The Avengers Are Coming: Part One

Leading up to the May 4th U.S. release of Marvel's The Avengers I will be doing brief reviews of the five films that introduce its major characters: Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, Iron Man 2, Thor, and Captain America: The First Avenger. Each of these happen to be the only films independently produced by Marvel Studios, which is why they clearly share the same “universe” and tie-in so nicely.

IRON MAN (2008)

You really have to hand it to Marvel Studios, director Jon Favreau, and Robert Downey Jr. on this one. They took a pretty average, unpopular comic book superhero and turned him into a bad ass. It's one thing to bring crowds in droves to see Superman, Spider-Man, or Batman...those guys are well known and enjoy a devoted following. It's another thing entirely to create a superhero's following from a movie, instead of the actual comic. These days, Iron Man and Robert Downey Jr. are so popular that no one can remember why they weren't a big deal in the first place.

Downey Jr.'s greatest achievement here is making the rich, egotistical, narcissistic Tony Stark into a lovable figure, even when he's being a cad. Early on in the film, the guy is just not a good person, but his bountiful charisma makes him a joy to watch. A genius like his father, Tony inherited Stark Industries, a producer of high-tech weaponry that blows stuff up real good in the name of the U.S.A. We meet him in Afghanistan where he introduces his latest creation, the Jericho missile. Unfortunately, his Humvee comes under attack afterward and he's injured, ironically, by one of his company's own weapons in enemy hands. Stark ends up in the custody of a terrorist group called the Ten Rings where another prisoner, Dr. Yinsen (Shaun Toub), manages to save his life by putting an electromagnet in his chest to prevent tiny bits of shrapnel from entering Stark's heart.

These terrorists, armed with a bunch of Stark Industries firepower, demand that Stark make a Jericho missile for them. Tony has other ideas, working instead on a miniaturized version of his father's arc reactor to serve as his electromagnet and double as a power source for a large, weaponized iron suit. Stark manages to fool the terrorists about his progress on the missile, and boom go his captors as he makes his escape.

Back in the States, the new Tony wants to focus his efforts on more peaceful technology, which doesn't sit well with Obadiah Stane (Jeff Bridges), manager of Stark Industries and the former business partner of Stark's father. With only two true allies, his assistant Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) and his friend Lieutenant Colonel James Rhodes (Terrence Howard), Stark begins to improve upon the suit design until he becomes the superhero, Iron Man.

As a superhero origin story, Iron Man has few peers. Often these opening chapters are bogged down in exposition as a rather ordinary, flawed person slowly evolves into a fighting force to be reckoned with. Who can forget Tobey Maguire in Spider-Man (2002) running around in his early hero outfit, consisting of a sweatsuit and goofy mask? There is a similar evolution here, not only in Stark's character but in the armor itself, which goes from a bulky gray metal monstrosity to a sleek, “hot rod red” and gold piece of advanced machinery. These two films, along with Batman Begins (2005), are recent examples of how origin stories should be done.

Iron Man has a pretty hypocritical message though, since Tony wants to rid the world of Stark Industries weapons by building another. He wants to keep weapons from falling into the wrong hands, when some of his own tech falls into the wrong hands both here and in Iron Man 2. Still, for the most part, Iron Man really hits most of the right notes for this type of film. Downey Jr. gives us a character we enjoy, one who goes through trials and achieves a genuine transformation. We get some exciting action sequences peppered throughout, a worthwhile villain, and a satisfying final battle. It's not rocket science, but it's a lot of fun; perhaps even the most pure fun of any comic book movie since Spider-Man 2 (2004).

Though we see Agent Coulson (Clark Gregg) at various times in Iron Man, stick around after the credits for the introduction of his boss, Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson), the director of S.H.I.E.L.D. A confused Tony Stark learns that Fury wants to talk with him about the “Avenger Initiative”, then we fade to black.

Iron Man (2008): 7 out of 10
Batman Begins (2005): 7 out of 10
Spider-Man (2002): 7 out of 10
Spider-Man 2 (2004): 8 out of 10