Iron Man 3

***Iron Man 3*** is a 2013 superhero film based on the Marvel Comics superhero Iron Man, and a sequel to *Iron Man*, *Iron Man 2*, and *The Avengers*. It was directed by Shane Black and was written by Black and Drew Pearce. It is the seventh installment of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

The film stars Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Guy Pearce, Rebecca Hall, Lochlyn Munro, Michael Parks, and Jeff Bridges. It was released on May 3, 2013 and grossed $1.215 billion on a $200 million budget. It ran 131 minutes and received positive reviews.

## Plot

A year following the Battle of New York, Tony Stark still struggles from PTSD over the event. He is now engaged to Pepper Potts and continues his work as Iron Man, while James Rhodes operates as War Machine for the U.S. military. Tony's butler, Edwin Jarvis, is also declining in health. Stark Enterprises shareholder Obadiah Stane continues to hold out for Tony's retirement to take over the company. However, Stane is devastated when Stark announces Pepper as the new CEO if anything were to ever happen to him. Stark also becomes jealous when the son of one of Stark Enterprises' original investors, Aldrich Killian, returns to New York and becomes closer to Pepper. When Stark tells Pepper he believes Killian is trying to get closer to Pepper for her future CEO position, she slaps him and leaves him for the night. Their situation intensifies when Tony's ex-girlfriend, Maya Hansen, stays in their house for the night, with Pepper returning to find Tony and Maya having a seemingly adulterous exchange. However, Tony dissuades her from thinking anything happened.

Tony realizes that someone is after him when his assistant, Happy Hogan, is found assaulted and with a message for Tony to watch out. Rhodey reveals that the military is keeping quiet about a Middle Eastern terrorist calling himself the Mandarin. As Killian and Pepper get closer, so do Tony and Maya. Eventually, Maya kisses Tony in front of Pepper, causing her to call off their engagement and sleep with Killian. Tony forces Maya to leave, and she is revealed to be working with Killian for the secret organization A.I.M. When Jarvis has a heart attack, Tony discovers that his declining health is due to a poisonous substance in his medicine. Tony suspects it is the same person who put Happy in the hospital.

When people across the globe begin exploding seemingly out of nowhere, Tony decides to investigate. He discovers they were injected with Extremis, an extremely dangerous chemical that also includes the poison Jarvis was taking. Tony confirms that someone is after him. Happy also goes into cardiac arrest, forcing Pepper to work with Tony to figure out who is doing this to them. Tony traces back Extremis to Afghanistan and asks Rhodey to investigate. Rhodey discovers an illegal crime ring in Afghanistan selling Extremis to the U.S. in exchange for big shot weapons. Discovering it is through Stark Enterprises, Tony shifts his suspicion toward Stane. Confronting him, Stane reveals he is the leader of A.I.M., a science group focused on experimenting with Extremis to use as the next wave of human suicide bombers. Pepper, Tony, and Rhodey figure out Killian and Maya were involved too, which causes Pepper to apologize to Tony and the two make up. They decide to confront the two. However, when they arrive, they are revealed to have been waiting for them. Killian injects Pepper with the Extremis, though Tony is able to save her using his arc reactor copy.

Happy recovers, while Jarvis dies of complications, deeply saddening Tony. Though when Rhodey sees that Stane, Maya, and Killian have arrived in Afghanistan, Tony and Pepper fly there as well. Stane is injected with the Extemis, though instead of dying, he is able to use the serum to further his secret abilities as the Mandarin, the leader of the Ten Rings. Tony, Rhodey, and Pepper find them and nearly subdue Stane, before Maya kills him and Killian and takes the power of the Mandarin for herself. However, the power becomes too much for her to handle and she dies. Tony reveals the story to the public, which causes the rest of A.I.M. everywhere to be taken into custody, while a funeral is held for Jarvis. Tony proposes to Pepper again, which she happily accepts.

In a mid-credits scene, the Extremis is seen being shipped to a secret facility, with the Hydra logo on it. In a post-credits scene, a group of civilians surround a glowing object, until Jane Foster, Ellie Carlson, and Donald Blake show up and quarantine the area.

## Cast

* Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark/Iron Man
* Gwyneth Paltrow as Pepper Potts
* Don Cheadle as James "Rhodey" Rhodes/War Machine
* Guy Pearce as Aldrich Killian
* Rebecca Hall as Maya Hansen
* Lochlyn Munro as Happy Hogan
* Michael Parks as Edwin Jarvis
* Jeff Bridges as Obadiah Stane/The Mandarin