  The stakes are even greater with a huge commercial blockbuster based on a pop-culture character.  So it is in the context of that respect, I now write how "Iron Man 3" could have been better.

I was not involved in any way with the latest Iron Man movie.  But I have been a comic book, media, movie and storytelling professional for most of my life.  And since the age of 6, I have been the biggest Iron Man fan that I’ve ever come across.  This blog is from the perspective of a media professional and more importantly from that childhood Iron Man fan. I really don’t expect anyone to care about my thoughts, suggestions or ideas concerning “Iron Man 3”.  So this blog more than any other of my blog entries is really for me.

I’ll begin by posing the question that I think “Iron Man 3” failed to answer in any meaningful way.  “Who is Iron Man?”

To answer that question, I’ll start with a comment I remember Chris Claremont, the legendary X-Men writer made about the problem with Iron Man is that anyone who puts on that suit of armor can be Iron Man.  I wholeheartedly and completely disagree with this assessment.  By now we all know that Tony Stark is Iron Man.  He is one with the suit.  It is an extension of him. It is part of him.  And who is Tony?  In “The Avengers” movie, he says he’s a genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist.  “Iron Man 3” pretty much says he’s a mechanic who builds neat things, has a great girl and occasionally saves the world.  All of these descriptions are true. But as true as those descriptions are, they merely scratch the surface.  

Marvel Comic's latest Iron Man storyline

The best storytellers try to look at and understand characters more deeply.  For example, what makes Tony tick?  What is the heart of his motivation.  I would say most of it comes from his relationship with his father (which the second movie reveals some of).  Tony pushes himself because he wants to prove himself his father’s equal or better.  He wants to be the better businessman, billionaire, playboy, dreamer and futurist.  He wants his father to be proud of who he has become.  Howard Stark is shown to be a cold, stern father who is disconnected from Tony.  The comics at times hint that he may even be abusive (emotionally if not physically).  But even the comics haven’t defined his relationship with his father in too much depth or detail.  The current comic books may rectify that in the Marvel Now “Secret Origin of Tony Stark” storyline.  But even without that detail, we do know that like his father, Tony has demons that he has drowned in alcohol.  I sincerely believe that exploring those demons would be a bold direction for the Iron Man movies.  

But what about the current movies?  At the end of a couple of these recent movies, Tony Stark declares definitively that he is Iron Man.  What does that mean?  Who or what is Iron Man?  After several movies, I think the audience has seen something that just scratches the surface of what Iron Man is.  So here are my thoughts as a decades long Iron Man fan:  Iron Man is a concept or symbol that can actually be bigger than the man.  If I were to go beyond the character, I would say that Iron Man is a metaphor about humanity’s relationship with technology.  Iron Man is an optimistic view of how technology can empower humanity to make our lives better.  We can be faster, stronger, more connected and aware of ourselves.  

The 1960's Comic Book Mandarin

Alright I’m getting a little metaphoric and esoteric.  Let’s bring it back to character.  Or more specifically the hero.  A hero is often best defined by his villain.  The best villains are often the opposite side of the same coin the hero is on.  Think Batman and the Joker.  Superman and Lex Luthor.  For Iron Man, his arch nemesis has always been the Mandarin.  The Mandarin has represented his opposite.  East vs. West.  Technology vs. Mysticism and Magic.  I agree with what Shane Black has said about the Mandarin being an outdated stereotype.  To that end the trailers setup an interesting version of the Mandarin that hints at the embodiment of everyone who hates American values, society and culture.  That turns out to be misleading and false advertisement.

The opposite of Tony Stark in this case is a media sham or an actor.  There is a bit of tongue-in-cheek irony in that.  We have two great actors, Robert Downey Jr. and Ben Kingsley playing off each other.  But really, what does the Mandarin or what is revealed to be the real power behind the Mandarin, Aldrich Killian say about Tony Stark as a hero?  If Tony is the opposite of the villains, then he is not an actor or a sham that manipulates people out petty revenge.  Those villains and therefore what it says about our hero is just not that interesting to me.  IMHO, that also misses the point of who Tony Stark really is and how big, deep and complex a hero he is.

What the trailers setup is that Tony Stark is a charismatic, corporate hero and leader with a cult-like following while the Mandarin is his opposite, a terrorist leader with a cult-like following.  That makes me think of Steve Jobs vs. Osama Bin Laden.  The cult of Mac vs. the cult of Al Queda.  Basically two larger-than-life personalities that inspire world-wide fanaticism pitted against each other.  Wow!  It sends chills down my spine thinking what two great charismatic actors like Robert Downey Jr. and Ben Kingsley could have done with that.  It could have been so much more fun and entertaining to see how these two larger-than-life leaders differ in philosophy, culture and approach.

And therein lies my frustration with “Iron Man 3.”  It inherited so much depth and potential that ultimately ended up being wasted in a loud, meaningless third act where all the plot pieces add up to say nothing interesting about the character or the human condition.  "Iron Man 3" turns out to be light popcorn, escapist entertainment about a neurotic, playboy billionaire who faces off against a burned-out, second-rate actor.  I would much rather have seen a movie about how a charismatic, flawed hero struggles and then triumphs over the demons of ego, media and technology while leading us to a bright, optimistic future with style and flair.  That is a hero for the modern ages.  That is Tony Stark.  That is Iron Man!