2. Iron Man (Angelo Gingerelli)
In the Marvel Cinematic Universe Captain America is known as “The First Avenger,” but in the real world everybody knows it was Robert Downey Jr’s Iron Man that started the onslaught of blockbuster movies, hit TV shows, video games, toys and endless tie-in products that are The Avengers franchise. Since debuting in the spring of 2008, Iron Man went from Marvel’s second string to one of the most recognizable comic book characters in the world. Iron Man’s recent explosion in popularity can be directly attributed to Robert Downey Jr’s pitch perfect portrayal of the wealthy playboy turned superhero that matched actor to character as perfectly as any other time in movie history. RDJ’s portrayal of Tony Stark makes being a millionaire/superhero seem fun in ways that recent incarnations of similar characters like Batman or Green Arrow don’t even attempt to attain and the character has become a huge hit with fans for his decidedly more humorous approach to super-heroics.
While Iron-Man stars in three great solo movies, the character really shines as part of The Avengers team. Whether he’s flirting with Black Widow, mocking Thor or Captain America for their lack of understanding of the modern world or keeping his sidekick War Machine in check, he provides a constant break in the tension during dire situations where the fate of the world hangs in the balance. There are several superheroes that have somewhat funny alter egos (the bumbling Clark Kent, the awkward teenaged Peter Parker, etc.), but most get pretty serious once it’s time to save the world. Because he wears a suit/personal tank in combat, the movies are able to show what’s happening inside and outside the suit simultaneously, which allows the audience to see how both Iron Man and Tony Stark are reacting to various situations. This often shows some pretty funny reactions from Tony Stark as Iron Man is fighting bad guys that have included corporate criminals (Iron Man), an army of alien invaders (The Avengers) and a rogue version of his own creation (Age of Ultron).
Of all the superheroes to have appeared on the big screen (there are too many to count at this point), Iron Man has undergone arguably the most dramatic character arc we have seen to date (A Character-Reactor-Arc? Get it?). Throughout his three solo movies, two movies with The Avengers and 2016’s Captain America: Civil War, audiences have seen Tony Stark transform from arrogant millionaire to solo superhero to founding member of The Avengers (or as he called it “super-secret boy band”), to a character with questionable motivations and morals that lead to the creation of the nearly indestructible villain Ultron and the superhero registration act that divide The Avengers in Civil War. Whether or not the character returns to his more heroic tendencies and reunites with Captain America’s faction of The Avengers remains to be seen, but what is absolutely clear is that Iron Man’s character development is unparalleled in the world of comic book movies.
Iron Man has always been a compelling character that was somewhat ignored outside of comic book collectors and hardcore Marvel fans. All of that changed over the course of the last decade due to the perfect casting of Robert Downey Jr. as a funny/smug/likeable/heroic version of the character that has resonated with audiences and provided both the comic relief and the foundation of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. While the dozen MCU movies that followed the original Iron Man have all been worth watching (Yes, even Thor: The Dark World has some cool stuff), none of them would have been possible if Tony Stark hadn’t been kidnapped by terrorists and devised a suit of armor to escape close to a decade ago.
Favorite Moment: When Tony Stark decides he’s going to escape his captors in Iron Man and starts making the suit by hammering metal while maintaining a steely gaze that shows his resolve to get back to the United States.
Best Moment That Nobody Saw: On the Blu-Ray of Iron Man there’s a deleted scene of Tony Stark talking to rapper Ghostface Killah (who also goes by “Toney Stark” and “Iron Man”) at a party in Dubai. The scene is a great Easter egg for Hip-Hop fans eager to see the meeting of the Iron Men that unfortunately didn’t make the final cut.
Best Line: “I am Iron Man.”
Tony Stark has said things that were both funnier and more profound, but none had the long reaching effects of this simple three word statement at the press conference that ended his first movie and laid the foundation for the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe.
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