What does Iron Man 3 mean for the rest of Phase Two?

What does Iron Man 3 mean for the rest of Phase Two?

Nick Salinski has finally seen Iron Man 3. What does Shellhead's third solo outing mean for the rest of Phase Two? His answer may surprise you.

Editorial Opinion
By EdgyOutsider - May 13, 2013 11:05 AM EST
Filed Under: Iron Man

As the teaser states, I finally saw Iron Man 3. Worth it? Yes. But, it's a weak outing in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Honestly, I don't think there is a movie less than good in the MCU. So, what killed the movie for me? The humor. I didn't want to believe it when I heard it. Went in with an open mind and around the time he leaves Harley, the humor starts appearing at unnecessary times, especially during the much more serious moments. At least **Spoiler Alert** when Pepper "Died" I was at least convinced through the peril they made the audience believe at that time and through Downey's performance **Spoiler end**. For once, you guys get to say "I told you so" I admit, the movie was as good as I said it would be. I was wrong. Anyways, what do I think Iron Man 3 means for the rest of Phase Two? Guarantee none of this hasn't already been heard but, here's my two cents anyways.

Much Darker Phase



Let's start with the obvious. Iron Man 3 went overkill with the humor (I honestly didn't like the end credits either. The credit scene was just fine). After seeing Iron Man 3 and seeing the trailer for, Thor: The Dark World. It's going to be much darker than one would think cause well, Marvel has been known for the more light hearted, family movies while DC is known for the darker, more serious movies. So, seeing the Thor trailer before Iron Man, It gave the overall sense that this is going to be but not exactly like "The Dark Knight" tone. Not brooding but, very dark and very threatening. Captain America: The Winter Soldier would be the best example we can give because of the story and how personal it is. Here is how I look at it. Phase One was pulpy, action packed and fun. Phase Two looks to be much darker, much more serious, much more personal. Filled with twists and cosmic elements (the cosmic part is speculation). Phase Three would be a dark end, new beginning. As in, dark finales (Cap 3, Thor 3, Avengers 3) and rise to a new beginning (Ant-Man, and whoever else).

Fantastic, Engaging Villains **Spoiler in this section, if you don't want to know what the big twist in the movie is incase you have NOT seen it, I suggest you skip this section**



Okay, so here's really where you guys are going to bitch and moan saying "They ruined the mandarin" "Killian is the fake Mandarin, they should bring in the real mandarin in Avengers 2",ect. Here's my take on this, The Mandarin wouldn't have worked well on screen. Seriously, alien tech rings? Can you imagine it working well on screen in a fight? No, I don't think so. Yes, **spoiler alert** Killian breathes fire **Spoiler end** but, it was to show the audience what extremis is capable of. His motivation? Not all villains need a great, master plan motivation. Some of them, just want one of two things. The first thing, as they say in "The Dark Knight" just want to watch the world burn. Some, as I gather from Killain in Iron Man 3. Have no real motivation except to show off their "power" and "greatness". Want to do wrong to those who did him wrong.
He didn't have much when he was crippled and now, he had the power, he wanted everything. That being said, Phase Two villains should be fantastic as they have great actors playing them. Well, Guardians of the Galaxy and Avengers don't have them yet, well, Guardians don't to a degree. Guy Pearce was fantastic as always and did a great, Killian. I believe in Eccleston, I believe in Grillo, Redford, Stan (he's more-less the main villain) and anyone else in Phase Two as villains. We know they'll be great except Stan, I have yet to see him play a villain or in his case a "villain". But, I believe in them.

Twists



Not going into this one in case there are those here who still haven't seen it and don't know what the big twist in the movie is. All I'm going to say is, expect twists but I'm going to expect great twists cause this one made perfect sense and it worked. Not much to say here.

Events of The Avengers to effect our heroes



This is going to be the last section of this article. As Tony says in the movie "Nothing has been the same since New York. You experience things and they're over and you still can't explain them?" Tony definitely has some issues here in this movie, he has anxiety attacks and goes to his armor when he does cause he feels protected. The first demonstration of this was great. Loved it. Thor should be feeling effects from Avengers as well as Cap, hell, Captain America also determines where loyalties lie in Avengers 2. Things are definitely going to get interesting here in, Phase Two.

Well, that's all I got. Phase Two should be able to keep up with Phase One and be more interesting but better? We'll wait until after Avengers 2 to determine where it is compared to Phase One. Iron Man 3 in my opinion was pretty good. If I had to rank the cinematic universe from weakest to strongest, It would be: Iron Man 2, The Incredible Hulk, Iron Man 3, Thor, Iron Man, Captain America: The First Avenger, Marvel's The Avengers. Still no bad movie in the MCU but, the humor killed it for me. At least the acting, characters and action were all top notch. What are your thoughts on Iron Man 3? Excited for Phase Two? I still am but, not as much as I was hoping and not to start a flame war but, I still am not convinced Man of Steel will be the superhero movie of the year.
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Happy11
Happy11 - 5/13/2013, 11:20 AM
Your point being?
brazilianbatman
brazilianbatman - 5/13/2013, 11:20 AM
I think that Iron Man 3 open the door for great things.

