Marvel and its Messages Part I : Iron Man
On the surface, Iron Man is a superhero movie.So are all marvel movies if you look at them.But that is just one way to enjoy a movie. I am cool if you stop there, but you are missing out on a lot of stuff if you stop just there.This series of essays is intended to educate the uninitiated movie-goer about the things hidden behind the set pieces in Marvel Cinematic universe.
Anthony Stark is a prodigy and the sole survivor of the Stark Family.He is a brilliant inventor, playboy and a billionaire.He is everything that an American Man aspires to be — He has dough , style and chicks.But like any other well written character he has his flaws. He seems to have a quippy relationship with everybody around him. It is as if he is afraid of them.But we dont know for sure.Wait till the third Iron Man Movie,I'd say.
And then when we expect him to be safe and secure, he stumbles down. A shrapnel from his own missile is embedded in his chest and he is forced to inspect on what life means and about what his legacy would be.
Legacy is the overarching theme in the marvel cinematic universe, and you see it here as well.Tony is suddenly afraid of what he will become to the world.Then we see one of the defining aspects of Tony — a brilliant creator and engineer who jugaads his way out of a cave guarded by islamic terrorists, in a location that appears to be a parody of Afghanistan.
Now it is important that the location is Afghanistan. Tony escaping from the cave with limited resources is a message. Nine eleven had its impact in the american culture. My reading of Tony Escaping from the cave is that it symbolises USA which is pushed into a corner resorting to violent aggression as a means of preventing terrorism, not only inside its territory, but also in other parts of the world.
Tony’s threat comes from the inside.The irony here is too obvious.Here we have a man who builds armours made of gold platinum alloys ; armours which can hold its own against F-22s, but he is vulnerable to threat from his father’s closest friend. He is left paralysed by his own technology, by an attack that seemed to come from inside.
This is a man who doesnt find solace in long term relationships.A man who parties and lives in the moment — and we see him saved, only because his amour,saved a piece of technology he had thrown out as useless.Maybe this is why Tony rebuilds and saves every armour that he has built — a new habit he acquired after his adventures. This sets the tone to Tony Stark’s story arc. We have a man who is ready to put faith in people around him.
This above mentioned story arc almost got thrown into the trash can with the second marvel movie. More about that another time.
