Playboy, Interrupted: Iron Man

Superhero films have always been a particular love of mine, I must admit.  I will watch them all, from the sublime–Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man films, Bryan Singer’s X-Men films, Christopher Nolan’s Batman Begins–to the underrated–Singer’s Superman Returns, Ang Lee’s Hulk–to the silly–Mystery Men, Blade, Fantastic Four–to the lame–Catwoman, Ghost Rider, Wolverine.  There is something I find intrinsically appealing about the concept of a modern-day hero, gifted with superhuman abilities, who, in the vein of the great heroes of legend, decides to take it upon himself to use these special (almost magical) traits in order to help the poor and unfortunate.

So many films in the genre, however, fall into the trap of being too familiar, because–let’s face it–at their heart, most superheroes are the same, whether one shoots spider webs from his fingertips or can jump tall buildings in a single bound or has laser beams for eyes.  In the end, each superhero’s specific power is really a MacGuffin; it is both a physical manifestation of the hero’s drive to do good in the world and protect the less powerful from harm, as well as the method by which he carries out his self-imposed quest.  And while their personalities do diverge from one another, while remaining in the basic range of “good,” the trajectories of their character arcs and modus operandi often do remain in fairly similar territory: save the little people, fight the bad guys, save the world.  This is why Iron Man is so refreshing, because, while that reductive list certainly does vaguely describe a day in the life of Tony Stark, he has an utterly unique manner of doing his thing.  As he is presented in the film (and the film version of Iron Man is all I am familiar with), he truly is a superhero like no other.

Tony Stark is first introduced as a driven, handsome, outrageously egotistical, cocky billionaire playboy, scientific genius, and head of a corporation named after himself, whose terrifyingly efficient military tech can wipe out whole armies at the touch of a button.  All in all, his character profile isn’t far off from Superman’s arch nemesis, Lex Luthor.  At times, Stark seems to be an alternate universe version of Luthor, in which the brilliant inventor comes to realize the error of his ways and decides to reform, after being ironically attacked by his own weapons.  Afterwards, he chooses to stop profiting off the war machine and instead use his staggering capabilities in order to curtail war rather than propagate it.  While the tale of the cruel man turning over a new leaf and becoming a kind soul is a well-worn one–A Christmas Carol, anyone?–Iron Man succeeds by allowing the character to grow organically, while never compromising the root of the personality he has always had, completely avoiding the pat and the trite, and grounding the story in the world of today.

The main key to the film’s success is Robert Downey, Jr., who handles Stark’s transition so smoothly, he renders the change in character all but totally imperceptible.  From start to finish, Stark remains the same hubristic guy on the surface–a little too in love with himself and his own abilities.  What has mostly altered is how, why, and where he channels his energies and ego.  Downey’s Stark is whip-smart, caustically funny, and prideful in the extreme.  Whereas most other superheroes value such things as privacy and humility, Stark is loud, brash, and grand, but these are the very attributes that ultimately make his heroics possible.  He doesn’t know the meaning of the word, “subtlety,” and would most likely balk at it, if he did.  When he only behaved in his own self interest, he did it big, and now that he uses his skills to protect others, he does it twice as big.

Another factor that distinguishes Tony Stark from the average superhero is that his powers rest solely in his brain.  He doesn’t have the natural ability to fly or to withstand bullets.  He can do so because of the robotic suit that he himself constructed–he self-actualized his own superpowers, so to speak–and as alluded to before, it is the film’s ultimate irony that the only weapons that can truly stand against him are ones that he also constructed himself, back in the days before he felt accountability for what he had done.  The film’s metaphor extends even further than that, however, for not only did Stark design and build his suit, but without the suit (or a crucial component of it, at least), he would die.

