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All 3 Iron Man movies ranked from worst to best

By Natalie Zamora

IRON MAN - For Disneyphiles everywhere, Freeform will air beloved Disney classics from "Disney-Pixar's Toy Story" to "Disney's The Jungle Book (2016)" and everything in between during the month of September as they celebrate "30 Days of Disney." (Marvel)
IRON MAN - For Disneyphiles everywhere, Freeform will air beloved Disney classics from "Disney-Pixar's Toy Story" to "Disney's The Jungle Book (2016)" and everything in between during the month of September as they celebrate "30 Days of Disney." (Marvel) /
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2. Iron Man (2008)

Any fan of the MCU would agree that the first Iron Man movie holds a special place in our hearts. So don’t come for me when I say it’s #2 on our rankings list! I swear it’s one of my favorite Marvel movies, but Iron Man 3 tops the list for me.

Directed by Jon Favreau and written by Mark Fergus, Hawk Ostby, Art Marcum, and Matt Holloway, the story of Iron Man centers around Tony Stark, a wealthy inventor who’s captured by terrorists while on a business trip to Afghanistan. While in captivity, Tony is forced to build a weapon, but instead, he uses his skills to create a high-tech suit of armor that helps him to escape.

Back home, Tony uses this same invention to become a superhero, setting out to stop the forces of evil that threaten to harm the world. Along the way, he’s supported by his loyal assistant Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) and his best friend Rhodey (Terrence Howard).

What fans love about the first Iron Man movie is the way it balances action, humor, and character development. On top of Downey Jr.’s epic performance, the supporting cast is also very strong, with Paltrow and Howard bringing depth and personality to their roles. Other cast members include Jeff Bridges, Leslie Bibb, Shaun Toub, Clark Gregg, and Paul Bettany. Stan Lee also makes a cameo, a tradition he held up throughout the MCU until his death in 2018.

The action scenes in Iron Man are exciting and well-choreographed, and the special effects hold up well even today.

In terms of criticisms, some have argued that the movie falls prey to the clichés of the superhero genre, such as the hero’s journey from selfishness to selflessness and the need for a climactic battle against a larger-than-life villain.

However, these elements are executed with enough originality and energy that they don’t really take away from the overall enjoyment of the movie. Ultimately, the first Iron Man movie is an entertaining ride that launched the Marvel Cinematic Universe and cemented Downey Jr.’s status as a superhero icon.

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