Iron Man 3

**Iron Man 3** is a 2011 superhero film set in the Marvel Media Franchise, the seventeenth film in the universe. It is also a sequel to *Iron Man* and *Iron Man: Rise of the Patriots*. The film stars Bradley Cooper, Bryce Dallas Howard, Mahershala Ali, Milo Ventimiglia, Emilia Clarke, Ron Howard, and Samuel L. Jackson, and was released worldwide on August 5, 2011. The film ran 137 minutes and grossed $665.7 million on a $250 million budget.

## Plot

Tony Stark, the CEO of Stark Industries, has been the superhero Iron Man for five years now. He is dating his personal assistant Pepper Potts, while his best friend James Rhodes has made his way up to the Board of Directors in Stark Industries, after five years of working there. Tony's sister, Olivia Stark, has been at New York University for three years now, as she is just about to start her senior year. Tony learns Olivia has been talking to Obadiah Stane, a man claiming to have known Howard Stark in the past. Tony asks Nick Fury, Director of S.H.I.E.L.D., to watch Obadiah, as Tony suspects he is up to something bad. Pepper discovers Happy Hogan, her ex-boyfriend, has returned to town to try to win Pepper back.

An attack on a bank downtown leads Tony and Rhodey/War Machine to fly down to the bank. They discover a man with a bigger, more advanced suit of armor robbing the bank. The two together manage to fend him off, though they did not see who is under the helmet. Fury learns Stane has been visiting a specific underground location. Tony realizes Stane must be Iron Monger and tells Olivia not to talk to him anymore. However, Olivia refuses to believe Tony and reveals to Stane that they think he is Iron Monger. Tony and Rhodey lure Iron Monger to fight them. As the two fight, Fury and Pepper learn Stane is with Olivia, meaning he could not Iron Monger. Pepper tries to stop Happy from continuing to shower her with gifts, though he is intent on winning her affection. Pepper reveals to Tony what Happy is doing and Tony decides to apologize.

However, as Tony is apologizing, Rhodey tells him Iron Monger is attacking. Tony has to leave, causing Happy to believe he was doing it because Pepper wanted him to. Tony and Rhodey stop Iron Monger but discover he is, in fact, Obadiah Stane. Stane is taken into S.H.I.E.L.D. custody. Olivia apologizes to Tony for not believing him, and Tony forgives her. However, as Tony, Rhodey, and Pepper celebrate their victory, Fury reveals Stane escaped. The three heroes try to find him, leading to Stane kidnapping Tony. Rhodey realizes he cannot go in alone, so Pepper dons a suit of armor from Tony's collection and goes in with Rhodey. The two heroes find Stane and attack him. Tony escapes, but Stane reveals his intent to blow the entire city up, as revenge for Tony and Olivia's father ruining his life.

Fury reveals that Howard Stark and Obadiah Stane's father, Jeremiah Stane, had set up their own company in 1945, with the decision to set up technology that could watch heroes such as Captain America if another one ever appeared. However, the government found out and Stark blamed the entire thing on Stane, causing Jeremiah to be sent to prison, and his wife was devestated. However, Jeremiah broke out in 1955 and had a child, Obadiah, before being caught and brought back to prison. Obadiah and his mother were then put into a S.H.I.E.L.D. safehouse, where Obadiah lived his entire life. Happy kisses Pepper in front of Tony, causing Tony to beat Happy. Happy goes back to his apartment, where he destroys several items in there. Tony, Pepper, and Rhodey find Stane and get him to stop. However, he sets off the bomb, though Tony managed to lower the blast.

S.H.I.E.L.D. arrests Stane and Tony, Pepper, and Rhodey discover the blast still killed over 150 people on the streets, including Olivia and Happy. Tony is devestated as Pepper and Rhodey try to comfort him. Stane is put into solitary confinement and cut off all human contact. Six months later, Iron Man has been missing, though War Machine and Pepper/Rescue have been in his place. However, a larger threat arrives and Rhodey and Pepper are in Amsterdam, causing Tony to suit up and stop the threat. In a mid-credits scene, Tony continues to work on the project called "Ultron".

## Cast

* Bradley Cooper as Tony Stark/Iron Man
* Bryce Dallas Howard as Pepper Potts/Rescue
* Mahershala Ali as James Rhodes/War Machine
* Milo Ventimiglia as Happy Hogan
* Emilia Clarke as Olivia Stark
* Ron Howard as Obadiah Stane/Iron Monger
* Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury

## Production

A sequel to *Iron Man: Rise of the Patriots* was announced in May 2009, along with a sequel to *Thor*, a sequel to *Spider-Man 2*, and a sequel to *The Avengers*. The film was given the title, *Iron Man 3*, and a release date was announced in August as August 5, 2011. *Iron Man 3* was expected to be the MMF's highest grossing film, due to Iron Man being the universe's most popular hero. The film was given a budget of $250 million, the second most expensive superhero movie. Cooper revealed that his contract has signed him on for *Iron Man 3* and two *Avengers* sequels. Dallas Howard and Ali also revealed their contracts have them appearing in this film and two other films in the universe. Ventimiglia and Clarke had also signed on for the film, with the film being the final film on their contract, though Clarke was open to renewing her contract for more films. Shane Black directed the film, along with co-writing a screenplay alongside Drew Pearce. Jackson revealed he has five films left on his contract, and *Iron Man 3* is one of them. In May 2010, Ron Howard, Dallas Howard's father, had been cast in the film as the main villain, Obadiah Stane/Iron Monger, who appeared in the post-credits scene of *Iron Man: Rise of the Patriots*, though with a different actor. Filming began on October 3, 2010 and concluded on February 16, 2011.

## Reception

### **Box office**

The film grossed $165.2 million in the United States and Canada, along with $500.4 million in other territories for a worldwide total of $665.7 million.

### **Critical reception**

On the review aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 81% based on 167 reviews, and an average rating of 6.9/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "The storyline arc may seem a tad familiar to fans of the originals, but *Iron Man 3* offers enough action, comedy, and visual sparkle to compensate." On Metacritic the film has a weighted average score of 67 out of 100 based on 31 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".