The Iron Man Movie:Bringing a Comic Book Hero to the Movie Screen

Everyone is aware of Marvel Comics, so it comes as no surprise that a movie was made on a very popular character, super hero Iron Man. The Iron Man movie was directed by Jon Favreau and stars Robert Downey Jr. in the role of industrialist and engineer Tony Stark, who builds a powered exoskeleton and becomes a technologically superior superhero. His personal assistant is played by Gwyneth Paltrow, while Terrence Howard acts as the military liaison officer James Rhodes. The role of Obadiah Stane, an executive in the company, is enacted by Jeff Bridges.

In 2006, Marvel Studios got the rights to make a film of this story, though talks were on with 20th Century Fox, Universal Studios and New Line Cinema since 1990. Director Favreau chose to shoot the film largely in California, if only to be different from the various superhero movies already shot in a New York kind of environment. And so was born the Iron Man movie.

The theme of the Iron Man movie revolves around the fictional character, Iron Man, a superhero of Marvel Comics that made his first appearance in Tales of Suspense #39, March 1963. Its creator was writer and editor Stan Lee and was scripted by Mark Fergus, Art Marcum, Matt Holloway and Hawk Ostby.

Iron Man’s real name is Anthony Edward (Tony) Stark. He is a super intelligent engineer and an industrialist playboy who suffers a massive heart injury when his kidnappers try to force him to build a huge weapon of mass destruction. Instead, he creates an armor suit to save not just his life but also escape from his kidnappers.

Somewhere along the way, he also uses this suit to He later decides to use the suit to defend the world when he dons it and becomes the Iron Man. He creates his techno-smart suit through his MNC, Stark Industries, apart from all the military weapons that help him fight modern-day crime.

The reviews of the Iron Man movie were all very positive and everyone loved Downey’s performance. So encouraged are the makers of this film with his performance that there are now plans for the trio—Downey, Paltrow and director Favreau—to return with a sequel.

The way director Favreau sets the pace of the Iron Man movie—fast and fun—is not just creditable but amazing too!! Fans will love to see all the explosions and fantastic action on the one hand, and on the other, humor to balance all the dark scenes. The Iron Man mythology is not tackled here in-depth, but perhaps this could be the meat of a sequel.

In this Iron Man movie, the director went to great lengths to tell the story of the billionaire weapons manufacturer who turned into a man willing to do all he can to save innocent—a job that Favreau had to handle here or it would not make any sense to anyone except die-hard Iron Man fans. Seen in this light, the theme is handled deftly and entertainingly—and shows what the art of a seasoned craftsman can do—entertain and inform—from the source book that’s a comic.

About the Author:

Macavelli is the author of this article on Watch Iron Man. Find more information about Iron Man 2 here.