I remember sitting down in the movie theatre waiting for Iron Man 3 to start, surrounded by ‘my people’ (as I like to call my fellow comic book movie lovers) and wondering what reasons Marvel would give me to love them even more. They delivered in several different ways with the third installment of the Iron Man franchise, but the one that sticks out in my mind the most is the growth and elevation of Pepper Potts.
In the first two Iron Man movies, I thought Pepper would be, and would remain, a typical female character, just a side story for the Tony Stark aka Iron Man. When I say typical, I mean, the damsel in distress, look-cute-in-a-dress arm candy assistant to the head honcho. I loved that she was promoted, and deservingly so, to the CEO of Stark Industries. But the third film took her to a whole new level of ‘powerful woman’.
She became a superhero in her own right.
The real villain of the movie, Aldrich Killian (don’t get me started on The Mandarin), kidnaps Potts and subjects her to an admittedly awesome scientific treatment called Extremis, a regenerative treatment making whatever, or whoever, is subjected to it able to regenerate, thus resistant to otherwise fatal injuries. In the epic battle near the end of the movie, Potts is able to survive a huge fall, which Stark believes is fatal. She also wears the suit, and in essence, becomes Iron Man.
When I witnessed this, surrounded by my people, I wanted to jump around and clap. Some might say she’s not technically a female superhero. Does she have to have her own movie to be called a legitimate superhero? Some say yes, I say no. Superpowers, kicking butt, and saving the day make you a superhero. And Pepper Potts did all three in Iron Man 3.
References
Castillo, M. (2013). Iron Man 3: Pepper Potts Goes Kapow! Retrieved from: http://bitchmagazine.org/post/iron-man-3-pepper-potts-goes-kapow
Moylan, B. (2013). Marvel Screwed Up By Not Making Gwyneth Paltrow in ‘Iron Man 3’ Their First Female Superhero. Retrieved from: http://www.hollywood.com/news/movies/55011851/gwyneth-paltrow-iron-man-3-super-powers-female-hero?page=all