Movies - TV
Iron Man’s Most Popular Comic Made Writing The Movie Seem Impossible
By DEVIN MEENAN
The omnipresent Marvel Cinematic Universe all started with 2008's "Iron Man," which was far from a guaranteed hit with Tony Stark being portrayed by then B-list Robert Downey Jr.
According to "MCU: The Reign of Marvel Studios," the film’s writers had major concerns for the movie that went back to the most popular "Iron Man" comic titled "Demon in a Bottle."
The "Demon in a Bottle" storyline delves into the personal struggles of Tony Stark, the man behind the Iron Man armor, particularly his struggles and triumphs with alcoholism.
The "Demon in a Bottle" comic arc wasn’t the only problem. Tony Stark is a billionaire weapons manufacturer in the early 2000s' zeitgeist, a much easier fit to write as a villain.
Writer Matt Halloway stated, "We're in two wars, Iraq and Afghanistan, and the vice president [Dick Cheney] was formerly the CEO of Halliburton, the weapons manufacturer."
When discussing his concerns about the film’s character seeming irredeemable and too similar to Cheney, Halloway shared, “We're going to [...] make him a hero. How do we do that?"
Even Marvel’s own Stan Lee spoke on the character's marketing issue. "I thought it would be fun to take the [...] character that nobody would like [...] and make them like him."