My Iron Man rant
Before 2008, people had heard of Iron Man, but he didn't have a huge fan base like Spider-Man or the X-Men. Outside the comics, he had his own animated series, appeared in other Marvel cartoons, and was featured in a handful of video games. Sadly, those things didn't help give this character recognition. Thanks to the MCU and Robert Downey Jr, Iron Man has become a household name. Plus, rival Spider-Man as the face of Marvel. I can see why people find this character appealing; he's one of those characters that have a big personality. Also, Tony Stark/Iron Man doesn't put on a persona when his in or out of the suit. What you see with this character is what you get. He's like the Joker as far as being addicted to attention. The way the first Iron Man movie ended reinforces that.
Despite being a self-centered butt face, he does want to do the right thing. In case you're wondering, yes. This is the same characterization as his comic book counterpart, except for Heroes Reborn. In these comics, he was a typical ruthless businessman. With that said, RDJ not only embodied this character but also enhanced these character traits. We can relate to him not because he's trying to be responsible for the type of business he's running, it's because he has daddy issues. He also has a weakness, and that is guilt. If you can make him feel guilty about anything, you can manipulate him. We saw that in the Civil War movie. His ability to upgrade his Armor makes him one of the strongest Marvel characters because it can combat almost anything.
Despite this character being relevant in pop culture, there have been failed attempts to capitalize on it. Before I can elaborate on that, I want to talk about RDJ. I was worried about him playing this character because both Tony and RDJ had problems with alcohol. Thankfully, the writers avoid adapting the demon in the bottle story because that would have been insensitive to the actor. ( I know they tried to adapt the story in Iron Man 2, but it didn't work out.) If they were going to adapt that story, they should have cast Tom Cruise. I can see him playing this character; however, I don't think he can match RDJ's charisma.
As much as I enjoy the first Iron Man movie, that doesn't change the fact that it's overrated. The movie would have failed if anyone else had played Tony Stark because he basically carried that movie. If you don't believe me let me, ask yourself this. What did you like about the movie beyond Tony Stark/ Iron Man? The supporting characters are forgettable, the climax was disappointing, and the movie wasted the villain. (That's a common thing with these movies, they keep squandering his rogues gallery.) Also, more could have been done with the plot. For example, Tony shutting down the weapons manufacturing seems too easy. I mean, isn't he under contract with the Military or anyone else? Why didn't they sue him for doing this? What about disgruntled employees? This played a role in why Tony became an alcoholic in the comics because he was stressed out about losing his fortune, thanks to all the lawsuits for S.H.I.E.L.D. and other companies.
I thought the sequel would follow up on that, but I was wrong. Speaking of the sequel, it didn't give this character a good story. In Iron Man 2, Tony was dying, everyone wants his tech, and he has to deal with the possibility that his family's wealth is built on a lie. All of that was ruined by bad writing, dumb characters, the comedy, and reminding us that we're getting an Avengers movie. Iron Man 3 wasted the Extremis story and the Mandarin by not using him. This rubs fans the wrong way to the point where Marvel Studios has to course-correct it. Tony Stark suffered PTSD from the alien invasion, so he copes with it by building suits. I find it hard to believe that the invasion was traumatic for him, and not being held captive for months. Also, Iron Man 3 didn't continue the theme of legacy from the last two films. That's a shame because that movie wasted the concept of creating your own demons. That movie would have been better if a disgruntled employee were behind things.
We got two Iron Man cartoons after the first movie; they are called Iron Man: Armored Adventures and Iron Man anime. I didn't bother to watch Iron Man: Armored Adventures because I didn't like that Tony was a teenager in that cartoon. I mean, was the point of doing that? As far as the other one, it wasn't good. I'm sorry, Iron Man is in Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes. Why that cartoon got canceled is beyond me. We only got three Iron Man video games. Two of them are tie-in games, and one is a VR game. Do you see what I mean by not capitalizing on Iron Man's popularity? Iron Man could work as a AAA game if the developers did the same thing the Arkham games and the Insomniac Spider-Man game did. Heck, the first tie-in game for the Wii was underrated despite its flaws. (The Xbox 360 version is a nightmare.)
We would have more Iron Man movies if Marvel Studios discontinued the MCU after Endgame and have filmmakers make solo films of Marvel characters without them being connected to each other. Is anyone really looking forward to Ironheart or Armor Wars? Speaking of Ironheart, why is this movie being made? We already have a Black Iron Man, do we really need another one? How can you have an Armor Wars movie or series without Tony Stark!?! News flash, that's his story! Also, didn't Spider-Man: Homecoming adapt this story? Marvel Studios, whatever you do, please don't bring Tony Stark back by making him an A.I.
I don't have a lot of suggestions for future Iron Man films because of the comics. The problem I have with the Iron Man comics is that they tell the same story over and over again for the most part. They start off with Tony building a suit, then he gets a mental breakdown that causes him to ruin his life, burn bridges, and he builds a new armor and rebuilds his life. I would like to see Tony's origin story from the Ultimate Iron Man comics get adapted because that origin story is different from what we're familiar with. I also wouldn't mind if the recent Invincible Iron Man comic book series gets adapted too. Those comics look like they're going to expand on what was done before. As far as villains go, do the Mandarin and Ghost right! I would also like to see Madame Masque and Titanium Man. Madame Masque is Iron Man's Catwoman, and Titanium Man is Iron Man's Bane.
That's all I have to say for now. What do you think could be done with this character?
