MCU: 10 Things You Learn Rewatching Iron Man 3
3. The Iron Legion Sequence Is Still Spectacular
Iron Man 2 might've featured quite the armoured wardrobe, but it didn't come anywhere close to what was seen in Iron Man 3.
With Stark having taken an unhealthy reaction to the events of New York by trapping himself in his basement, no less than 40 suits ended up getting built. He constructs a veritable legion of armour, but while they were just for show in the first two films, they all get their time to shine in Iron Man 3 in the film's climactic dock fight.
Classic fan favourite suits like the Silver Centurion and Heartbreaker mark their entrance as Stark jumps in and out of all of them, falling, flying and blasting his way through Killian's men until he traps him in the damaged Mark XLII. Pepper - in a great subversion of the classic damsel trope - then enters the fray and destroys Killian with her new Extremis powers.
It's a breathtaking scene to watch, as the film's sense of motion carries the viewer from suit to suit, giving them all one last sendoff before Tony activates the Clean Slate protocol, destroying his entire arsenal in a character-defining display of affection and independence.
It's the perfect way of retiring the armour, and it's yet another moment of true invention from Black et al., crowning the film with one of the most exciting displays the MCU's ever seen.