First, the next villains such as Crossbones and Winter Soldier could be playing actors unstead of real threats in The Winter Soldier.

Second, we might get a powerful Jane Foster in Thor 2. Think about it, it makes perfect sense that she is going to Asgard to become a powerful Asgardian and probably save Thor at the end, killing the main villain.


Thanks Marvel for the actor Mandarim and super-powerful Pepper Potts!
brazilianbatman
brazilianbatman - 5/13/2013, 11:26 AM
it was not a bad movie, it was good but these 2 things , especially the pepper potts becoming the hero made me scratch my head.
Brainiac13
Brainiac13 - 5/13/2013, 11:31 AM
MOVIE IS REALLY REALLY BAD!!!!

I hope they distance Shane Black vibe!!! But its made shitloads...and everything will have Shane's Vibe.

I'll be worried...cus I like Marvel characters!!!!
ruadh
ruadh - 5/13/2013, 11:32 AM
Man...this was a difficult read. Meandering ramblings.
Supes17
Supes17 - 5/13/2013, 11:44 AM
It was better than Iron Man 2. It wasn't too bad
cdpacheco89
cdpacheco89 - 5/13/2013, 11:54 AM
@ LEVITKUZ this isnt racist just an observation... youre a black guy arent you? I mean everything is War Machine this and Luke Cage that. There is a reason Rhodey and Sam Wilson have supporting roles, they have no chance as standalones. Theyve already proven they dont care what fanboys really want to see why would it be different for a much smaller demograph of black guy fanboys? Also I agree with you like 25% of the time but for the most part it seems like you come in way off from left field with it. Thats all i guess
JayJayCAW
JayJayCAW - 5/13/2013, 12:01 PM
the 10 rings would have worked fine, your telling me that in a movie universe where men who get angry turn into giant green rage machines, skinny every problem under the sun runts who take a serum change into muscle bound super solders in a matter of minutes, alien invasions, gods and myths turned real, a tiny cube with the power to alter time and space, someplace where all that is possible, 10 alien rings that gives the wearer powers would not work well on screen? Give me a break :S
EdgyOutsider
EdgyOutsider - 5/13/2013, 12:15 PM
JayJayCAW: They don't come off cartoony and goofy on screen though. Ten magic rings, especially in battle would definitely come off very cartoony and would've killed the movie more than the unnecessary humor.
cbizzy
cbizzy - 5/13/2013, 12:19 PM
The post-credits scene was a great way for Tony's narration to have a purpose. He concluded his story & they showed him after the events of Iron man 3 trying to solve his anxiety problems through therapy, although he must not know or trust many doctors. Even though it wasn't hero related we should appreciate it for what it's worth, a post credits scene. Some movies are lucky enough to have them & Marvel is no way obligated to provide. I watched the Guardians of the Galaxy scene before Disney obliterated it from the internet, which was originally intended for Iron Man 3 & it was pretty damn cool (Gemini suit breaking the atmosphere) & it got my nerd juices flowing, but it is a good idea it wasn't used so they can strengthen the origin story of Guardians & not have an Iron Man & his Amazing Space Friends film.
TonyChu
TonyChu - 5/13/2013, 12:48 PM
Why do people keep saying the ten rings will be too cartoony and stupid? That's the same weak excuse people used with Bane and his venom in TDKR. Granted that was still a great film, there still could had been a way to incorporate the venom addiction.
AC1
AC1 - 5/13/2013, 12:56 PM
I think, while Killian's motives aren't always clear, if you think about it, it seems that he simply wants to prove that he's better than Tony. I mean, they're both geniuses, rich, businessmen, etc. Plus he seems to fancy Tony's girlfriend, Pepper, and has already made an ally of Tony's ex.

I think Killian is the Mandarin in the best way possible - he's an evil, opposite version of Tony Stark (which is a character trait similar to the villain Mallen in the Extremis comic). Tony feels he needs his suit permanently - Killian has permanent powers due to Extremis. Tony is publicly known as Iron Man - Killian hides in plain sight, using his fake Mandarin to divert attention from himself, the real Mandarin. Tony has a sense of humour - Killian has none. But when you couple the differences with the similarities, they're two sides of the same coin - this is what Tony could've become if he was given power before he had his experiences in Afghanistan which taught him to help others. To put it in other terms, Yinsen is the Uncle Ben to Tony's Peter Parker, without Yinsen/Uncle Ben, Tony/Peter would let his power corrupt him. And that's who Killian is - he's Tony without Yinsen, with the addition of the rejection he suffered from Tony himself in their first meeting.

