photo credit: Disney/Marvel
You might be saying to yourself, “Okay, why are we going to Iron Man, didn’t Spider-Man just release? Shouldn’t we be talking about that?” And, “Iron Man is obviously a super hero, dude so what’s the point?” I know. I get it, but here me out. I know that Robert Downey Jr.’s Iron Man essentially revitalized the super hero genre when the first feature film Iron Man was incepted in May, 2, 2008. Before that film Marvel struggled to revive the genre with a series of Blade movies and a flopped Dare Devil, which are among other failed attempts that you can look at here. DC also struggled in the early to mid 2000’s with major feature super hero films with Super Man Returns and Green Lantern being immense failures. Christopher Nolan’s Batman revitalization was a true unicorn to say the least for DC and super hero films of the early 2000’s in in general. I know Marvel pumped out two successful Spider-Man films in that time period too, I still lump Spider-Man 2 as one of my personal bests to this day, but the films that have been made post Iron Man era for Marvel are making tons of money. It is almost religious now to go to the theater and watch a new Marvel release, like if you do not do it you are just lacking faith or something. Robert Downey Jr.’s Iron Man started this “movement” I believe. But this brings us to the issue that I want to discuss in this blog and it is the question of if Iron Man is really a super hero and if he is not then should we be concerned that he is the cause of a true revitalization of the super hero films? If that is true then what is it about Robert Downey’s Iron Man that attracts us? Are we really attracted to what a super hero was originally supposed to stand for when they were created or are we now attracted to something else, something much more selfish, something much more reflective of the worst things about being human instead of the best things, if I may go further?
RDJ's Iron Man is not a
super hero. The fact that the character re-launched a genre is an issue.
So what is a super hero and is it something that is an
actual definable measure or is it just a relative quantity? Lets answer this
question first by discussing what RDJ's Iron Man is as opposed to what he is not. In the first Iron Man movie we find Tony Stark as a arms dealer traveling through the Middle East in a protected military convoy no doubt either coming back or going to a meeting involving the selling of WMDs. The convoy is attacked and Stark is found in hostage with a heart issue that requires him to use tech to keep him alive. We know this. But as the story goes essentially the only reason why Stark decided to create the Iron Man suit and subsequently free himself from rebels was to ultimately save his own skin. There was another doctor with him that was a hostage as well that actually did sacrifice his own life to help Stark escape, he might actually be the hero in Iron Man but Stark is not fully the hero. He doesn't sacrifice anything in the first film. Does he ever sacrifice in any of the films? Okay, if you are a true nerd you are saying, "dude, in the First Iron Man he stops selling arms so doesn't he sacrifice there?" And what about the scene when he decides to fly to the Middle East in his Iron Man suit and save innocent people for rebels? Isn't that heroic?" That scene, which is so iconic and powerful and that you can re-watch here, is memorable but it is not a scene or true heroism. In the scene, the sole motive of why Stark goes to the fictional town Middle Eastern town of Gulmira is to destroy the WMDs that he sold to rebels who are using them there and that were visually being used to cause terror. He is not sacrificing anything in this scene but furthermore continuing to cover his own skin. Basically, Tony Stark's Iron Man played by RDJ is a selfish, self interested, and arrogant character never really moves past that character issue in order to be a classical hero, even though the character has been used or referenced in at nine Marvel films and counting.
RDJ's Iron Man is essentially the darling of the Marvel franchise and Marvel knows that.
It is difficult to make a movie where he is not at least referenced because we love the character so much, a character that is not a hero. What makes RDJ's Iron Man not a hero is again the stopped story arc. Most heroes follow an arc of going from average, ordinary, selfish, or afraid to then not so average, very special, selfless, and unafraid to embrace their calling or destiny. Even though RDJ's Iron Man continues to save many lives through out his appearance in a pantheon of films he never really completes the arc of becoming a selfless force of good. Any character that does not complete the typical arc is a villain or anti-hero at best. Even Wolverine's character finally completes the arc in the character's latest and likely final Wolverine played by Hugh Jackman in the film Logan, which I wrote about here. In fact Marvel, like they do with many of the original comic book characters, tweaked the comic character version of Tony Stark in order to make him what we love on screen, which is a selfish playboy genius that is also very funny and witty, basically an irresistible persona to not find attractive, right? At this point you might be saying to yourself, "Look dude, chill, there is not a bible on what a super hero is so give RDJ a break, ok?" I know. I hear you. But there essentially is and it is Superman, the first super hero created. All legitimate super heroes follow his pattern and arc in some way, anti heroes essentially never really reach the point of true selfish sacrifice. The new Wonder Woman feels so much like a Superman film because of her decision to leave Themyscira out of her own will and become a hero to earth as result of this selfless self-sacrificing decision. In fact, she may be an even better hero archetype than Superman since she left on her own free will, Superman was a infant. Maybe this was why watching Wonder Woman was like a breath of fresh air? It was like seeing an actual super hero movie again. We know a true hero when we see one and it does something deep in us that is beyond words but that is really felt.
A true super hero story being portrayed is really filling and satisfying.
