Iron Man 3 is genuinely one of the best Marvel films going, but a controversial twist seems to have made it the MCU's forgotten feature. It's rarely referenced, either in the main MCU chronology or by fans since, and that just doesn't make sense. It's Shane Black meets Marvel Comics - what's not to love?
The third Iron Man film was the first to kick off the MCU's second phase. It opened up a new chapter for the franchise while addressing its past, with Black and writer Drew Pearce's script having taken the bold decision to explore the psychological effects of Tony Stark's near-death experience during the events of 2012's Avengers Assemble. It's actually quite experimental, and in making the film more human, Iron Man 3 will ultimately go down as one of the most authentic Marvel offerings of recent years.
Interwoven through all of this is Black's signature storytelling style, which not only makes the film a unique, character-driven experience, but one that also has some genuinely compelling action. Everything serves a purpose, and in divesting from (and subverting) past genre tropes, Iron Man 3 easily ranks among Marvel Studios' best works - twist or no twist.
WhatCulture's very own resident movie guy, Ewan has been working in the content creation biz for over 10 years now, having started as a freelance contributor to WhatCulture Gaming all the way back in 2015. After graduating with a First-Class Honours in History from Northumbria University in 2017 (where he won a prize for a totally killer dissertation on the Watergate years), Ewan took on the role of Comics Editor at WhatCulture and quickly developed WhatCulture Comics into one of the biggest superhero-focused channels on YouTube. He followed this with a brief hiatus at Screen Rant in 2021, where he worked across the Gaming and Film sections as a writer and editor, before returning to WhatCulture as a Senior Content Producer / Presenter in 2023. He started his own podcast, We Love Dad Movies, in 2022, and has contributed several written pieces to the Eisner-nominated comics website Shelfdust as well.
In his current role, Ewan incorporates his love of cinema, comic books, and history into written pieces and video essays for WhatCulture's Film & TV channel, as well as WhatCulture Gaming and WhatCulture Horror, with a particular focus on nineties-era Dad Movies, old school Westerns, and Golden Age Hollywood Noir. John Carpenter is his fave, and he thinks Batman Beyond should never have been cancelled. If that's your vibe, you'll probably like his stuff.
