Necessity is the mother of invention and theres no better inventor in comic book movies than Tony Stark. Held captive by terrorists in an Afghani cave, Stark concocts not only an escape plan, but also a superhero origin story. When ordered to build the devastating Jericho missile, Stark responds by constructing the Mark I Iron Man armor to fight his way out. The escape itself is a killer action sequence that exemplifies the tone of the entire film. The cool badassery of the Iron Man armor is put on violent display with rockets and flame throwers while comic relief is delivered via an execution-style gunshot to Starks helmeted head bouncing back and killing the would be executioner. Of course, it wouldnt be a Marvel film without a poignant dash of heart, which comes via Tonys final farewell to his friend, cellmate, and co-inventor, Yinsen. Tony Stark finds freedom at the first stop on his road to redemption.
