"He's a superhero who is just a man," Downey told the newspaper. "Not that I wouldn't play a guy who got bit by a spider or who has some freaky connection with bats, but I think this is a little more accessible," he added, referring to Spider-Man and Batman.
"I guess that when Stan Lee created the character back in the mid-1960s—to see if he could base a superhero on a hard-partying, womanizing billionaire who manufactures weapons—and still make him likeable enough to sell comic books—he clearly won his bet," Downey added. "Tony Stark is someone who has the ability to be right at the forefront of science, and we are finding out more and more nowadays that science and mythology are becoming somewhat interchangeable. Some of the things that seemed really far-fetched aren't any more." Iron Man is currently in production with an eye to a May 2008 release.