Iron Man (film)

***Iron Man*** is a 2007 superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name. The film is the first film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the first film in Volume One. *Iron Man* was directed by Shane Black and co-written by Black and Jon Favreau. Robert Downey Jr. stars in the film as Tony Stark/Iron Man, alongside Gwyneth Paltrow as Pepper Potts, Don Cheadle as James Rhodes, Scarlett Johansson as Natasha Romanoff, Favreau as Happy Hogan, Ken Watanabe as The Mandarin, and Jeff Bridges as Obadiah Stane.

The film was released on May 4, 2007 and followed by two sequels, *Iron Man: Extremis* on May 7, 2010 and *Iron Man: Armor Wars* on May 3, 2013.

## Plot

Tony Stark is a billionaire businessman and the C.E.O. of Stark Industries, having inherited it from his deceased parents. Six months after returning to New York City following his kidnapping by Afghani terrorists, Tony has become a changed man. No longer a reckless, partying playboy, Tony now has ambitions of changing the world, and has started by creating a suit of armor that he uses to stop major terrorist attacks around the world. The public has traced the suit back to Stark Industries, but Tony claims he only supplied the Iron Man with the suit, denying any further involvement with the hero. The government seeks to control the Iron Man and get him on their side. They send Lieutenant James "Rhodey" Rhodes to Stark Industries to question Tony, though he does not divulge any information.

Tony's secretary and ex-girlfriend Pepper Potts becomes suspicious of Chairman Obadiah Stane and informs Tony of her worries. Natasha Romanoff, Tony's newest employee does not get along with Pepper. In Afghanistan, the organization that captured Tony, the Ten Rings, led by the mysterious Mandarin, wants to find the Iron Man as well. They burn down a village in Iran, and Tony saves the day but is almost taken down by the Mandarin. Tony's armor is heavily damaged by the Mandarin's power and he is forced to retreat. Returning to Stark Industries, Tony repairs his suit, but is found by Pepper, who agrees to keep his secret. Once his office is empty, Natasha sneaks in and hacks into Tony's A.I. mainframe, J.A.R.V.I.S. and finds his plans for more armors.

Tony entrusts Rhodey with his secret so he can have military access to Afghanistan, where he and Rhodey confront the Ten Rings. Rhodey is captured but Tony manages to escape, promising to come back with a more powerful armor. Rhodey is tortured until he reveals Iron Man's identity. The Mandarin sends his henchmen to Stark Industries. Tony finishes building the next stage of his armor, but he is attacked by the Ten Rings before he can put the suit on. Pepper races to the scene and, donning the armor, finishes off the henchmen. She helps Tony recover before he leaves to rescue Rhodey. Returning to the Ten Rings, Tony finds Rhodey near death. He escapes with him, while Pepper exposes the Ten Rings for their crimes.

While Rhodey is in the hospital, Tony is forced to work the military to take down the Mandarin. Pepper discovers Natasha stealing information and learns she is a Russian spy. Natasha easily escapes and wipes all traces of herself from the Stark Industries database. Tony's military back-up are quickly taken out by the Ten Rings, but Tony makes it to the Mandarin and learns of his "ten rings", that give him immense power. With the improved armor, Tony manages to put up a fight, before Pepper causes an explosion that depowers the Mandarin and allows Tony to stop him, at the cost of revealing his face to the media. Tony reluctantly embraces his new public status, while Rhodey manages to keep the government from interfering with Tony's heroism. Pepper investigates Natasha and connects her with a secret assassin named the "Black Widow", while Stane begins reforming Tony's first suit for his own purposes. In a post-credits scene, Rhodey reports to Nick Fury, director of S.H.I.E.L.D. and tells him Tony is ready.

## Cast

* Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark/Iron Man
* Gwyneth Paltrow as Pepper Potts
* Don Cheadle as James Rhodes
* Scarlett Johansson as Natasha Romanoff
* Jon Favreau as Happy Hogan
* Ken Watanabe as The Mandarin
* Jeff Bridges as Obadiah Stane

## Reception

### **Box office**

*Iron Man* grossed $272.1 million domestically and $599.2 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $871.3 million. The film had a domestic opening weekend of $78 million, making it the number-one film of the weekend.

### **Critical reception**

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 78% based on 238 reviews and an average rating of 6.79/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "With a clever script and great interplay among the cast, *Iron Man* nails just the right tone of comic book film, and the non-stop fun overshadows any flaw." On Metacritic, the film has a score of 73 out of 100 based on 31 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale.