3. The Whole Movie Should Have Been Five Minutes
Here is how Iron Man 3 should have really went: Pepper Potts: "Tony, the Mandarin is on the loose! More terrorist attacks are planned and it looks like he's amassed an army of super soldiers to take you down and... are you making a call?" Tony Stark: "Yeah, one second, babe. Uh, hello? Nick Fury please. Hey Nick. I'm fine. And you? Glad to hear it. Hey, I was just wondering if you could help me with a problem I'm having. You see this terrorist the Mandarin and his army of super human inferno solders are wreaking havoc all over the country. I was wondering if S.H.I.E.L.D. could maybe help out a bit." Nick Fury: "What do you need Tony?" Tony Stark: "Well would you mind if Thor lent me a hand with these guys. They're pretty tough but Thor is a God so they shouldn't pose any threat to him." Nick Fury: "Sure. No problem." Marvel cannot have its cake and eat it, too. They spent all this time and planning designing their precious interconnected phases yet they want to suddenly defy their own logic and try to do a stand alone story. I'm sorry, but it just doesn't work that way. As soon as Samuel L. Jackson appeared in Iron Man and spoke of the Avengers initiative the game changed. For better or worse (usually worse) all superhero films made by Marvel post-Avengers initiative would have to adapt their narrative and dramatic pursuits to the rules and standards of a larger more interconnected purpose. As a result the movies involved in the Marvel cinematic universe cannot (and do not) stand on their own terms and must be judged as part of a bigger story. So basically, as cool as it was seeing Tony wage battle with all those Iron Man suits, it's a finale that should have never taken. The other Avengers should have showed up to help. They're a team now. End of story.