It all goes back to what Tony proclaimed at the end of the first movie: “I am Iron Man.” What do these words mean? Did Tony even consider the full weight of what he said in that moment? Since Shane Black did not create or influence this scene, he can look at it with the fresh eyes of a spectator, and come to a different conclusion than may have been forged at the time. An immature Tony Stark says this not as a sign of unitary identity, but to highlight how he has ‘become’ something else. And leads to the most important thematic question of Iron Man 3: Are Tony Stark and Iron Man truly one and the same, or is Iron Man just a persona, a façade he adopts to confront the difficulties of the real world? Does this image he projects through his heroics reflect the man underneath?
It makes total and complete sense to ask these questions in the wake of The Avengers; in fact, it feels like the only major avenue Tony has left to go, after dealing with his immorality in the first Iron Man and addictive, self-destructive behavior in the second. Iron Man 3 is a largely standalone film, bereft of the cameos and winking nods that sometimes overwhelmed Marvel’s Phase One features, but the events of New York matter very much here, for what Tony experienced fighting the Chitauri would, naturally, shake his understanding of his own dual identity. For most of the other Avengers, Thor and Captain America especially, there is no other ‘self’ they retreat to when the battle is done. Thor is always Thor, and even when Captain America is Steve Rogers, his strength, stamina, and personality remain the same. And even though Bruce Banner has to transform to become the Hulk, it is a transformation of his flesh that comes from within.
But Tony Stark is only ‘super’ when he puts on the suit, right? He tells the world he is Iron Man, and tries to project a unified image wherein they are one and the same, but is he so confident of this reading? Of all the Avengers, he is the one who came closest to death, and he is the one who, upon going back to daily life, will naturally feel the most dwarfed by everything he experienced, because he is not a God, nor a Hulk, nor does he have superpowers like Cap.
Thus, by the time Iron Man 3 opens, Tony is deep in the throws of post-traumatic stress, and tinkering constantly with the sense of dissociation he feels, creating suit after suit after suit, many of which are built to exist separate from his own body. Unconsciously, he is exploring the foundation of his own Iron Man persona.
And Robert Downey Jr., it should be said, is absolutely spectacular illustrating all this. There will always be a revelatory aspect to his performance in the first Iron Man that makes it a landmark, but in some ways, I am even more impressed with his work here. Anxiety attacks and PTSD are tough concepts to project in any circumstance, especially while retaining a wit and humor inherent to the character, but Downey pulls it off with aplomb. He is as funny, charming, and innately likable as ever, but when called upon to deliver the big dramatic beats – like his first-act speech to Pepper (“I’m a piping hot mess”), or the different anxiety attacks he experiences (I am especially moved at how he illustrates the one that hits him with no particular trigger while driving, which feels very true to life) – he absolutely kills it. This is one of the great and iconic pop culture presences of our time, and here, it becomes one of the great dramatic performances of the year. Robert Downey Jr. deserves an Oscar, at one point or another, for embodying Tony Stark, and this seems like as good an opportunity as any to recognize the genius of his work.
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