Greetings Heroes!

Iron Man is going to hit theaters this May! He may have some serious competition at the box office from The Dark Knight, but I have high hopes for this flick.

Iron Man never was the most popular of the superheroes. As a longtime member of the Avengers, he’s fought alongside EVERY major hero in the Marvel universe. With superhero movies as hot as they are right now, it was no surprise that Iron Man would receive his own film.

According to the trailer, industrialist Tony Stark is the world’s top weapons designer. With Stark Enterprises at his command, he is surely one of the richest heroes in fiction. In the film, he is captured by terrorists and taken to Afghanistan (in lieu of Vietnam, as it was in the comics) where they force him to build a weapon. And he does…

He becomes Iron Man.

I feel this film may work for a few reasons:

• Visually stunning!The effects don’t only look great, but believable!
• Evolution of the armor. As the trailer reveals, Tony’s armor goes through many stages before it takes the familiar red and yellow form we all know and love.
• Gritty realism.This has worked for Batman, Superman and Spider-Man. When the plot is taken seriously and a “believable” story is written, the film normally goes well.
• Fun! Hey, who wouldn’t want to be Iron Man?
• Black Sabbath’s Iron Man song in the trailer.I can’t help but headbang whenever I hear it!

 Of course, I’m normally an optimist about ANY Superhero film, because I can find redeeming qualities in just about anything. I remember I couldn’t wait to see DAREDEVIL! Remember Daredevil? I WANTED to see that! Here’s what could pull the plug on Iron Man:

• Lack of a recognizable villain.Face it, none of Iron Man’s rogue gallery even comes close to equalling the level of fame of say…the Joker? Doctor Octopus? Lex Luthor? Other heroes get those villains. Iron Man gets…The Mandarin? The Iron Monger? I don’t think anyone outside of a comic book store or mom’s basement has ever heard of these dastardly villains.
• Summer Schedule. Big movies are due out this summer! Iron Man just might be overshadowed in all the hype.
• Mediocre Plot. Ghost Rider, Daredevil, Fantastic Four and many other Superhero films seem to suffer from the whole “It’s a bad guy, let’s stop him and get the girl” syndrome. The film has to do something to stand out. Personally, I believe it will be the showcase of Iron Man and his abilities.
• Iron Man Comics Counterpart. In the comic books, right now, Tony Stark is a dick. More on this later, but that might affect a few comic fans.

 Well heroes, whether or not Iron Man is a success, I urge you all to go see the movie in May and take a friend! After all, with every superhero flick that is a success, it means we get more for years to come!

And remember, it could be worse! At least there are no iron nipples on the suit….

Iron Man Trailer- Found it on YouTube!