‘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.
What worked?
It’s not hard to argue that Downey’s take on Tony Stark has been one of the positive aspects of the entire MCU. Once again that’s proven true that Downey gives another stellar performance.
For three movies up until then, we’ve seen Tony as cocky, witty and charming. He always seems cool and collected, and ready to face any situation. However here, his character is given a complete 180.
For the first time, we see Tony as stressed, unsure and even scared. It’s a characteristic that has not been seen from him before, and it works. Downey is such a good actor, he manages to play both sides of the coin.
What also works is the chemistry between Tony and specific characters. Again, because Downey is as talented of an actor as he is, he manages to have on-screen chemistry with almost every character. Once again, Tony and Pepper’s on-screen relationship, while annoying at times, tells a story. It shows how much he cares about her. Tony and Rhodey are always a fun duo, constantly quipping at each other. Even Tony and Killian have interesting chemistry together.
But probably the best relationship in the movie is between Tony and newcomer Hartley. Hartley, a kid from Tennessee, finds Tony hiding in his garage after the attack on his house. Immediately, the two, as Hartley says later, are “connected”. And it shows on-screen. The constant back and forth bickering between the two tends to be the highlights of the movie.
From a fan’s perspective, seeing all of the Iron Man suits at the end of the movie also provides a great payoff. As something that was teased at the beginning of the movie, seeing all of Tony’s suits together was a fun moment for the MCU.
What didn’t work?
To put it quite frankly, the biggest thing that didn’t work in this movie was the villain. Leading up to the movie, and even in the beginning of the movie, the Mandarin looked to be one of the most threatening villains Marvel had to offer.
However, in the third act of the movie it was revealed that the Mandarin was just a character that Aldrich Killian made to spread terrorism throughout the United States.
It was definitely a twist. Nobody saw it coming. The problem was it wasn’t a twist many were asking for. Many fans know the Mandarin as Iron Man’s arch nemesis. So they were looking forward to seeing the two go at it on the big screen. But then they changed it, leaving some fans cheated of an opportunity.
With the buildup like this for something the fans really wanted, it was nothing short of a disappointment.
However it wasn’t the only issue the movie had going for it. Throughout the movie, Tony is dealing with PTSD from the Battle of New York. It quickly becomes a plot point throughout the movie that its something serious that Tony is dealing with. On several occasions, he is hit with anxiety attacks that show his character like we’ve never seen him before.
But that’s not the issue. The issue is that after so many panic attacks, he has one more while on the phone with Harley. It causes him to pull over on the side of the road. Tony is paralyzed with fear and anxiety, but then is immediately relieved by Harley a few seconds later.
The issue here is that after spending the entire movie dealing with this issue, he immediately resolves the issues, tying up loose ends. It doesn’t necessarily take away entirely from the movie, but it does result in a continuity issue.
How will it impact Infinity War?
Quite frankly, of all of the movies to take place after The Avengers, this one will probably have the least impact for Infinity War.
There is no mention of the Infinity Stones, or even Thanos. There are a few mentions of the Avengers, but only when talking about the Battle of New York.
This movie is mainly used as a transition movie between chapters in the MCU. It’s more of an epilogue for The Avengers, focusing on Tony’s life afterwards. Of course, many of the cast members from Iron Man 3 will be featured in Infinity War, including Iron Man, War Machine, Happy Hogan, and Pepper Potts. Bruce Banner, who made an appearance in the post-credit scene of Iron Man 3 will also be featured.
Now, there is one possible way that Iron Man 3 can impact Infinity War. Tony Stark’s PTSD is of course caused by the events of the Battle of New York. The cause of the Battle was an invasion by the Chitauri, who are forces provided by Thanos to Loki.
It is possible that Thanos uses them again, causing to Tony to lose his cool again, like he almost did when Scarlet Witch did when she got in his head in Avengers: Age of Ultron. This could temporarily take Tony out of the fight, making things worse for the Avengers. There is a minimal chance that this may happen, as Marvel is past what happened in Iron Man 3. However, if there were to be any connection between the two movies, it’d be this.
Next: Marvel’s The Avengers: How does it impact Infinity War?
Iron Man 3 is not a bad movie. It’s not the best movie in the MCU, but when that list includes movies like Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Black Panther, it’s hard to make the comparison.
The movie has strong moments, as well as weak moments. But ultimately, it will most likely go down as one of the weaker inclusions to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.