Then, there's the Mandarin symbolism - Killian constructed every feature of the fake Mandarin (the robes, the beard, the speeches, the voice) because that's how he wants to be seen. Killian sees himself as The Mandarin. He surrounds himself with the symbols of oriental warriors and emperors, because he's power-mad. The dragon tattoos on his chest are a hint at this, as are his powers - Extremis grants him fire based powers, and fire is perhaps the most significant, powerful Chinese element. Plus, he even breathes fire, like a dragon.

Getting a bit too in depth here, but please bear with me - in Taoist cosmology (a Chinese philosophy about the balance of the universe)there are eight trigrams which represent the fundamental principles of the universe: Heaven/Sky (☰), Lake/Marsh (☱), Fire (☲), Thunder (☳), Wind (☴), Water (☵), Mountain (☶) and Earth (☷).

The fire symbol represents clarity, health and vision, but fire itself is a destructive force. In relation to Killian - Clarity (seeing that Tony wouldn't help him and that he had to find his own way), Health (using Extremis to cure his disability), and Vision (his desire to prove that he is better than Tony), but he uses his power in a destructive way. The fire symbol also represents, in terms of Feng-Shui, the South - Killian's fake Mandarin speaks with an accent from the Southern States. Killian clearly believes everything he makes the fake Mandarin say, including the anti-American stuff, which is why he wanted to kill the President in such a symbolic way (in the Iron Patriot armour, the colours of the US flag, with fire).

The way Killian bastardizes ancient Chinese culture to fit his own anti-American, self serving, anti-Tony Stark "Mandarin" persona is way more important than having ten silly magic rings. I'd much rather a version with one important, relevant power than ten random powers which mean very little. In the same way, I'm glad that this version of the Mandarin is one who is not only the antithesis of Tony Stark, but one who adopts Chinese iconography for his own purposes, rather than the character from the comics who is just a racist caricature (in that the only defining aspect of his personality is the fact that he's Chinese, other than his being Chinese and hating Stark, he has no personality).

Again, I may be looking too deep into this, but I don't believe in coincidences in filmmaking - everything has its place, and everything is constructed the way it is for a reason, even if the filmmakers were only subconsciously aware of what they were doing.
AC1
AC1 - 5/13/2013, 12:58 PM
@TonyChu I don't think Venom is cartoony, I just think it's not realistic enough for Nolan's version of Batman. Mandarin's rings are cartoony though - they're just random powers to make him seem more threatening, with no real meaning behind them.
TheRaven20
TheRaven20 - 5/13/2013, 1:02 PM
If Iron man 3 sets the tone for the rest of phase 2 then I guess every other movie's going to be a lighthearted film trying to tackle a deep personal story, while still being cheesy joke filled nonsense with subpar villains with unclear motives. If this is what we're getting than I'm out.
Ocelot
Ocelot - 5/13/2013, 1:18 PM
Iron Man was in no way dark or semi serious like the first and second films. There's Nothing serious about Iron Man 3 at all.

@JayJayCAW
Iron Man is a tech guy and should fight semi-grounded tech based villians and adversaries e.g. hackers, suit's, cyborgs, copycats, terrorist's who use his tech etc, shouldn't be fighting alien or mystical characters unless it's in an Avengers movie, it's just not his world or universe. That's the main reason why I hated the over the top extremis soliders, it's just not Iron Man's world. That being said they could have easily made the rings tech based from Earth rather than their extraterristrial origin.
tonytony
tonytony - 5/13/2013, 1:35 PM
this was an action comedy, key word being comedy. If you are able to have thor and Loki then you can have mandarin and that could have been explained with the fact that the rings are built on alien technology (maybe from chitauri for example)if they put a little bit of effort in they could have kept menacing villain (which mandarin initially was) and had proper serious tone.

in my opinion its still a decent movie and not as bad as some people make out but a missed opportunity for creating something epic, quite frankly it felt like a disney action movie.
dezdigi
dezdigi - 5/13/2013, 2:19 PM
I guess phase 2 may all be personal stories, like IM 3. Other than that, I have no clue what to expect before the Avengers 2.
ArtisticErotic
ArtisticErotic - 5/13/2013, 2:21 PM
Ironman 3 fails on a lot of levels. I hope THOR DARK WORLD actually goes darker and tackles a the more angrier side of Thorm actually I am hoping he really does kill Loki.
SamuraiHairMaster
SamuraiHairMaster - 5/13/2013, 2:29 PM
I would agree that it would be hard to translate the Mandarin to the Big Screen. However, that just means that the makers the movie need to work hard on that aspect. That's my problem with the movie, a lack of effort seemed to be evident that made the movie a series of gimmicks.

