Iron Man.
You saw it, I saw it and apparently so did everyone and their Mom in the US (not to mention the worldwide releases). If this is a sign of the summer movie season ahead, then I say bring ‘em on because Iron Man is a a hit across the country.
As of now, Iron Man was the 10th biggest opening of all time and the fourth biggest for a superhero movie. Among nonsequels, it came in behind only the first Spider-Man movie. That’s right. Behind SPIDER-MAN.
“If we have to, we’re happy to come in second to another Marvel property,” Maisel said. “It emphasizes how lucky we are to have such a powerful brand that’s not loved by just comic book fans but also general movie fans.”
Not bad for a funny book publisher’s brand new little studio, huh?
No big studio overhead, firm creative content control, comic book writers and artists being used extensively for script adjustments and art development… this is truly a marvelous age we live in. We live the good life, True Believers; we can kick back in the theater and watch the stories we’ve come to love come to life on the big screen in a whole new way. While some other movie ventures might have left us cold in the rain as Evanescence played sad songs, hope springs eternal that this success could be the start of something big. The special little scene at the end of the credits taught us that much and no matter who was responsible for it, it’s a fine sign of things to come. As far as origin stories go, it was engaging and well-paced enough to keep fan who can recite this story in their sleep happy, not to mention all the cool little references that reward our loyalty to the cool exec with a heart of steel.
I rather prefer this Tony Stark to the one we have in the books right now, with his slick Jarvis computer system and his simple, yet elegant armored suit! This is the kind of Iron Man that I think can capture the hearts and mind of the pop culture public and according to the numbers, I may just be right.
But do you ever think the masses ever turn back and look at we fans, wondering how the other half lives?
(WARNING: Why haven’t you seen the Iron Man yet? I can’t be held responsible if a few spoilers slip out and you were too busy seeing Made of Honor. Consider this fair warning and do enjoy.)
When I went to go see the movie (and I saw it twice folks, doing my part for the Mighty Marvel Movie Machine), I took with me my control group of non-comic reading friends. Everything leading up to the movie looked so good, I was practically guaranteed to enjoy the flick and wanted to get an idea of what those who knew little more than ‘he’s a guy in a big robot suit’ would think of the over two hour long film. I’m happy to report that everyone left the theater happy, some even daring to ask a little more about ol’ Shellhead. I’ve been quizzed on everything from his actual origin (pretty close to the movie’s depiction) to if he still has Pepper Potts at his side. Marvel Studios exec David Maisel is absolutely right: he is in the Iron Man business for both the comic fans and movie going fans; thanks to the movie, the general public has been sold on a character not known for his Amazing Friends.
But what does that general public think of us? We, the tried and true fans who’ve had to watch his fall from grace to not just alcohol, but his position and status within the Marvel Universe to something of a gray area. Not to get into the Civil War debate again, but the man’s actions have been questionable (we’ll just stick with the whole ‘cloning a good friend and god’ example for now); can we kick back at the theaters and let all that go? Are we looking for the nitty-gritty, the tiny detail, the lack of living, breathing Jarvis and the fact he lives in Malibu now?
Believe it or not, the non-comic book buying public does care about our opinion, perhaps more than we think. While I was quizzing friends and family about thier take on the Iron Man movie, a local radio station was trying to find ‘nerds’ to see if they were appeased by the new Iron Man film. Sure, play it off as just poking fun at the Comic Book Guy, but the fact they asked comic ‘nerds’ to call in and give their technical opinion on the film is pretty interesting. A fan by the name of ‘Sean’ called in, flashed his geek cred for the morning crew (as he was able to cite issue examples from issues and claim a love of the character from his elementary school days) and gave the film a glowing ‘12 out of 10′ stars. The disc jockeys asked on how it compared to the comics, on whether casting Downey was a mistake, on whether Iron Man could defeat Magneto and they were legitimately into what ‘Sean’ had to say. There was the traditional jocularity of a morning radio show, but they all were rather taken aback by Stark’s previous battles with alcoholism as much as they were interested his chances against the Master of Magnetism They wanted to know more and this is the best news to come out of the whole she-bang. While I wanted to know what the average movie-goer would come away with, the average movie-goer was looking back at me and wondering if I was just as satisfied.
No one can disagree with a good movie, neither comic novice or comic pro. We can hit the shelves and pick up an issue or trade to keep our enthusiasm; however, there are some out there who can’t. Ether they don’t know where to shop or still have that odd ‘comics are for kids/comics are too adult’ issue that stalks the public to this day. But you can help. For less than mere pennies a day, you can help a friend, co-worker or comic shop customer know a little more about Iron Man just by being a fan. If you go with some of those non-comic reading co-workers or pals, see what they thought. Maybe answer a question or two. Put them on the inside track about that sneaky ringtone or what ‘The Ten Rings’ might allude to and bring them into the fold. You may not get a new reader, but it does keep hope alive.
I kept a sign at my store that read “Yes, the Iron Man movie was AWESOME!!”. Handmade, it hung out at the register with me along with one of the Burger King toys I managed to snag. This sign not only answered a customer question that was inevitable (as comic shops are prime locations for the Truth on Comic Book Movies; either people expect us to burst out into Simpsons-esque Comic Book Guy rants for their amusement or are hoping our gold star might actually soothe the nervous comic geek soul) but started plenty of conversations about Iron Man and the ol’ MU.
Get in the Iron Man business and reap the benefits at your LCS and on the silver screen.
May 7th, 2008 at 9:57 pm
I watched it with my husband. He wasted his childhood and teenage years on hockey so the poor guy doesn’t know a lot about comics beyond the current run of movies and playing Marvel Ultimate Alliance (you know who’s the go-to girl for the in-game trivia questions, right?).
I think he appreciated watching it with a geek and knowing that a geek got as much pleasure from the picture as he did. When I filled him in on Rhodey he seemed as enthusiastic to hear it as I was to tell him and I suspect, when we go see it a second, third and fourth time he’ll appreciate getting the jokes meant for the real geeks.
May 8th, 2008 at 1:06 am
Movie Tony = good
Comic Tony = Douche
Not that hard really.