Iron Man 3 split opinion on release for a few reasons. The first was its focus on Tony Stark over Iron Man, with the character becoming a wild eyed pile of anxiety after the events of The Avengers. The second was the reveal that Ben Kingsleys Mandarin was actually an alcoholic actor with bowel issues called Trevor, and that Aldrich Killian, the man with the dragon tattoo, was actually the main threat. Things come to a head when Killian and his forces, enhanced with Extremis, fight Tony and a legion of his remote controlled suits on an oil tanker. There are a few low points, most notably the bit where Killian breathes actual fire like a cartoon dragon, but on the whole its an exhilarating spectacle. Tony literally jumps between suits to join and rejoin the battle at different points different threats, Killian is trapped in a suit and explodes and an Extremis powered Pepper gets her chance to shine by dealing the final blow in her gym kit. I can understand some puritans taking issue with the Slattery reveal, but if you accept Killian as Iron Man 3s true villain and get onboard with Tonys psychological recovery then Iron Man 3s ending is both thrilling and cathartic.