Iron_Man__an_Analysis_of_Theme

English 223 Final Paper Joseph Fontana Prof. M. Parish Iron Man An Analysis of Theme I The movie begins with Tony Stark visiting soldiers on duty in the Middle East. Tony’s convoy is attacked and the soldiers fight to defend themselves but are quickly killed. Stark flees and is severely wounded in his chest. He is then captured by a group of terrorists and taken to a secure location. The next scene begins with a flashback sequence at an award ceremony. It shows a video of Tony’s history as a child prodigy before taking over his father’s tech company at age 21, which he later turned into the world’s leading weapon manufacturing company. Colonel James Rhodes is a long time friend of Tony’s and is due to present Stark with an award for his work. However, Tony is not in attendance. The award is accepted by Tony’s right hand man, Obadiah Stane, on Tony’s behalf. Later, Tony arrives at a military outpost in the Middle East to demonstrate a new weapon missile system called “Jericho.” After the demonstration, Tony leaves with the convoy that is soon attacked by terrorists. Much later, Tony awakens in a cave. His chest is hooked up to a device powered by a car battery. The device was made by Yissen, another captive in the cave, to keep shrapnel from entering Tony’s heart. The terrorists try to force Tony to build his Jericho missile for them. Instead, he builds a giant robotic suit equipped with a few weapons. With a new device, the mini arc reactor Tony built at its heart, it will have about 15 minutes of run time. He uses this suit to escape his captors and is later found by Rhodes and a search party. Tony returns to America after 3 months in captivity and greets his assistant, Pepper Pots, who is in charge of any aspect of his life that is of any importance or significance to him. She has arranged a press conference in which Tony announces Stark Industries will no longer manufacture weapons. Also, Pepper has scheduled an appointment with Agent Phil Coulson, a member of the Strategic Homeland Intervention Enforcement & Logistic Division Agency. Shortly after Tony’s return, he creates a new power device for his chest which he calls a mini arc reactor. It is similar to the original from the cave, only exponentially more advanced. Capable of sustaining massive power outputs over extended periods of time. Tony’s attention is now given to the creation of a new, upgraded version of the robotic suit he used in his escape. In order to finish his new suit of armor, Tony calls upon the help of JARVIS, the Artificial Intelligence system that runs his private residence. Stark analyzes his new suit and immediately makes improvements and produces, yet, another suit. This time, it is perfected. At a charity event later that evening, Tony is shown photos of a terrorist group using Stark Industries weapons. Tony then confronts Obadiah about this matter. It is discovered that Obadiah is the one who has been selling weapons to both sides. After returning home, Tony witnesses a news report about an ongoing crisis in a Middle Eastern Village and decides to take action. He equips himself with his final incarnation of the armored suit, deemed Mark III. He flies to the village and, using his highly advanced suit of armor, disposes of the terrorist group responsible for the damage. It is revealed that Obadiah paid the terrorist group to capture and kill Tony Stark. Obadiah then visits the leader of the terrorist group and kills him. He also takes the remnants of Tony’s Mark I suit that he used when escaping his captors. Obadiah returns home to find that the scientists he had creating his own advanced suit cannot recreate Tony’s power source, the arc reactor. He then realizes he has another option. Obadiah arrives at Tony’s private home and paralyzes Stark with a sonic device. He hen commandeers Tony’s arc reactor to use in his own prototype suit. Tony stumbles and crawls to his workshop to get the outdated and underpowered arc reactor Pepper had placed on his desk earlier. Meanwhile, Pepper and Agent Coulson, as well as other agents, attempt to arrest Obadiah. Tony suits up and heads to Stark Industries. Obadiah reveals himself in his new weaponized suit. The final battle between Tony’s Iron Man suit and Obadiah’s Iron Monger suit begins. With his power source nearly depleted, Tony struggles to defeat Obadiah. Iron Man is finally able to defeat Obadiah by overloading the giant arc reactor in the building below them. Tony survives while Obadiah does not. II. I believe the primary point of Iron Man is overcoming obstacles in the face of adversity and, more importantly, the realization between the person one is and the person one wishes to become. In the beginning of the movie, after his convoy is attacked, Tony Stark is hit by a bomb bearing his company’s logo. The shrapnel from the blast has entered his chest and mortally wounded. Stark awakens to find that he is being held captive by a group of terrorists. He then realizes he has an electromagnet in the middle of his chest. The terrorists show Tony a stockpile of his company’s weapons that they have at their disposal. It is at this point that Tony Stark’s personality takes a drastic turn. While in the cave, devising a means of escape, Tony befriends Yissen, another captive. In order for Tony to escape, Yissen