Also, Mandarin isn't just his rings. The power of his rings are derived from ancient alien technology, which he has mastered. There were many ways they could have done the character, especially playing on the idea that his powers appear to be magical. If its possible to have Thor and the Red Skull (who naturally ooze's cheeziness) then they could have done Mandarin. But that would have required creative energy and effort, something this "remote controlled" movie lacked.
Supes17
Supes17 - 5/13/2013, 2:31 PM
I have a feeling that the only Marvel Pahse 2 film that will score over an 80% will be Avengers 2. And maybe Thor 2
brazilianbatman
brazilianbatman - 5/13/2013, 3:28 PM
levi@ I think I prefer iron man 2 too. that movie was not great but it was not bad like some people say it is. that movie was fun, was a great warm up for the avengers, and had some cool fights.

Iron Man 3 had a more dramatic and focused story but the twist and the very powerful iron man's girlfriend killed the movie for me.
marvel72
marvel72 - 5/13/2013, 4:24 PM
iron man 3 wasn't great,it dropped the ball on a couple of occasions but still a good film better than iron man 2 but not as good as iron man.

phase 2

-iron man 3 3/5(good)

-thor the dark world

-captain america the winter soldier

-guardians of the galaxy

-the avengers 2

will phase 2 be better than phase 1? i think so
unknownfacts
unknownfacts - 5/13/2013, 4:41 PM
While Ironman 3 is not the best film marvel produce it's not a bad film.If I had to rate it it would be a 3 out of 5.While it did nothing to advance phase 2 as a whole it did progress Stark as a character.
Tainted87
Tainted87 - 5/13/2013, 5:07 PM
lol @ people thinking Levi is black.....

That's actually really funny.
LegendaryOutlaw
LegendaryOutlaw - 5/13/2013, 6:42 PM
Iron Man 3 was great!!!!! I don't think Thor would feel effects from Avengers.
Viltrumite
Viltrumite - 5/13/2013, 7:22 PM
@DeadpoolsCommonSense

Except for the fact that following The Avengers, Thor's brother is known to be alive and is imprisoned for war crimes. That seems like a pretty big deal.
kenjim152
kenjim152 - 5/13/2013, 7:46 PM
This movie did not open any doors, It closed them all instead. I guess now that Tony is not Iron Man any more, he will be the counselor they were talking about before avengers 1. The after credits scene does not even have a Connection to any of the up coming projects. So hopefully they do better with Thor and captain america 2
Citizen
Citizen - 5/13/2013, 7:57 PM
Iron Man 3 was a very, very good movie. The fans cried for him not to fight another armored villian, and that's what Marvel gave them...and some still cried foul! Absolutely rediculous.

If Phase-2 is a bit darker, I'm all for it, as long as Marvel doesn't try to go all Dark Knight on us. Serious is good, but too much serious won't be.

Looking forward to Thor: The Dark World, The Winter Soldier and Guardians of the Galaxy. As for my anticipation for Avengers 2...words fail me.
Orphix
Orphix - 5/14/2013, 1:50 AM
I guess with all the hatred knocking around about this film people now relate to how I was so seriously dissapointed with IM2.

Definitely a MASSIVE step up in my opinion.
Abary
Abary - 5/14/2013, 5:05 AM
I still hate the twist...
Presence1
Presence1 - 5/14/2013, 6:17 AM
I'm in that small group of people who actually really enjoyed Iron Man 2. Personally I enjoyed IM2 more than IM3. I still think Iron Man 3 was a solid cbm, despite the twist. I guess I'll never really understand the need to not have a real Mandarin in the film. I mean after all this is a universe where characters like Thor, Loki, Odin and the Hulk exist. Giving Mandarin some tech based rings would not have been a stretch of the imagination in the slightest. IDK....it was cool seeing the Extremis soldiers and all the various armors Stark had....but screw Iron Patriot, give me War Machine anyday!
EdgyOutsider
EdgyOutsider - 5/14/2013, 6:26 AM
@Soto: I think after Avengers 3, there should be just stand alone movies but still acknowledge a shared universe. I'm really hoping for a Captain America 3.

@TheBoss: I enjoyed Iron Man 2, myself. But, I still think it's the weakest link in the MCU. I don' think you'd ever understand the whole Mandarin thing either. For starters and I think it's nitpicking to an extent if it is but, Ben Kingsley is in his sixties and was the perfect choice for The Mandarin. Therefore, had they used the rings, he would've been required to do fight scenes. It would've risked his health. Also, Hulk and everything from the nine realms really isn't all that cartoony. Not to mention that it has nothing to do with the audience having an imagination. I'm sure Fiege wanted the Ten Rings but, think about it. The ten rings work in the comics but, can you really picture it being awesome and just pure epic on screen against a man in a suit of armor? I can't. It just looks plain silly.
EdgyOutsider
EdgyOutsider - 5/14/2013, 9:21 AM
Agreed.
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