Iron Man 3 was far better than the third film in a bloated, multi-million dollar franchise had any right being. Instead of settling into a tired formula, trotting out familiar characters and situations to appease fans who liked it the first two times around, it did something new with the series. It was also hilarious, immensely charming, and thoroughly idiosyncratic (we defy you to think of a weirder opening to a Hollywood blockbuster than Blue by Eiffel 65). The already unique tone of the series had been set by Jon Favreau in the first two instalments, but he departed to direct the ill-fated Cowboys And Aliens. In his stead was Shane Black, the genius scriptwriter of every great buddy cop film from Lethal Weapon to Last Action Hero. And the guy who tells the joke in Predator. His trademark sense of humour and penchant for the self-referential was a perfect fit for Iron Man - and Robert Downey Jr in particular, with whom he collaborated on his directorial debut, Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang. Black made his mark in Hollywood by refusing to work within the system's restraints, something which (ironically) greatly appealed to the big studios, who paid top dollar for his scripts and made them into huge-budget behemoths. It worked with Iron Man 3, too, which includes amazingly subversive things like the Mandarin reveal and Tony Stark being openly dismissive of an orphaned child who, in lesser films, would be a naïve innocent that reminds the hero why he's a hero. It's this sort of genuine innovation, invention, and sharp humour that Iron Man 4 needs to beat the odds and be far better than the fourth film in a bloated, multi-million dollar franchise has any right being. Plus, having Black on board will probably help coax back RDJ...
Tom Baker is the Comics Editor at WhatCulture! He's heard all the Doctor Who jokes, but not many about Randall and Hopkirk. He also blogs at http://communibearsilostate.wordpress.com/