knows he will have to sacrifice himself. With his dying breath, Yissen tells Tony not to waste his second chance. Although the friendship between them was short-lived and occurred under dire circumstances, it was true and Yissen’s sacrifice had a profound effect on Tony. Many of the changes to Tony’s personality and characteristics happen in this setting. Upon Tony’s return to the states, his first order of business is to announce his desire to stop manufacturing weapons. This is the first time many, friends and strangers alike, truly see what changes Tony has been through. The knowledge that his weapons are being used against the innocent people he has made them to protect was, to Tony, an earth-shattering revelation. Tony decides to undo the damage his weapons have done to the innocent victims caught in their way, insisting that helping the people is all that matters. This is a far cry from the Tony we see in the earlier flashback sequence. Tony creates an upgraded mini arc reactor for his chest. Trusting only Pepper Pots to make the switch, he asks her for assistance. Instead of discarding the older model as she is instructed, she frames it and puts it on Tony’s desk with the title, “Proof that Tony Stark has a heart.” I find this scene significant because the reactor is placed directly over his heart and, in a way, is his heart. It is no longer hidden under a laundry list of character defects but is exposed for the world to see. With a new mini arc reactor as a power source for Tony’s third and final incarnation of his armored suit, he’s finally ready to help people. When Tony puts on his gold and hot-rod red suit of armor, he transforms into Iron Man. Tony Stark is an egotistical billionaire verging on alcoholism who spends just as much time chasing skirts as he does chasing his next big idea. Iron Man is selfless. He thinks of others first and himself last. He protects the innocent people who cannot protect themselves. Iron Man is a hero. On his way back from the Middle East, two US Air Force F22 fighter jets engage Iron Man. Iron Man is accidentally thrust into one of the planes and it is damaged beyond its ability to continue flight. The pilot ejects. However, his parachute won’t open. Iron Man spirals downward towards the freefalling pilot and manages to deploy the pilot’s parachute while still being targeted and engaged by the other fighter pilot. Another characteristic of a great hero is the unwillingness to compromise the loss of a single life even while his own is at stake. Obadiah steals the mini arc reactor from Tony’s chest in order to use it in his own iron robotic suit. Tony stumbles downstairs to his workshop in an effort to obtain the original mini arc reactor which Pepper had insisted he save. Without the arc reactor, he will not be able to survive for long. Tony transforms into Iron Man and he flies to Stark Industries to confront Obadiah. Severely disadvantaged because of the lack of power left in his mini arc reactor, Tony knows he may not be able to defeat the massive, fully powered Iron Man machine in Obadiah’s possession. Tony knows that when his power source is depleted, not only will his suit fail, but his heart may, as well. Yet, he continues to fight. Tony risks everything to protect innocent people from Obadiah’s sinister ambitions. Obadiah taunts Tony saying that, in an effort to rid the world of weapons, Tony has created the best one yet, a whole new generation of weapons with the mini arc reactor at its heart. I find this symbolic because the mini arc reactor is, in essence, both Iron Man’s and Tony Stark’s heart, for neither can exist without it. It is at the end of the movie that we see Iron Man and Tony Stark as a single entity instead of two separate characters. When Obadiah crushes Iron Man’s helmet, we can see Tony Stark as Iron Man. Tony instructs Pepper to overload the giant arc reactor below himself and Obadiah in order to defeat him. Tony Stark is willing to make the ultimate sacrifice in order to protect his friends, which is reminiscent of Yissen’s sacrifice of his life for Tony’s. After the blast, Obadiah has been defeated and Tony survives. I believe that there is only one main character all along, Tony Stark. The Iron Man suit is simply a means to facilitate the actions of a hero. As Tony Stark states in the closing line of the movie, “I am Iron Man.” III. In my opinion, Iron Man captivates the audience and keeps all eyes on the screen at all times. In this film, the action sequences are mostly amazing and there is enough dramatic tension between Tony Stark and Pepper Pots to keep you enticed. It may not be a comedy but there are plenty of witty retorts from wise-cracking Tony Stark to leave one slapping one’s knee and begging for more. The special effects are superb and almost make one believe that one can leap in the air and take to the skies. Watching Iron Man is a 2 hour-long vision through a fantastic world where super heroes not only can exist but do exist. It is my belief that the lessons learned in Iron Man of life, loss, pain and, ultimately, change, are important experiences not only for Tony Stark but for anyone. I believe that if anyone had the vast resources that Tony Stark does and the character to use them for good, a hero like Iron Man may be less science fiction and more science fact.