Stark himself is obviously the most important character in Iron Man 3, but right next to him is Ty Simpkins' Harley Keener, a bullied schoolboy who finds common ground in Downey Jr.'s character when he lands in his Tennessee barn.
The similarities between the pair are evident, with both having experienced absent fathers and school bullies while they pursued their interest in science and technology. They also make for a great team, with Harley's ingenuity getting Stark out of a pinch on no less than three separate occasions in the film, with one instance even showing the child tracking down the Mandarin's hideout on his computer.
But Harley serves more than just a practical role in the film, and probably will in the future of the MCU as well. Ty Simpkins is due to return in Avengers 4, and with Robert Downey Jr. likely to depart the franchise at this stage, it's obvious that Harley will continue to comprise an integral part of the MCU, carrying on the spirit of Iron Man without any need for the armour itself.
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.
