Iron Man 3 review: How will it impact Infinity War?

‘Iron Man 3’ was supposed to be a massive step for the Marvel Cinematic Universe to take. It was not only the first Marvel movie to release after the magnitude of success that was The Avengers. It was also the first chapter in the MCU’S “Phase 2.” So really, Iron Man 3 had a lot to live up to.

Iron Man 3 follows Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.)  a year after the events of The Avengers. On the outside, it looks like Tony is acting normal. In fact, he’s working harder than he ever has before. But eventually, it’s revealed that Tony is suffering from PTSD from the events in New York. In fact, it’s why he’s working harder than ever.

But Tony doesn’t have much time to be down, as a new threat, The Mandarin (Ben Kingsley), threatens the safety of America. After Tony invites the Mandarin to his place, his house is blown up, causing him to flee all the way to Tennessee. There, he meets Hartley (Ty Simpkins) who helps him solve what the Mandarin’s goals really are.

Check out the new Hulkbuster Funko POP! on Amazon.

It turns out though that the Mandarin is just a character in everything. The real threat is a ghost from Tony’s past, Aldrich Killian (Guy Pierce). Killian, who was stood up by Tony at a conference in Vienna back in 1999, is looking to win the war on terror. To do this, he created the Extremis Program, funded through AIM, to get work done. But it ends with Killian defeated, and Tony deciding to have surgery to remove the shrapnel from his body.

Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle and Jon Favreau return to their roles as Pepper Potts, War Machine, and Happy Hogan.

As mentioned before, this movie had a lot to live up to. Ultimately, it seemed to fall under the pressure. So let’s look at what worked, what didn’t, and how it’ll impact Avengers: Infinity War.