RDJ's Iron Man is essentially the darling of the Marvel franchise and Marvel knows that.
It is difficult to make a movie where he is not at least referenced because we love the character so much, a character that is not a hero. What makes RDJ's Iron Man not a hero is again the stopped story arc. Most heroes follow an arc of going from average, ordinary, selfish, or afraid to then not so average, very special, selfless, and unafraid to embrace their calling or destiny. Even though RDJ's Iron Man continues to save many lives through out his appearance in a pantheon of films he never really completes the arc of becoming a selfless force of good. Any character that does not complete the typical arc is a villain or anti-hero at best. Even Wolverine's character finally completes the arc in the character's latest and likely final Wolverine played by Hugh Jackman in the film Logan, which I wrote about here. In fact Marvel, like they do with many of the original comic book characters, tweaked the comic character version of Tony Stark in order to make him what we love on screen, which is a selfish playboy genius that is also very funny and witty, basically an irresistible persona to not find attractive, right? At this point you might be saying to yourself, "Look dude, chill, there is not a bible on what a super hero is so give RDJ a break, ok?" I know. I hear you. But there essentially is and it is Superman, the first super hero created. All legitimate super heroes follow his pattern and arc in some way, anti heroes essentially never really reach the point of true selfish sacrifice. The new Wonder Woman feels so much like a Superman film because of her decision to leave Themyscira out of her own will and become a hero to earth as result of this selfless self-sacrificing decision. In fact, she may be an even better hero archetype than Superman since she left on her own free will, Superman was a infant. Maybe this was why watching Wonder Woman was like a breath of fresh air? It was like seeing an actual super hero movie again. We know a true hero when we see one and it does something deep in us that is beyond words but that is really felt.
A true super hero story being portrayed is really filling and satisfying.
Marvel understands the debate between a legitimate super hero and what they have experimented with a lot more than DC in creating many questionable anti hero personas via contrived discussion and debate on film in the first The Avengers film in an epic argument between Steve Rogers and Tony Stark. You can see that video here. Steve Rogers is Marvel's closest equivalent to a typical altruistic self sacrificing hero that is mostly seen among the classical DC characters of Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, etc. and they are bringing up the argument and reality that Tony Stark is not a true hero via the fight with Rogers, who is a true hero. Though at the end of The Avengers Iron Man gives a self sacrificing moment in choosing to thrust a nuclear war head back into space it seems to only be an aberration, because the character does not forward his development from there. There are many scenes after that in several films that follow where Stark is depicted as being about himself and ultimately wanting complete control of his world his way. Perhaps Stark decided to thrust the war head into space knowing if he died it would redeem his selfishness in some way? It is the only reasoning to have since his portrayal afterwards is essentially unchanged, essentially making the scene non sequitur with the Iron Man story. Tony is all about himself and he showed it again in his latest scene in Captain America 3: Civil War while in a fit of rage decides to kill a man in Winter Solider for the deaths of his parents even though it was obvious that Winter Soldier is under the influence of mind altering tactics and was not therefore cognizant of what he was doing. You can see the scene in two parts here and then here. Iron Man is so consumed with selfish rage that he can not see the truth and all he wants to do is kill Winter Soldier, even at the expense of Steve Rogers. He never grows past his selfishness, at least not yet. So what does this all mean for us as fans, as a society, and for the Marvel franchise, right? Okay here is where the plan lands. We are attracted to what we love and Marvel gives it to us. Do we want a selfless, altruistic, self sacrificing hero or a selfish, arrogant, self seeking one to reflect us in the deepest parts of who we are? That is what is the battle here and what is making millions of dollars for Marvel. Marvel will continue to give it to us if we want it also. The not so serious, dubiously right or wrong persona is basically the norm in what Marvel trends out these days and Iron Man is the archetype. Do we believe in truth, right from wrong, and virtue or not?
What do we believe?
Maybe there is a bigger reason why the comic universe killed Steve Rogers? Maybe the comic universe was saying the true super hero is dead? That we do not want real heroes anymore? I hope not. In fact maybe there is hope with the recent additions of Wonder Woman and Black Panther? Yes, Black Panther. In the latest Captain America 3: Cvil War film Marvel has set this character up very well as being a true superhero, one that feels pain, is hurt, desires revenge, but that ultimately decides to forgive. Though Steve Rogers seems to forgive in this film it is unquestionable that Black Panther does and does in an even more difficult way knowing that the film's main villain kills his father as well. Both Black Panther and Iron Man suffered the same fate yet Black Panther chose the actual heroic road. You can see that beautiful scene here. Again, what do we believe today? Truth or subjectivity? Is there truth or is truth just about how I feel? If I get angry will I forgive or kill? These are all big questions, ones that movies bring before us to think about. The choice is really up to us. We can have more Wonder Woman and Black Panther or more Iron Man or even Dead-pool. The choice is up to us. But, maybe we should give RDJ a break, he's getting old.
I like writing stuff about current issues, movies, sports and culture with a theological twist. Follow me at @howardlee58 or @ibleedtitanblue on Twitter for more content.
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