The specter of Iron Man exists within a larger superhero construct that has become denser with each passing year. Breaking from related films and television series, Iron Man is the grizzled veteran who cares nothing for its superhero predecessors and smirks at its successors. It breaks rules which exist only because an unspoken rule book was once created in a time so removed from the present that its origins are nebulous. Superheroes don’t curse. Superheroes don’t make mistakes out of hubris. Superheroes don’t scoff at the public. Iron Man does. It is easy to credit the unique character traits to the writers/artists who created Iron Man, namely Stan Lee, Don Heck, and Jack Kirby. Even easier is to credit David Michelinie, Bob Layton, John Romita Jr., and the entire creative team behind the Iron Man story “Demon in a Bottle” where Tony Stark battles alcoholism. And perhaps most applicable is Mark Millar and Bryan Hitch’s Ultimates which reimagined Iron Man for the early 21st century. All the men and women who contributed to Iron Man over its publication history deserve credit, but Iron Man is Robert Downey Jr.
Redemption is a main theme in Iron Man, and one that sustains the narrative through its story arcs. The redemption of Tony Stark feels as much about the billionaire tycoon as it does about the actor who portrays him. Downey’s personal history is rife with struggles and failures which, unfortunately, were made public given his fame. Iron Man was his own personal chance at redemption, and the film excels through this parallel. The grit of the film, which was mentioned earlier, feels less like a determined artistic direction and more like an acceptance of circumstances. Iron Man exists within the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but it is less “Marvel” and more “Jack Ryan.” The personal stakes within the film feel more profound and dire because Iron Man was the beginning of a new aesthetic and personality in superhero literature. I have watched countless superhero films where the fate of the world hung in the balance, and I did not feel any anxiety or place any emotional investment in the outcome. In many superhero films, the world is either literally (or figuratively) going to come to an end unless the hero does “x,” but the emotional resonance remains flat. With Iron Man, a quiet conversation between Tony Stark and Obadiah Stane creates layers of emotions through dialogue.
The hero remains confident throughout the film, but the audience knows he is always on the edge of a proverbial cliff. To satiate my passion for baseball in this piece, Iron Man is the veteran pitcher who is one pitch away from either winning the game or blowing the lead. One quote which stuck with me after watching the film was when Ho Yinsen, the fellow captive who helps Tony Stark build his prototype suit out of scraps while being held in a cave, tells Tony Stark, “Don’t waste your life,” as he is dying from an injury. Those are strong words for any person to live by, but they are more profound given the people involved in the production of the film.
I also found the parallels between Tony Stark and RDJ interesting. It seemed like fate to have him play that role because he had his own story of redemption and could bring his own experiences to enrich the character.
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