Were getting closer and closer to the release of Iron Man 3, and I am freaking
stoked. Iron Man is one of my favorite comic characters, and Robert Downey, Jr. has done such an incredible job of bringing Tony Stark to life on the big screen. From Iron Man, Iron Man 2, and The Avengers, these movies have shown that they really understand the character and are doing their hardest to make the best possible adaptation of old Shellhead. And now, after Iron Man set the bar and The Avengers raised it, Iron Man 3 looks poised to take things to the next level. The trailers so far have shown us that director Shane Black is mining a whole lot of stories from the comics in order to put this film together. Already, we know that Iron Man 3 borrows elements from the Extremis story-arc, that it introduces the Iron Patriot from Marvels Dark Reign event, potentially hints at the transformation of Pepper into Rescue, and even brings us the film debut of Iron Mans major nemesis, the Mandarin. All this, plus the Hulkbuster armor! But Iron Man was created in 1963 and lets be honest, in fifty years of publishing comics, there are bound to be a few stinkers. Even before the first Iron Man movie went into production, fans already knew there were aspects and characters that would prove problematic. Iron Man, probably more than any other Marvel character, was very much a product of the Cold War, and many of his villains spun directly out of that era. Besides that, there have been somelets be generous and call them questionableportrayals of Tony Stark over the years. I'd like to give a thank you to author and Iron Man expert,
Van Allen Plexico, for his input on some of these. So without further delay, here are ten moments we aren't likely to see...
10. Skid Row Lifestyle
Demon in a Bottle is one of the classic Iron Man stories, featuring Tony struggling with alcoholism. In the wake of attacks and manipulation by corporate rival Justin Hammer, Tony begins drinking more and more heavily, jeopardizing his status with the Avengers and nearly ruining his relationship with Jarvis. Its only the intervention of on-again, off-again flame Bethany Cabe that pushes Tony to try and change. Its a classic story that was handled wonderfully by David Michelinie, Bob Layton and John Romita Jr. Then when Dennis ONeil came onboard the title shortly after, he decided to revisit Tonys alcoholism in a
big way. In this story, Obadiah Stane manipulates Tony emotionally and he relapses. Losing control of his company to Stane and all his money, Tony turns his armor over to Rhodey, becomes homeless, wandering the streets, bumming money off people and befriending fellow alcoholics. I dont want to give the impression that this was a bad story, it was actually pretty good (albeit a bit preachy at times). But it also took things a bit to the extreme in order to make a point about alcoholism.
Likelihood: Director Jon Favreau said that the party scene in Iron Man 2 was probably as close as hed get to addressing Starks alcoholism. While Favreau isnt directing Iron Man 3 and while it seems a major theme of the movie will be Tony Stark building himself back up, its not likely well see him living off the streets.