One of the aspects of the superhero myth I have always been most fascinated by is the concept of disguise, in other words the superhero designing alternate identities for himself–the average one he shows in his day-to-day life and the more dynamic one he puts on to perform his heroic tasks.  For most superheroes, one might ask who the real person really is. Is it the costume he puts on to fight crime?  Or the suit and glasses he wears when he goes to work?  And is the latter any less of a costume? With Tony Stark, however, the suit isn’t just something he feels compelled to put on, but is a most literal part of himself and constant reminder of what he created and the decision he made.  He also doesn’t assume an in-suit identity the way other superheroes do, but is just himself, Tony Stark, but with more cool gadgets at his immediate disposal, and a direct link to Jarvis, his withering computer/manservant (voiced by Paul Bettany).

Stark also diverges from the “average” superhero in his mission.  He isn’t like Spider-Man or Batman or Super-Man, rescuing women from attackers in dark, urban alleys, nabbing pickpockets, and saving kittens from trees.  Stark is really a superhero for the current times.  He is not fighting for Truth, Justice, and the American Way.  Instead, he has a far more global outlook.  The only people we see him directly save are, in fact, Afghanis being cruelly treated by terrorists.  Iron Man puts a film like Wolverine–which is about nothing, really, besides Hugh Jackman’s hairy, chiseled chest–to shame.

Unlike Wolverine, Iron Man has important things to say about the world we live in–about the evils of big American corporations that prosper based on the suffering of others, whether they be destitute people in the Middle East or their country’s own citizens; about how effectively the American media can distract its people from noticing the world’s sadness with shiny fashion and pop culture; about how war is just as much a business venture as real estate or the stock market.  It is no narrative coincidence that Tony Stark’s father helped invent the Atomic Bomb, nor that Stark would come to rebel against people like his father’s compatriot, Obadiah Stane (played by a nearly unrecognizable Jeff Bridges), who counts money as being more important than human life.  Stane, a dark mirror of what Stark could have become had he stayed on his original path, is, interestingly, bald, like Lex Luthor.

Iron Man manages to maintain a successful balance between being meaningful and issue-oriented and not allowing itself to be overwhelmed by messages.  Director Jon Favreau and screenwriters Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby ensure that the film takes itself seriously but also (unlike Lee’s Hulk) retains a high level of fun throughout, by way of Stark’s awesome, whizbang gadgetry, his witty quips, and the sweet, will-they-or-won’t-they relationship with his loyal secretary, Pepper Potts (played with surprisingly lovable panache by Gwyneth Paltrow) that recalls some of the classic screwball romances of cinema and television past.  Iron Man exists in a mostly real-world milieu but also is willing to indulge in all-out action pulp extravaganza.  In that way, it can be as high-minded as Nolan’s Batman films but also more fun.  ”Gritty” and “artsy” are not what it has in mind.  It simply posits that film can be a popcorn flick and have serious intentions, without one aspect negating the other, and delivers brilliantly.

It may be the greatest testament to Tony Stark and the film, Iron Man, that he is depicted as being such an interesting character, that he would be just as fascinating and entertaining to watch had he never donned the suit, which is not something that can be said of most superheroes.  Tony Stark, however, is not just any superhero, and this is not just any superhero film.  This is something truly unique.

PS. When watching the film, don’t leave before the credits are completely finished. The actual ending of the film doesn’t occur till they’re completely done rolling and features a cameo by a famous actor playing a famous comics character that hints at even greater things for Iron Man 2.  I know I can’t wait.

Buy:

Iron Man DVD (Single Disc Edition)

Iron Man DVD (Two-Disc Special Collectors’ Edition)

Iron Man Blu-Ray (Ultimate Two-Disc Edition)

Related posts:

1. The Superhero of Tomorrow: Iron Man 2
2. "A Pocket Full of Kryptonite": Perry Moore’s Hero
3. Prequelitis: X-Men Origins: Wolverine
4. Spider-Man 2: Raimi’s Masterpiece
5. Superman: "World’s Finest"

Tagged as: Comics, Film, Iron Man